Steven Bujara v Polly Bujara (Civil Application No. 11 of 2004)

Court of Appeal · [2004] UGCA 39 · 2004 Application Granted ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Application for leave to argue an additional ground of appeal in a pending civil appeal

Decision

Leave granted to add an additional ground of appeal to the pending Civil Appeal No. 81 of 2002

The full judgment

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Holding

The applicant sought leave under the Court of Appeal Rules to add a ground of appeal alleging a mistrial in the lower court that had been inadvertently omitted from the memorandum of appeal by counsel. The Court held that rule 101 requires leave to argue grounds not specified in the memorandum, and that the inherent powers preserved by rule 1(3) permit the Court to make orders necessary to attain the ends of justice. Declining to assess the merits of the proposed ground, and noting no injustice to the respondent had been shown, the Court was satisfied the applicant had made out a case for the exercise of its discretion and granted the leave sought, with costs in the cause.

Facts

Judgment was entered against the applicant in a divorce cause before a Magistrate Grade I at Kabale on 28 August 1998, granting the petition and pronouncing a decree nisi dissolving the marriage. The applicant appealed to the High Court at Mbarara, where he raised a complaint of mistrial in the lower court; that appeal was heard and dismissed with costs on 5 September 2002. The applicant lodged Civil Appeal No. 81 of 2002 to the Court of Appeal, which remained pending. While drafting the memorandum of appeal, counsel inadvertently omitted a ground alleging that the High Court Judge erred and misdirected himself by failing to appreciate the mistrial in the lower court. The applicant brought this application seeking leave to add that ground, supported by affidavits of counsel and himself. The respondent opposed the application by affidavit.

Issues

Whether the applicant should be granted leave to argue an additional ground of appeal omitted from the memorandum of appeal due to counsel's inadvertence.

Orders

Application allowed.
Leave granted to the applicant to argue the additional ground of appeal.
Costs to be in the cause.

Key headnotes

Appeals — Memorandum of Appeal — Leave to Argue Additional Ground

A party may not argue that a High Court decision should be reversed or varied except on a ground specified in the memorandum of appeal or a notice of cross-appeal, unless leave of the Court is obtained.

Appeals — Inherent Powers of the Court — Ends of Justice

The Court's inherent powers, preserved by rule 1(3) of the Court of Appeal Rules, permit it to make such orders as are necessary to attain the ends of justice, including granting leave to add an additional ground of appeal where no injustice to the opposing party is shown.

Appeals — Application for Leave — Merits of Proposed Ground Not Determined

On an application for leave to add a ground of appeal, the Court is not concerned with whether the proposed ground has merit; it determines only whether the applicant has made out a case for the exercise of its discretion to grant leave.

Legislation cited (5)

Court of Appeal Rules r.1(3)
Court of Appeal Rules r.42
Court of Appeal Rules r.43
Court of Appeal Rules r.101
Constitution of Uganda Article 126

Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.