This study examined how Ugandan law protected children in conflict with the law and children in need of care, using juvenile justice and child protection litigation as a case study. Doctrinal analysis of Study 34 of the 1995 Constitution, the Children Act and selected decisions was combined with a quantitative review of 330 child-related court files. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression were applied. Legal representation, filing of a probation report and trial in a Family and Children Court reduced pre-trial detention by 3.43, 1.75 and 2.58 weeks respectively, while serious offences and older age lengthened it; the model explained 54.1 per cent of the variance. Representation, probation reports and Family and Children Court jurisdiction lowered the odds of a custodial sentence by 79, 69 and 64 per cent, whereas serious offences raised them 4.51 times. The study concluded that the Children Act provided a child-sensitive framework whose protection depended on specialised courts, social inquiry and counsel. Recommendations addressed diversion, legal aid, probation capacity and agedetermination safeguards.