Analysis of the law relating to divorce with regard to its applicability & relevance in Uganda today
Loading...
Date
2018-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kampala International University, School of Law
Abstract
Using the Content Analysis Methodology the study analyzed the Divorce Act, Cap 249 (and
other related laws) enacted during the colonial era assessing its continued applicability and
relevance in Uganda today. This Act which commenced I" October, 1904 is now 114 years old
and has remained the same to date despite critical legal developments!
Findings from review of reports as well as court cases indicate that, the Divorce Act (and related
laws) - like any other law enacted during the colonial era - is overdue for reform to continue to
be wholly relevant and applicable in light of the recent legal developments particularly enshrined
in the 1995 Constitution.
Besides, the "modification, adaptation, qualification and exception as may be necessary"1
regarding adopted laws has not been forthcoming as one would expect when it comes to most of
the colonial enactments in general and the 1904 Divorce Act in pmticular. We therefore have in
our statute books a law inter alia which on several occasions has been challenged in court for not
being in conformity with the current developments in society and some of its key provisions
have been rendered null and void.
It was also an important finding of the study that in 2009 the Marriage and Divorce Bill was
tabled. And that this proposed legislation more or less deals with the gaps in the colonial laws. It
is therefore the recommendation of this study that this Bill be enacted into law as a matter of
urgency.
1 Article 274 (1) of the Constitution of Uganda, 1995
Description
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of laws in Kampala International University
Keywords
Family Law, Divorce, Uganda