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Kaijuka v Kananura (Civil Appeal No. 42 of 2014)

Court of Appeal · [2015] UGCA 177 · 2015 Appeal Allowed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court (Commercial Division) ruling granting an application for review
Decision
Appeal allowed; review order set aside and original High Court judgment reinstated

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Holding

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the High Court (Wangutusi, J.) had no basis in law or fact to grant review. The consent judgment the applicant sought to review had already been set aside as vitiated by mistake and therefore did not exist and could not be reviewed. Instead, the judge improperly reviewed a different judgment (that of Kiryabwire, J.), which had already fully and conclusively determined the issue of the contentious motor vehicle, so its value could not constitute a material fact justifying review. Further, Order 46 Rule 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules barred review of an order itself passed on a prior review. The court reinstated Kiryabwire, J.'s judgment.

Facts

The parties had multiple transactions that led to disputes, resulting in Civil Suit No. 90 of 2008 in the High Court (Commercial Division). An initial consent judgment of 2nd October 2008 was varied by a consent judgment of 8th July 2009, which improperly included Motor Vehicle Reg No. UAH 800R. On 7th September 2009 Kiryabwire, J., set aside that consent judgment as vitiated by mistake and ordered the matter to proceed to ordinary trial. On 3rd November 2011 Kiryabwire, J., dismissed the respondent's counterclaim relating to the vehicles and ordered the respondent to pay the appellant Shs.200,000,000. The respondent then filed Misc. Application No. 763 of 2013 seeking review and a set-off based on the value of UAH 800R. Wangutusi, J., granted review and extinguished the decretal sum by setting it off against the vehicle's value. The appellant appealed that ruling.

Issues

  1. Whether Wangutusi, J., rightly exercised the High Court's powers of review in reviewing the judgment of Kiryabwire, J.
  2. Whether the consent judgment of 8th July 2009 was in existence and capable of being reviewed.
  3. Whether the court had jurisdiction to entertain an application for review of a decree already passed on a prior review.
  4. Whether the application was barred as res judicata.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed with costs here and below.
  • Order of review made by Wangutusi, J., set aside.
  • Judgment of Kiryabwire, J., of 3rd November 2011 reinstated in its entirety.
  • Civil Application No. 300 of 2014 (extension of time/validation) allowed.

Key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Review of Judgments — Review of a Judgment Set Aside or Non-existent
A consent judgment that has been vitiated and set aside no longer has any life or efficacy and cannot be enforced or reviewed; an application to review such a non-existent judgment is incompetent as there is nothing to review.
Civil Procedure — Review — Scope of Judicial Function
A court hearing an application for review cannot formulate a case for the parties or review a judgment other than the one the applicant actually sought to be reviewed; it must confine itself to the matter put before it on the pleadings.
Civil Procedure — Review — Material Fact Already Determined
Where a trial court has already fully considered and pronounced on an issue, the value or significance of that issue cannot later be treated as a new material fact justifying review under Order 46 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Civil Procedure — Review — Bar on Review of an Order Passed on Review (Order 46 Rule 7)
Under Order 46 Rule 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules, no application to review an order or decree itself passed on a prior review shall be entertained; a court has no jurisdiction to review such an order.
Consent Judgments — Court Cannot Impose or Reinstate a Consent Judgment
A consent judgment derives its force from the agreement of the parties, not an order of court; after a consent judgment is set aside, only the parties can enter into a fresh consent judgment, and any reinstatement imposed by the court is null and void.

Legislation cited (3)

  • Civil Procedure Rules Order 46 Rule 1
  • Civil Procedure Rules Order 46 Rule 7
  • Civil Procedure Rules Order 15 Rule 1(5)

Cases cited (1)

  • Attorney General v James Mark Kamoga (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2004)
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.