Uganda is a member of the East African Community (EAC) which has a treaty that provides for free movement of people within the region. 

Uganda is also a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which has a mandate to promote regional cooperation and integration among its member states. 

Additionally, Uganda is a member of the African Union (AU).

Uganda is a dualist country. International law does not automatically become part of national law unless it is incorporated into national law by an act of parliament. 

According to Article 123 (1) of the Constitution:  The President or a person authorised by the President may make treaties, conventions, agreements or other arrangements between Uganda and any other country or between Uganda and any international organisation or body, in respect of any matter. Article 123 (2) Parliament shall make laws to govern ratification of treaties, conventions, agreements or other arrangements made under clause (1) of this article. 

The Republic of Uganda is a unitary state with a district-oriented decentralised administrative system, which means the country's governance model provides for local governments at the district level presided over by a central government (Chapter 11, Article 176 Constitution). 

The local governments are semi-autonomous administrative units with governance powers defined under in the Constitution (Chapter 11) and the Local Governments Act (1997). The Constitution and Local Governments Act were last amended in 2015. 

As a former British Protectorate, the legal system of the Republic of Uganda is heavily influenced by the English legal system.  

Uganda’s formal legal system is informed by the precepts of common law such as strict adherence to precedent (doctrines of law pronounced during adjudication) and the operation of the doctrines of equity to compensate for gaps in the law that would otherwise frustrate the ends of justice. Nevertheless, English common law is now subsidiary to Uganda’s Constitution, principle and subsidiary legislation, and customary law.  

The Judicature Act stipulates that “… the common law and the doctrines of equity shall be in force only insofar as the circumstances of Uganda and of its peoples permit, and subject to such qualifications as circumstances may render necessary.” [Judicature Act (cap. 13, Laws of Uganda). The case of Uganda Motors Limited v Wavah Holdings Limited [1992] UGSC 1 (1 July 1992): “The reference to Acts of general applicability was deleted from the 1967 Judicature Act. Such acts consequently no longer apply to Uganda. 

Section 3(2) of Act 11 of 1967 provides for the supremacy of the Constitution… The conclusion can only be that the Acts of general application no longer have any place in the jurisdiction of the High Court, and that is perhaps as it should be.” 

The formal judicial bodies available to refugees at local district and national level are the Magistrate Courts (Grade 2), Magistrate Courts (Grade 2), Chief Magistrate Courts, the High Court, the Court of Appeal (sitting as the Constitutional Court in matters of constitutional interpretation), and, ultimately, the Supreme Court of Uganda. Informal justice systems (traditional courts) may be found in each tribe and conduct dispute settlement according the relevant customs and traditions of the people.  

 The Ugandan legal system recognises "Customary Law" (traditional rules of conduct established by custom and long usage not forming part of English Common Law or formally enacted in any legislation) as an essential part of the legal framework and evidence of an obtaining custom or traditional right or regulation may be adduced in any matter (whether criminal or civil) before a magistrate or judge. However, there is a clear distinction between the formal judicial system and the traditional justice systems, with the jurisdiction of the former prevailing over the latter.  

 An interesting feature of the Ugandan justice system that sits between the formal and traditional legal institutions is the Local Council Court system established by the Local Council Courts Act (13/2006) (herein after "LCCA").  Local Council Courts are designed to be grassroots courts that operate outside of the strictures of legal formalism in their attempts to resolve a limited category of disputes. Under section 3 LCCA, a local council court is established in every village, parish, town, division, and sub-county level as defined in the Local Governments Act.  

 It should be noted that while asylum seekers and refugees have access to the relevant administrative offices, formal judicial systems and LCCs, they do not have access to traditional courts where the right to have a matter adjudicated is generally restricted to members of the tribe or clan. The jurisdiction of these courts does not extend beyond the membership of the tribe or beyond those parties to a dispute that submit to it.  Nevertheless, the asylum seekers and refugees are not denied recourse to their own customary or traditional justice systems in so far as these are not repugnant to Uganda’s laws and constitution or any applicable international law. Additionally, refugees are permitted to form community leadership bodies that can address or advocate for their rights and protections. In the settlements those bodies take that form of Refugee Welfare Committees (RWCs), which are predominantly multi-ethnic associations. While in the urban centres, the community leaderships systems are monoethnic, organised around common tribal, national or ethnic relations as are consistent with their respective cultures, extractions or identities.

Administrative entities of significance to the refugee rights regime at issue include: the Office of the Prime Minister (Department of Refugees), Ministry of Local Government, Local Councils (level 5: District or Municipality), Local Councils (level 4: County), Local Councils (level 3: Division, Sub-County, or Town ), Local Councils (level 2: Parish or Ward), Local Councils (level 1: Village or Cell/Zone). The mandate for the management of refugee affairs is statutorily granted to the Office of Refugees [Section 7, Refugees Act (2006)], which is hosted in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and headed by the Commissioner for Refugees [Section 9, Refugees Act (2006)].  

 At the local governmental level, refugee matters are handled in coordination with each local council, OPM and the District Coordination Committees (DCC), which comprise of law enforcement, security organisations, UPDF attachés, magistrates and local administrators.