Acts of Parliament Act

Provides definitions for terms used in the Act, including "Act", "assent", "bill", "certificate", "clerk", "Electoral Commission", "Government printer", "original copies", "Parliament", "session", and "Speaker".

This Act applies to the forms of Acts of Parliament and requires the forms of bills to correspond with this Act.

An Act must have a short title at its head immediately followed by a long title describing the Act's leading provisions.

Every Act must be prefaced by the words of enactment specified in the First Schedule to this Act.

If an Act contains more than one enactment it must be divided into sections; if a section contains more than one enactment it must be divided into subsections.

Statutes in Uganda must be styled as "Acts" unless the situation warrants otherwise.

Every Act is a public Act and shall be judicially noticed as a public Act.

If a bill is returned under article 91 and Parliament passes it again, the clerk must present the bill to the President for assent.

The clerk must enter the Act's number on a signed copy of the Act when it becomes law (including when signed by the President or when it becomes law without the President's assent).

Original copies of Acts prepared and certified by the clerk are deemed original; the clerk must prepare and certify four copies when a bill becomes law without the President’s assent under specified constitutional articles, and two original copies shall be retained by or given to the President.

The Government Printer must publish every Act as soon as possible after the President's assent is signified or after the bill otherwise becomes law without assent; the publication omits certain statements from original copies and inserts assent and commencement dates when known.

The clerk must, as soon as possible after Parliament passes a bill, send the bill text to the Government printer to print ten durable copies, make necessary corrections, compare and sign the copies if correct, and present them to the President for assent.

The President must assent to a bill presented under section 8 by signing each copy with the specified statement, subject to article 91 or 262 of the Constitution.

An Act comes into force on the date the Act provides, or if none is provided, on the date of its publication in the Gazette; Acts take effect at the first moment of their commencement day, retrospective commencement is the date the retrospective effect is given, and an Act is without effect until Gazette notification of publication for subsection (4).

The citation of the short title of an Act is sufficient to identify the Act.

Specified officers must make certificates in the forms set out in Parts V–X of the Second Schedule for particular constitutional amendment bills; certificates signed by the Speaker or the chairperson of the Electoral Commission are prima facie evidence of the facts stated.

An Act passed in any session of Parliament may be amended or repealed in the same session.

The Attorney General may reprint and approve amended Acts and may order revised editions; the Attorney General must appoint a day in the approval order for judicial notice; instruments ordering revised editions must be laid before Parliament and may be annulled by Parliament within forty sitting days.

The "date of passing" of an Act is the day the President gives assent to the bill or the day it became an Act without the President’s assent under article 91 or 262 of the Constitution; the apparent date on an Act is to be received as evidence and judicially noticed.