|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 2023 |
|
|
|
30 December 2023 |
|
A taxpayer's submitted financial statements and tax returns can establish interest payment, rendering the appellant liable for withholding tax.
Tax law – withholding tax on interest to non-residents – timing of liability (when interest paid) – evidentiary weight of financial statements and filed tax returns – contra proferentum and estoppel in tax reviews – High Court limited to questions of law but may reappraise where Tribunal errs on evidence.
|
29 December 2023 |
|
Costs follow the event; sovereign immunity does not bar taxation where participation was involuntary.
Civil procedure – taxation of costs – costs follow the event; sovereign/jurisdictional immunity – constructive waiver and involuntary participation; party capacity – liability for costs of wrongly joined parties; court’s discretion under section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act.
|
29 December 2023 |
|
An administrative ruling cannot displace the statutory primacy of the transaction value method for customs valuation; appeal dismissed.
Customs valuation – EACCMA s.122 and Fourth Schedule – transaction value is primary; fallback method residuary; administrative rulings cannot alter statutory hierarchy; delegated instrument ultra vires to extent of inconsistency; requirement to assess genuineness of import documents; arbitrary uplift of declared value unlawful.
|
29 December 2023 |
|
VAT liability can predate registration and estoppel cannot bar the tax authority from assessing pre-registration VAT.
VAT Act s6(2) – VAT liability may predate registration; Tax Procedure Code Act s23(2)(a) – additional assessments after audit; Estoppel – equity cannot override clear taxing statutes; Tax Appeals Tribunal appeals – High Court limited to questions of law.
|
29 December 2023 |
|
|
22 December 2023 |
|
Court granted conditional pre-judgment relief to prevent asset dissipation, protecting statutory gaming bond from immediate attachment.
Order 40 CPR – Attachment before judgment; statutory security bonds – limited to tax/employee/participant claims under Lotteries and Gaming Act s.40(2); prima facie requirement and risk of asset dissipation; court discretion to order freezing of funds or require security; regulator not liable to furnish security.
|
22 December 2023 |
|
An application to set aside an arbitral award was dismissed as time-barred; the award was recognized and enforced as a court decree.
* Arbitration — setting aside award — time limit under s.34(3) — 30 days runs from date award delivered at agreed registry. * Arbitration and Conciliation Act — specific code — excludes reliance on general procedural statutes for time computation. * Enforcement — where time to set aside has lapsed, award may be recognized and enforced as a court decree under s.36. * Court declines to consider substantive grounds where application is time-barred.
|
20 December 2023 |
|
Application to set aside ex parte judgment and stay execution dismissed for ineffective excuse and lack of sufficient cause.
Civil procedure – Order 9 Rule 27 – setting aside ex parte judgment; service deemed effective where counsel refuses receipt; sufficient cause vs good cause; counsel negligence not automatically excusing client; Order 22 Rules 23 & 26 – stay of execution and security requirements.
|
19 December 2023 |
|
Applicant failed to raise a triable defence; managing director’s acknowledgment bound the company, judgment for UGX 55,000,000 and costs.
Civil procedure – summary judgment – Order 36 Rule 3: leave to appear and defend requires a bona fide triable issue; Company law – acts of managing director bind the company absent evidence of lack of authority or board disavowal; Acknowledgment of debt signed by company officer is admissible and binding; Costs follow the event.
|
15 December 2023 |
|
|
15 December 2023 |
|
|
15 December 2023 |
|
Applicant granted leave to defend because the 8% monthly interest rate raised a triable issue of unconscionability.
Civil procedure – Order 36 summary procedure – Leave to appear and defend – Defendant must show bona fide triable issue; Interest law – Whether agreed 8% per month is harsh/unconscionable under s.26(1) Civil Procedure Act and governed by Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders Act; Summary judgment procedure not appropriate where triable issue of interest exists.
|
15 December 2023 |
|
Applicant’s interim injunction to prevent eviction pending arbitration dismissed for lack of serious question and irreparable harm.
