In 1998, a year after Uganda Christian University was given a charter, the first of its kind, the School of Law began its operations making it the first private law School and the second law School (after Makerere) to offer an undergraduate degree in law (LL.B) in Uganda.
Since then, the School has been very successful in its art. The School has and is recording tremendous successes in the area of moots, research, where the School makes it a compulsory course unit for its students to engage in the areas of research and later produce papers in those fields.
With up to 1500 students in the faculties of Kampala and the main campus combined, the UCU law School produces the second highest number of students enrolled at Law Development Center, LDC and also having the second largest group of authorized legal practitioners in Uganda. The School of law has also taken the role of a national innovator in the field of legal education. In 2009, the School of Law became the first law programme in Uganda to introduce both oral interviews and supplemental written assessments to the LLB admissions process. In 2009, the School of Law was the first undergraduate legal programme in Uganda to engage its students in extensive community outreach through clinical legal education.
UCU’s School of Law is also the first LLB
programme in Uganda to offer undergraduate classes on legal ethics, alternative dispute resolution and information and communication technology law. Implementation of a new revised curriculum at Uganda Christian University, by Dr. Anthony Kakooza, and Brian Dennison, lecturers at the School of law.
UCU graduates, including law graduates, have a reputation for ethical conduct and moral rectitude. The law degree at UCU is so competitive that every academic year, over 1,000 students send in applications to sit the pre-entry exam.
Today, the School of Law has grown in stature and size and has witnessed one of the fastest growing student’s populations overtime. From only 25 students admitted in 1998, the School’s cumulative enrolment currently stands at over 900 students. The School of Law is now a leading law school in Uganda. Since 1997, the School of Law had been called the School of Law and recently in 2022 took on the form of “School of Law” reflecting the of the teaching of law at the university.
The success and good reputation of the School of Law is built on the work and performance of its lecturers, students and alumni.
The School of Law is looking to the future. With maturity will come new programmes and a more extensive research footprint. With its mission approach to the law, the School’s positive impact on the lives of Ugandans will most assuredly continue.
In January 2015, the School of Law rolled out its Master of law (LLM) programme. In addition, the School under the leadership of Lecturer Peter Mutesasira – introduced an LLM in Oil and Gas Law in March 2015. As members of the School of Law, to attain more qualifications and experience, the research impact of the School of Law is certain to increase. Recent doctoral recipients like Anthony Kakooza, Brian Kalenge and Asa Mugenyi, bring a passion for research and writing that is certain to bear considerable fruit. Other School staff members such as Brian Denission, Peter Mutesasira, Moses Mulumba and Godard Busingye attained their doctorate degrees in Law, while others like Arnold Agaba are currently pursuing their Doctoral degrees in Law.
Finally, the religious and moral compass of the School of Law will guide it to be a difference make in the lives of Ugandans. The School is already making its mark in terms of public service through its Clinical Education Programme. The School takes God’s “heart for justice” seriously. As a result, it will continue to look for opportunities to improve access to justice and structural accountability within the justice sector. The School of Law is confident that funding resources will be made available to grow such initiative going forward.