Mr Peter Kabatsi > Kampala Associated Advocates > Kampala, Uganda > Lawyer Profile

Mr Peter Kabatsi

Work Department

Litigation and Arbitration , Banking, Finance and Agriculture

Position

Partner

Career

He is currently a Senior Partner at the firm, where he jointly heads the litigation department. The department has and continues to successfully represent several local and international clients in varied sectors including oil and gas, telecommunications as well as public bodies and government agencies.

Peter has had a long career in the legal profession and has had the opportunity to serve in various legal positions both in Uganda and internationally through which he has gained wide ranging experience in legal practice. It has also equipped him with the ability to handle or advise on any matter that he is presented with, whether locally or internationally.

He served as Uganda’s Solicitor General between 1990 and 2002 where he was the legal advisor and representative of government in all matters at a national and international level. As Solicitor General, he worked as the principle legal officer for the Government and all its bodies and organisations. Peter handled all civil matters brought to the government and gave legal opinions on all Government contracts.  As Solicitor General it was his responsibility to vet and approve all draft bills prepared by the First Parliamentary Counsel. During his twelve years in office every law that was passed was therefore drafted under his supervision.

As Solicitor General he supervised the drafting of all new laws during his time in office. Examples of these laws include the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, the Companies Act, the Contract Act, the Copyright Act, the Copyright Act, the Electronic Media Act and the Financial Institutions Act. He was also responsible for the revision and amendment of all laws from 1964 to 2000.

In the period between 1986 and 1990, he was the Director of Public Prosecutions charged with, among others, institution and prosecution of criminal proceedings. During his tenure, he planned and helped with the removal of tedious, costly and overly lengthy committal proceedings which resulted in more expeditious criminal trials before the High Court. This also protects prosecution witnesses from pre-trial interferences and harm by accused persons and their agents.

Peter has had the occasion to practice law internationally and has held a number of positions worldwide. He was the President of the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC) which is the body of experts that is mandated with codifying and developing international law. Prior to that, he had served as the Commission’s Vice President, General Rapporteur and member. During my presidency, the ILC completed and delivered the following draft Conventions to the world, through the United Nations General Assembly

He has also served as a legal expert on a number of committees. Between 2001 -2002, he was part of a 4 member Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Commission of legal experts tasked with reviewing the proceedings and the conduct of the Lockerbie case and other circumstances concerning the case.

In 1988, he was a member of the Preparatory Committee of Experts for the establishment of the United Nations African Institute for Crime Prevention and Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI) now established in Kampala.

Between 1989 and 1990, he was appointed by the OAU as a member of a small group of experts that drafted the BAMAKO CONVENTION on Trans Boundary Movement of Toxic Wastes and Hazardous Substances.

In 1991, he was a member of the Committee of Experts for the review of the Montreal Protocol on the ozone layer, Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

Peter is on the List of Counsel eligible to practice before the International Criminal Court. This list was created to ensure that persons implicated in proceedings before the Court benefit from effective legal representation. Additionally, he is an attorney and notary in the Kingdom of Lesotho where he also served as Principal Crown Counsel.  I am also qualified to practice in the courts of Rwanda.

As Solicitor General of Uganda, he led many Ugandan delegations in bilateral and multilateral negotiations including country negotiations with IMF, the World Bank as well as other International Organisations, Arbitrations, Conferences, Seminars and Workshops.

Languages

English , Luganda , Runyankore, Kinyarwanda.

Memberships

• Member, Uganda Law Society
• Member, East African Law Society

Education

Certificate in Human Rights (CHR) Strasbourg, France
Law Development Centre; Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice
LLB from Makerere University