Arbitration law – Section 6 ACA – interim measures pending arbitration; competence‑competence – tribunal’s jurisdiction to rule on validity; interlocutory injunction test – serious question to be arbitrated, irreparable harm (damages inadequate), balance of convenience; eviction and adequacy of damages.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
Court found agreed 36% interest unconscionable, reduced it to 24% and awarded costs to the applicant.
Civil Procedure Act s.26(1) – agreed contractual interest – whether rate is harsh and unconscionable; court’s discretion to set a just rate; reduction of contractual interest to prevailing commercial rate; Civil Procedure Act s.27(2) – costs follow the event.
|
14 December 2023 |
|
|
13 December 2023 |
|
|
13 December 2023 |
|
The applicant succeeds on a commercial loan claim; respondents liable and properties did not secure the loan as sale predated it.
* Contract law – breach of contract – failure to complete works and repay loan. * Security and property – validity of security where sale preceded loan; parol evidence rule. * Suretyship – guarantor liability under Contracts Act s.71. * Remedies – award of principal, pre- and post-judgment interest at commercial rate, general damages and costs.
|
12 December 2023 |
|
The applicant, as purchaser after a lawful mortgage sale, is entitled to vacant possession and costs against the respondent.
Mortgage law – power of sale and delivery of vacant possession – statutory notices and sale procedure under the Mortgage Act – effect of registration of title – substituted service and ex parte relief – costs follow the event.
|
11 December 2023 |
|
Bank entitled to recover overdue overdraft; guarantor liable to guaranteed limit, with damages, interest and costs awarded.
Commercial law – Overdraft repayable on demand; breach of contract for non-payment; enforceability and limit of personal guarantee; remedies: debt recovery, general damages, interest, costs.
|
11 December 2023 |
|
Respondents breached a commercial lease by failing to pay rent and causing structural damage; applicant awarded eviction and damages.
* Contract law – breach of commercial lease – unpaid rent and obligations to maintain premises; enforceability of express lease terms.
* Evidence – unchallenged documentary and expert evidence treated as admitted; burden on party pleading force majeure.
* Remedies – eviction, recovery of arrears, general damages, interest and costs; future repair estimates not recoverable as special damages before works performed.
* Procedure – counterclaim dismissed for want of prosecution where no evidence is led.
|
8 December 2023 |
|
Substituted newspaper service sufficed to set aside dismissal, permitting default judgment for a liquidated debt with contractual interest.
Substituted service by newspaper publication; setting aside dismissal for non-service; default judgment on liquidated claim under Order 9 Rule 6; contractual commercial interest; costs of application versus costs of suit.
|
8 December 2023 |
|
Applicant in contempt and failed to satisfy criteria for stay; stay of execution dismissed with costs.
Stay of execution — requirements for grant: notice of appeal, imminent execution threat, security for performance, absence of unreasonable delay, likelihood of success, and risk of substantial/irreparable loss; Contempt — failure to comply with court order bars relief until purged; Demand letter alone does not constitute imminent execution.
|
7 December 2023 |
|
A court awarded recovery of outstanding debt, interest, general damages, and costs after breach of a credit supply contract.
Contract law – Supply of goods on credit – Breach of contract – Indebtedness and acknowledgment – Remedies recoverable including interest and general damages – Ex parte proceedings.
|
7 December 2023 |
|
|
6 December 2023 |
|
|
6 December 2023 |
|
|
5 December 2023 |
|
Court ordered release of detained export goods to the shipper for re‑export after finding the consignee was struck off the Register.
* Company law – strike‑off – legal consequence of being struck off the Register: loss of legal existence and locus to litigate. * Customs/Trade – detention and release of goods by revenue authority acting as tax collection agent; change of destination/ownership under EACCM s.24(4). * Remedies – court‑ordered repossession for re‑export conditional on indemnity, payment of fees and shipping‑line request.
|
5 December 2023 |
|
A judicial order recalled on administrative instruction was set aside for breaching functus officio and decisional independence; garnishee reinstated.
