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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2003 |
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Court dismissed appeal, upholding closure of defence for non-appearance and affirming joint grant of letters of administration.
Civil procedure – Adjournment – Order 15 r.1/3 CPR – discretionary, granted only for sufficient cause; defendant's failure to appear – Order 9 r.17(1)(a) CPR – closing defence; wills and letters of administration – validity of will and grant to respondent jointly with Administrator General; advocacy conduct – oral statement of counsel not equivalent to formal withdrawal.
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19 December 2003 |
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10 December 2003 |
| November 2003 |
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27 November 2003 |
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An unendorsed Notice of Appeal missing date/time is a nullity, making the appeal incompetent and liable to be struck out with costs.
Appeal procedure – Notice of Appeal – mandatory endorsement by High Court Registrar and indication of date/time – absence renders notice a nullity; service of notice must be proved; procedural rules substantive, not mere technicalities.
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27 November 2003 |
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27 November 2003 |
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An appeal against an ex parte summary judgment is properly before the Court of Appeal, rejecting objections of incompetence.
Civil procedure – Summary procedure – Order 33 Civil Procedure Rules – Ex parte judgment – Right of appeal against ex parte decree – Appellate jurisdiction – Preliminary objections to competence of appeal.
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27 November 2003 |
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Service on appellants’ counsel in compliance with court order was effective; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – service of process – effect of service on an advocate who represented multiple appellants – substituted service; Rules 17 and 18 – change of address for service – requirement of notice – refusal of counsel to accept service does not invalidate prior effective service.
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20 November 2003 |
| October 2003 |
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In-house counsel not entitled to instruction fees unless paid; VAT on costs requires proof of registration or payment.
Costs — instruction fees — in-house counsel employed on salary — no separate payment — unjust enrichment — disallowance of instruction fees. VAT on costs — disbursement — requires evidence of registration as taxable person or actual payment — suspension until proof produced.
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17 October 2003 |
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Court stayed High Court judgment and execution pending appeal due to procedural irregularities and unclear execution status.
Civil procedure – stay of execution pending appeal; application not necessarily overtaken by execution affidavit where record is ambiguous; apparent tampering of annexed sale agreement; simultaneous warrants of arrest and attachment; stay granted in interest of justice; costs to abide appeal result.
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13 October 2003 |
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Amendment of pleadings and issuance of fresh summons can cure earlier defective service; dismissal under Order 9 r16(1) is discretionary.
Civil procedure – service of summons – effect of serving summons after prescribed time – Order 9 r16(1) discretionary dismissal; amendment of pleadings and fresh summons – section 103 Civil Procedure Act; waiver by failure to appeal magistrate’s ruling; costs – appellate restraint on interfering with judicial discretion.
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10 October 2003 |
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Extension of time granted where delay was due to lawyers' negligence; adjournment by letter refused.
Court of Appeal – Extension of time under rule 4 – Discretionary relief where sufficient cause shown; negligence of counsel not visited on client; adjournment cannot be sought by letter – Rule 55(2) – Relevant authorities: Paul Masiqa; Alhaii Ziraf Balveiusa; Haili Mardin Matovu.
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3 October 2003 |
| September 2003 |
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Court dismissed application to revisit its judgment, holding it lacked jurisdiction to reverse a deliberate decision and awarded costs to respondent.
* Civil procedure – Recall/variation of judgment – Limits of court’s jurisdiction to correct clerical/arithmetic mistakes or slips versus rehearing merits – Applicant must show inadvertent omission or error on face of record; cannot use slip procedure to reverse a deliberate judgment.
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19 September 2003 |
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A court cannot reverse its deliberate judgment in the same proceedings absent a clerical or accidental omission.
Court procedure — jurisdiction to revisit judgments; inherent jurisdiction and slip orders — limited to clerical/arithmetic mistakes or accidental omissions; appellate courts will not reverse deliberate judgments in same proceedings; costs — unsuccessful revisiting application dismissed with costs.
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19 September 2003 |
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Application to admit fresh evidence on appeal refused for lack of sufficient reason and no prima facie fraud; costs awarded to respondents.
Appeal procedure – Rule 29 – Admission of additional/fresh evidence on appeal; Practice — preferred that applications for further evidence be made at hearing of appeal though single judge may hear them; Requirements for fresh evidence — explanation for non-production at trial and potential to affect judgment (Ladd v Marshall); Failure to list or inspect documents at trial precludes later admission; No prima facie fraud shown.
