The Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits School of Law has applied to be admitted as an amicus curiae in a challenge to Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, a law that has been widely denounced as draconian.
Three petitions have been launched in Uganda's Constitutional Court by individuals and human rights organisations, who say the law was passed without meaningful public participation. There is precedent for the petitioner's arguments in this regard, they say, because in 2014, the Constitutional Court annulled a similar law because there was no quorum in Uganda's Parliament when it was passed.
In her application to join the proceedings, Dr Sheena Justine Semmer, the head of the Gender Justice Programme, said the principle of meaningful public participation - not merely granting individuals a platform to voice their concerns - was rooted in international law.