THE TRIBUNAL

Under Article 53 of the Constitution, the Uganda Human Rights Commission has powers of a court in the performance of its functions of protecting and promoting Human Rights. In effectively disposing of its functions under Article 52 and 53 of the Constitution, the Commission has dual roles which include that of an administrative/advocacy body and that of a quasi-judicial institution.
The effective evaluation of claims of human rights violations requires that the Commission sits as a judicial tribunal, comprised of a single hearing Commissioner, assisted by legal council.

TRIBUNAL PROCEDURE.

The Human Rights tribunal procedure is relatively informal compared with that in ordinary courts of law. The tribunal hearings are semi-formal in character and are conducted to afford the parties a chance to present evidence to an impartial quasi-judicial tribunal charged with the responsibility of deciding the merits of the matter.
At the hearing, the normal rules of evidence applicable at the courts are relaxed in the interest of efficiency and greater appreciation of the proceedings by the parties. This is done without sacrificing the internationally-recognized cardinal principles of natural justice and procedural fairness which guide the conduct of administrative tribunals. One of the cardinal aims for the establishment of the Commission is to provide a fair and expeditious redress process for human rights and administrative justice complaints. This purpose would be thwarted if the Commission were to resort to strict adherence of formal rules of procedure and rules of evidence which obtain in the formal courts of law.

A properly conducted hearing at the Commission tribunal, must comply with the rules of natural justice and procedural fairness, and fundamental consideration must be that a miscarriage of justice does not occur. This means that the tribunal hearing is a semi-formal process for obtaining relevant, necessary and appropriate information that will be useful to the Commission in resolving complaints before it.  Therefore, the hearing is essentially a forum for gathering relevant information to assist in dispute resolution.  However, during the tribunal process, reference has to be made to; the Uganda  Human Rights Commission  Act, the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995, the Uganda Human Rights Commission (Procedure) Rules, the Civil Procedures Rules, the Evidence Act, ratified international and regional instruments, as well as other related or relevant laws as the circumstances may require.

REPRESENTATION AT THE TRIBUNAL
Although not usually necessary, parties may be represented at the hearing by legal counsel of their choice. However, the Complainant at the tribunal need not have a lawyer to represent him as it is in ordinary courts of law. More...