Civil procedure – review and functus officio – limited exceptions to re‑opening final orders; slip rule (s.99 Civil Procedure Act) permits correction of clerical slips only; review for error apparent on face of record. Execution – attachment – property liable to execution is property of judgment debtor or over which it has disposing power; statutory or constitutionally declared exempt funds only exempt from attachment. Constitutional/judicial administration – decisional independence — administrative instruction to alter a judicial order impermissible.
|
4 December 2023 |
|
Court refuses to set aside bailiff’s valuation absent manifest error; forced-sale value, not market value, governs execution sales.
Civil procedure – execution – forced-sale value vs market value; Valuation – expert reports; standards to challenge (manifest error, wrong methodology, omission); Valuation methods – cost, market, income/DCF; Court supervisory role over valuation; Contempt — duty to purge before relief.
|
1 December 2023 |
|
A memorandum of understanding was enforceable; defendant breached it and plaintiff recovered damages, interest, and costs.
* Contract law – Memorandum of Understanding held enforceable as a contract; terms binding absent fraud or misrepresentation. * Breach of contract – failure to pay agreed consideration and default on loan leading to foreclosure. * Damages – special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved; documentary evidence supported repayment sums. * Mesne profits – claim disallowed for lack of evidence. * Interest and costs – interest awarded at commercial rates and costs follow the event.
|
1 December 2023 |
| November 2023 |
|
|
A mortgagee must produce the mortgage instrument and sufficient evidence before obtaining foreclosure and eviction.
Mortgage law — foreclosure and sale; proof of mortgage terms — necessity of producing the executed mortgage instrument; statutory notice of default under Mortgage Act s.19(2); originating summons procedure (Order 37) — court must assess evidence even in unopposed matters; eviction requires clear, material evidence.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Plaintiff proved an outstanding debt for supplied goods; court awarded principal, general damages, interest and costs.
* Contract – sale and supply of goods – recovery of unpaid invoice amounts; burden of proof – documentary and oral evidence sufficient where defendant does not challenge.
* Civil procedure – ex parte hearing where hearing notice duly served – proceeding under Order 9 r.20(1)(a).
* Remedies – award of principal debt, general damages, interest and costs; exercise of court's discretion as to rates and periods of interest.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Vendor breached a land sale agreement by re-selling land; purchaser entitled to refund, damages, interest and costs.
Contract law – sale of land – breach by vendor for failure to deliver title and sale to third parties; proof of payment – necessity of documentary evidence; remedies – refund, general damages, statutory interest and costs.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Court set aside default judgment and allowed late filing of defences due to inadequate personal notice despite ECCMIS upload.
* Civil procedure – Setting aside default judgment – Order 36 rule 11 – sufficient cause and enlargement of time.
* Service of process – Electronic notification via ECCMIS – adequacy of service – case-by-case recognition.
* Summary procedure – debt recovery – right to defend where triable issues of indebtedness exist.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Court set aside default judgment and allowed applicants to file defences, finding ECCMIS notice not automatically adequate.
* Civil procedure – setting aside default judgment – Order 36 rule 11 – exception to functus officio.
* Service of process – ECCMIS/electronic notification – adequacy of electronic notice assessed case-by-case where ruling was reserved for delivery "on notice".
* Enlargement of time – "sufficient cause" requires reasonable explanation and absence of inordinate delay.
* Summary procedure – leave to appear and defend where triable issues exist regarding indebtedness.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Court holds bailiff fraudulent and negligent for private sale, poor valuation, and failure to account; substantial damages awarded.
Execution law — Bailiff liability — Distinction between bailiff (officer of court) and public officer; limitation not applicable.
Execution procedure — Sale of attached goods — Requirement to sell by public auction, advertise and account for bidders; private treaty sales contrary to warrant unlawful.
Tort — Fraud and negligence by enforcement officer for inadequate valuation, poor storage and failure to account.
Civil remedies — Declarations, special, general and punitive damages, interest and costs.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
A notice of appeal does not commence an appeal to the High Court; absence of a memorandum makes a stay of execution invalid.
