The Independence Of The Parliament Of Uganda In Implementing Its Legislative Role Since 1995

ABSTRACT

This is a study on the Parliamentary Independence, a doctrine that has attained universal force which requires that Parliament must act independently. Parliament is the only institution that is entrusted with the role of making new laws and amending or repealing the existing laws. It therefore means that for efficient making oflaws, Parliament must not be subject to any person or authority in the exercise of its Legislative role. The study looks at the origin or the genesis of the doctrine of Legislative Independence (Parliament), its link with the British monarch rule and why it became important to separate the three (3) arms of government. It is fundamental that for the three (3) arms of government to act efficiently and meaningf~lly to the people, there has to be a clear separation of powers within the Legislature, Executive and Judicially. The separation of arms promotes independence of the arms and enhances checks and balance with high level of accountability. Parliament being the sole organ with the Constitutional mandate to make laws has a high responsibility to protect the democratic governance of Uganda. This is a responsibility that can only be fully and meaningfully performed by an Independent, fearless and impartial Parliament. The research looks into the legal basis and legal provisions on Parliamentary independence both National and International levels are studied into extensively. The legal basis highlights the basic principles of the Independence of Parliament, Financial Security, Autonomy of the institution and protection from liability arising fi·om implementing its Legislative role. The study looks at the performance of Parliament in Uganda, the reason why it has not been effective in implementing its legislative role. It is looked at in this research to what level has Parliament acted independently and why still the public still perceive Parliament as not being independent, Interference by the Executive arm and Corruption are some factors that have affected the efficiency of Parliament in implementing its legislative role. The study finally looks into the possible solutions to the problems that have negatively affected the Independence of Parliament in form of recommendations.