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16 September 2003 |
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Application to admit fresh evidence on appeal dismissed: single judge may hear application but applicant failed to show sufficient reason or prima facie fraud.
Civil procedure – Appeal – Rule 29 admission of additional evidence – Practice: preferably at appeal hearing though single judge has concurrent jurisdiction – Fresh evidence must be shown to be unavailable with reasonable diligence during trial and, if proffered, must prima facie affect the judgment; mere late production without adequate explanation is insufficient.
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16 September 2003 |
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Court enlarged time and validated a cross-appeal filed late due to counsel’s oversight, prioritising substantive justice.
* Civil procedure – extension of time – Rule 4 Court of Appeal Rules – validation of notice of cross-appeal filed out of time.
* Advocacy – counsel’s oversight – when mistakes of counsel constitute sufficient cause not to penalise litigant.
* Constitutional principle – Article 126(2)(e) – substantive justice over technicalities.
* Costs – award of costs where respondent had applied to strike out notice.
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12 September 2003 |
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Court validated a late notice of cross-appeal caused by counsel's error and extended time, awarding costs to respondent.
* Civil procedure – extension of time – Rule 4 Court of Appeal Rules – validation of late notice of cross-appeal.
* Procedural lapse by counsel – when mistakes of advocates justify enlargement of time.
* Substantive justice – Article 126(2)(e) invoked to avoid undue technicality.
* Costs – successful enlargement of time but costs awarded to respondent.
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12 September 2003 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications
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8 September 2003 |
| August 2003 |
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A buyer is entitled to reject goods unfit for purpose and claim refund and damages where a seller breaches implied conditions of contract.
Contract law – Sale of goods – Implied condition as to fitness for purpose – Right of buyer to reject defective goods – Calculation of refund and damages on breach of contract – Costs follow the event.
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26 August 2003 |
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Appeal dismissed — Taxing Master’s disallowance of general disbursements upheld and instruction fee assessment under Schedule 6 sustained.
* Taxation of costs – disbursements – travel, hotel and subsistence claimed for hearing – must be specifically shown to relate to withdrawn counterclaim to be recoverable. * Advocates’ remuneration – Rule 40 – discretion to assess necessity of separate pleadings and allowance of separate instruction fees. * Instruction fees – Schedule 6 considerations – taxing officer must weigh length, responsibility and stakes; lump sum award not to be disturbed absent manifest excess. * Perusal fees – assessed under prescribed scales; no prejudice where Schedules coincide. * Costs – discretionary; appellate court will not interfere absent irregularity or manifest error.
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20 August 2003 |
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19 August 2003 |
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Summary dismissal at scheduling conference for non-production of irrelevant sale agreement set aside; matter remitted for retrial.
Civil procedure – scheduling conference – summary dismissal for failure to produce document – relevance of sale agreement where ownership admitted – duty to afford opportunity to produce documents – remit for retrial; costs to abide outcome.
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18 August 2003 |
| July 2003 |
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11 July 2003 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications|Property Law|Mortgage, loans and bonds|Mortgage
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10 July 2003 |
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Stay of execution refused: applicant failed to show substantial loss and did not provide required security for costs.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Order 39 r 4(3) CPR — Applicant must show substantial loss, no unreasonable delay, and provide security for costs; compliance with Court of Appeal rules on security (Rule 104) required.
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10 July 2003 |
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The Administrator General was found liable for misappropriation of estate funds and ordered to pay beneficiaries with interest and damages.
Estate administration – liability of Administrator General for loss of estate funds – negligence – calculation of damages – applicability of Currency Reform Statute – measure of damages in trust and fiduciary claims.
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7 July 2003 |
| June 2003 |
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Appeal dismissed due to proper authorization of legal proceedings by corporate directors and unaffected status of co-plaintiff.
Civil procedure – Competence of appeal – Non-joinder of parties – Company law – Authority to undertake legal proceedings.
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30 June 2003 |
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An appeal filed without mandatory leave is incompetent, rendering related interim applications unenforceable and dismissible.
Civil procedure – Appeal competency – Requirement of leave to appeal from tribunal – Appeal filed without mandatory leave is incompetent and divests court of jurisdiction; interlocutory applications founded on such incompetent appeals are likewise incompetent; single judge’s powers under rule 52(1)(c) are limited.
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30 June 2003 |
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A party may recover money paid on an agreement automatically terminated by its own terms, but is not entitled to damages for breach.
