Ugandan Supreme Court judge Justice Mike Chibita believes the rule of law boils down to due process, and seeing it in action at the most basic levels of society.
At the Fiji Law Society Convention in Nadi yesterday, Justice Chibita cited the example of a husband and wife who want to separate.
“There is a law to enforce, and you have to go through the process of divorce with a hearing and then the court pronounces the divorce under certain conditions,” he said.
“When I was a High Court judge, I sentenced a few people to death, but even then, we had to follow due process.
“In the courts, due process will remain, which is the rule of law.
Justice Chibita said the courts’ decisions were enforced once a judge had made a decision.
“Unless, of course, the other way of doing due process is appealing the decision, and even with that, there is due process.”
Justice Chibita was responding to a question posed by a participant during the Identity and Sovereignty in a Changing Region session.
During the discussions, Justice Chibita reiterated the importance of the rule of law in any jurisdiction.
Drawing from his Ugandan experience, he said the rule of law was vital for any economy.
Speakers explored the evolving constitutional landscape across Pacific nations with a comparative lens.
Discussions focused on how constitutional design, indigenous rights, and democratic governance intersected in multi ethnic societies, especially in the wake of political upheavals and shifting norms.
