KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF LAW

COURSE : LLB
COURSE UNIT : CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
YEAR : THREE
SEMESTER : TWO
LECTURER NAME : COUNSEL KAZIBA IBRAHIM MPAATA

GROUP MEMBERS
NO NAME REG.NO SIGN
1 NSANYUSE JOSHUA 2021-08-05313
2 ABESIGA JOHN RODERRICK 2021-08-05605
3 KAGINA PATRICK 2021-08-05720
4 SSESANGA AKRAM 2021-08-06761
5 YESIGA JIM 2021-08-06229
6 NAMANYA MOSES 2021-08-05836
7 NAMARA SHILLA 2021-08-06257
8 AKATAMBIRA MARK 2021-08-05981
9 NAMBAZIIRA OLIVIA 2021-08-06498
10 KOBUSINGYE HALIMA 2021-08-06438
11 SSEKAMATE EMMANUEL 2021-08-06535

ASSIGNMENT
NATURE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

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Law is generally divided into two parts ie. Substantive law that defines rights,
duties and liabilities and procedural law that regulates the conduct of
proceedings

Criminal procedures is sometimes referred to as adjectival law in that it

describes the application of the criminal law and regulates the procedure by
which criminal offenders are brought to justice

The application of criminal procedures is wholly dependent on understanding

the general principles of criminal law as a whole such as definition of a crime,
ingredients of an offence or the criminal intent (mens rea). A crime has no
agreed definition, however can be understood to mean a wrong committed by
an individual in the society. The penal code act has therefore opted to use the
term offence in place of a crime to mean an act, attempt or omission
punishable by law

The essential element of object of criminal law is to protect society against

criminals and law breaks. For this purpose the law breakers and as well
attempt to make the actual offenders suffer the prescribed punishment for
their crimes

Criminal procedure is composed of the laws and rules governing the series of
proceedings through which substantive criminal law is enforced

The Uganda criminal justice system is by its nature an adversarial and

accusatorial model. Criminal procedure must balance the suspects’/accused’s
rights and country’s interests in a speedy and efficient trial with the desire for
justice. Therefore the rules of criminal procedures are designed to ensure that
the suspects’/accused’s rights are protected.

The rules of criminal procedure are different from those of civil procedure
because the two areas (criminal and civil) have different objectives, standards
of proof and results

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Purpose of criminal procedure

To give the prosecution an opportunity to prove their case against the accused

To enable the accused to exercise his/her fundamental right to defend

himself/herself if he/she so wishes

To ensure that the accused is fried by an independent and impartial court

To punish the accused if found guilty of the charge laid against him/her

To acquit the suspect of no sufficient evidence is available to convict

All these purposes are rooted in the principle of fairness to both the accused
and the victim. Fair trial is not only a basic human right recognized under
international law, but also essential for the effective prosecution of human
rights violations, the punishment of the perpetrators and the delivery of justice
to the victims

The principle of fair trial encompasses all that is related a fair trial before the
trail in court actually occurs, such as the investigation of the crime and
collecting of evidence. It comprises positive and negative obligations. The
positive aspect involves ensuring that all investigations into crimes and
complaints are carried out properly, the necessary charges/ indictments field
and cases prosecuted according to the law. The negative aspect involves not
implicating individuals without sufficient cause, not allowing cases to proceed
in court without sufficient evidence and eliminating any abuse of power within
the prosecution mechanism

Criminal procedure in intended to provide for the just, speedy determination of

criminal proceedings without the purpose or effect or discrimination based
upon race, color, creed religion, and sex with regard to public assistance
disability, handicap in communication or age

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The laws of criminal procedure are construed to secure simplicity in
procedure , fairness in administration and elimination of unjustifiable expense
and delay. If involves the balancing of the liberty of the citizen against the
interest of the community as a whole

Criminal prosecutions are always brought in the name of the state because in
criminal trial nether the victim of the criminal act or his/her individual
sympathizers is taking part in a revenge for the wrong done

The state on the other hand, is usually the complainant and the prosecutor
because it is the state which through its legislative arm enacts laws breach of
which or such laws by any criminal activity in direct conflict with interest of
the state. Thus, as the custodian of the legal and administrative order, the
state becomes a complainant when her laws are breached

The state seeks redress on behalf of the victim by punishing the offender who
is the accused. Since it is the duty of the state to protect the society, and it
takes the responsibility to prosecute those who commit crimes. The victim
usually appears as the witness.

In any criminal proceedings the prosecution shall be designated by the word

“Uganda” this means that in law every crime is against the state which is the
complainant as provided under Article 250(4) of the 1995 Constitution of
the Republic of Uganda. This therefore means that where a case is instituted
without “Uganda” as the prosecution, there is no criminal charge before the
trial court

In the case of Uganda V Byaruhanga, 1 court held that it is the duty of the
magistrate to ensure that their clients use, their correct terminology on all
court records and in this case the proper designation is Uganda V so and so…
and therefore a field cover which was inscribed state v salmon kaifa 2 was
improper

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CA No.13 of 2022 UGHCCRD 78

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The law of criminal procedure is mainly contained in the following legislation;
the criminal procedure Act, the Magistrate Court Act, the trail on Indictment
Act, the Police Act, inter alia.

In conclusion therefore, the criminal procedure is complementary of the

substantive criminal law its failure would seriously affect the substantive
criminal law which in turn would considerably affect the prosecution that it
gives to the society. Therefore it has been rightly said that too much expenses,
delay and uncertainty in applying the law of criminal procedure would render
even the best penal laws useless and oppressive.