Contract law – Termination of contract by automatic clause – Misrepresentation – Money had and received – Remedies for failure to perform – Measure of recovery upon termination of contract – Damages for breach where claimant’s conduct prevents performance.
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30 June 2003 |
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27 June 2003 |
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27 June 2003 |
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Court reduced an excessive instruction fee and disallowed copy charges, taxing respondent’s bill to Shs.2,038,000/-.
Costs — Taxation of costs after withdrawal — Instruction fee manifestly excessive reduced to reasonable sum — Copy charges disallowed — Disbursements allowed.
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4 June 2003 |
| May 2003 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications
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30 May 2003 |
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Res judicata and prior consent judgment barred appellant’s interlocutory claim; appeal against refusal of temporary injunction dismissed.
* Civil procedure — interlocutory relief — temporary injunction — criteria and exercise of discretion.
* Res judicata and preclusion — prior High Court ruling and consent judgment binding parties — failure to appeal.
* Property/lease — purported re‑entry and alleged breach of lease — effect limited where prior judgments exist and where vendor sold Mailo interest.
* Procedural irregularity — application for interlocutory relief cannot be used to re‑open adjudicated issues.
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19 May 2003 |
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Criminal law
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8 May 2003 |
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A repeated or incorrect trade name in a plaint is a correctable misnomer; striking out the plaint was improper.
Civil procedure — Pleadings — Misnomer v. fatal defect — plaint must be read with annexures; cause of action disclosed where contract, delivery and non-payment pleaded — Court’s power to amend pleadings (section 103 Civil Procedure Act; Order 6 r.18) — Rejection under Order 7 r.11 permissible only where no legitimate amendment can cure defect — striking out for drafting errors in title improper.
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8 May 2003 |
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A losing parliamentary candidate cannot have his qualifications challenged via an answer to his election petition, and minor irregularities in results forms do not warrant annulment of the poll.
Election petitions – Parliamentary Elections Act – locus standi – challenge to qualifications of losing candidate – electoral irregularities and ballot paper anomalies – disenfranchisement of voters – compliance with statutory requirements for affidavits – award of costs in election petitions.
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8 May 2003 |
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Criminal law
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7 May 2003 |
| April 2003 |
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11 April 2003 |
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4 April 2003 |
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A registered proprietor’s title cannot be cancelled without proof of fraud; a lapsed lease offer does not confer an enforceable interest.
Land law – Registration of Titles Act – cancellation of title – bona fide purchaser for value without notice – proof and standard of fraud – lease offers and customary tenure – failure to prove enforceable interest – consequences of lapsed lease offers.
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1 April 2003 |
| March 2003 |
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17 March 2003 |
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An application filed in the name of a deceased person’s legal representative is incompetent unless substituted on record by court order.
Civil procedure – incompetence where proceedings are filed in the name of a deceased person; requirement that legal representatives be substituted on record by court order (Order 21 Rule 3 CPR/Rule of Court) before instituting appeals; adjournment will not cure an inherently incompetent filing.
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13 March 2003 |
| February 2003 |
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Illiteracy and mere non-advice by previous counsel do not automatically justify extension of time to appeal.
Civil procedure — Extension of time under Rule 4 — Sufficient cause must relate to failure to take procedural step and delay must not be self-caused — Illiteracy or non-advice by former counsel not automatically sufficient — Informing counsel of desire to appeal is not same as instructing them to act.
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28 February 2003 |
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A criminal conviction does not establish civil ownership in detinue; appellant proved ownership and was awarded damages.
Property law — Detinue and conversion — Ownership disputed after police seizure — Criminal conviction not conclusive in civil proceedings (Hollington principle) — Need to identify stolen chattel by serial/unique marks — Burden and proof of special damages — Award of general damages where special damages not strictly proved.
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25 February 2003 |
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Criminal law
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17 February 2003 |
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Criminal law
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16 February 2003 |
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Court clarified limited grounds for correcting its own judgment, allowing only correction of accidental slips but not deliberate decisions.
Slip rule – Court of Appeal’s inherent jurisdiction – correction of judgments – accidental slips and omissions distinguished from deliberate judicial decisions – principles for judicial correction of judgments – application of qualitative vs. quantitative test in election petitions – costs discretion.
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10 February 2003 |
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Civil Procedure|Actions and applications|Property Law|Land|Land Dispute
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9 February 2003 |
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Criminal law
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5 February 2003 |