* Civil procedure – Appeals from Magistrate Grade I to High Court – appeal must be preferred by memorandum of appeal under Order 43(1) CPR; a notice of appeal does not commence the appeal to the High Court. * Stay of execution – requirements include a valid appeal, potential substantial loss, absence of unreasonable delay, and security for due performance; stay improperly granted where no valid appeal exists.
|
29 November 2023 |
|
A temporary injunction halting foreclosure requires the applicant to deposit 30% upon notice of default; valuation not prerequisite.
* Mortgage law – Regulation 13(1) Mortgage Regulations 2012 – 30% security deposit required when injunction would halt foreclosure triggered by notice of default.
* Mortgage law – Commencement of foreclosure – notice of default suffices to trigger sale process; notice of sale not required.
* Procedure – Injunctions – court may base required security on outstanding loan amount where no valuation report produced.
* Evidence/Procedure – Affidavit jurat – material ambiguity as to place of swearing may lead to striking off.
|
29 November 2023 |
|
Default judgment upheld where service proved and forgery allegation unproven; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – Setting aside ex parte/default judgment – Order 9 r.27 CPR; Service of summons – effectiveness and proof; Allegation of forgery – need for forensic/convincing evidence; Sufficient cause – inability to take step and burden on applicant.
|
29 November 2023 |
|
Court appointed ICAMEK to arbitrate dispute, denied interim injunctions and mandamus, and dismissed interim relief application; costs each party.
Arbitration clause – validity and enforcement; court appointment of arbitrator where designated appointing body non-functional; interim measures pending arbitration – prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience; mandamus to compel payment of government monies where counterclaim and arbitration pending; public-interest considerations against injuncting government projects.
|
29 November 2023 |
|
Conditional leave to defend granted limited to quantum contingent on borrower’s liability; 30% security ordered.
* Civil procedure – Order 36 summary suit – leave to appear and defend – threshold for triable issue; mere denial insufficient.
* Res judicata – prior mortgage possession proceedings distinct from guarantee enforcement – guarantees not barred by earlier orders.
* Contract/Guarantee law – guarantor’s liability is separate and contingent on principal borrower’s default; foreclosure does not automatically discharge guarantor.
* Procedural relief – conditional leave to defend subject to payment into court (30% security) and time for filing defence.
|
27 November 2023 |
|
Leave to appeal granted only on whether the objector was a response to execution and whether the applicant occupied the attached property.
Civil procedure – Leave to appeal under Order 44 CPR – discretionary test: seriousness, misdirection, real prospects of success; Objector proceedings vs execution – whether objector filed in response to execution bars finding of designed delay; Relevance of occupation of attached property in objector proceedings; Appeal timeliness and effect of filing notice of appeal without leave.
|
27 November 2023 |
|
|
27 November 2023 |
|
Applicant satisfied Section 57 delivery and formal requirements; registrar granted leave to tax the unpaid bill of costs.
* Advocates Act s.57 – requirements for bill of costs: signature, demand letter and delivery; * Service on corporations – objective of notice; delivery to managing director and/or officer sufficient where awareness established; * Taxation of advocates’ bills – registrar’s jurisdiction once statutory requirements met.
|
27 November 2023 |
|
An advocate who properly serves a signed bill and demand is entitled to taxation and costs when fees remain unpaid.
Advocates Act s.57 – bill of costs and demand letter; service on corporate entities; effective delivery via principal officer; taxation of advocate's bill; entitlement to costs where fees unpaid.
|
27 November 2023 |
|
Applicant entitled to taxation of its signed bill of costs after effective service and proof of unpaid legal services.
Advocates Act s.57 – Bill of costs – signature and delivery requirements; service on corporations – awareness suffices where principal receives documents; advocate-client relationship – implication from conduct of litigation; taxation of costs – leave to Registrar.
|
27 November 2023 |
|
|
24 November 2023 |
|
A court refused to set aside an ex parte judgment where the applicant failed to demonstrate sufficient cause for non-appearance.
Civil Procedure – setting aside ex parte judgment – sufficient cause – non-appearance of counsel – delay in filing application – Order 9 Rule 27 CPR.
|
23 November 2023 |
|
|
23 November 2023 |
