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.