Wakilii

Hannington Wasswa Semukutu and Company v Onyango and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application 12 of 1988)

Supreme Court · [1989] UGSC 6 · 1989 Application Granted ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application in the Supreme Court to strike out the respondents' notice of appeal under rules 80 and 81 of the Rules of the Court
Decision
Application allowed; the respondents' notice of appeal struck out with costs to the applicants.

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Holding

The Court held that the record of proceedings was ready on 22 August 1988, when the Deputy Registrar wrote to the respondents' counsel asking him to collect it; the later letter of 16 January 1989 was a reminder, not fresh notice of readiness. Under rule 81(1) the appeal had to be filed within sixty days of receiving the proceedings, but the respondents had still not filed an appeal, having only unsuccessfully attempted to do so on 30 March 1989. Whether time ran from 22 August 1988 or 16 January 1989, the purported filing was out of time. As the essential step had not been taken in time, the application to strike out the notice of appeal was allowed with costs.

Facts

The applicants sought to strike out a notice of appeal filed by the respondents against a High Court judgment in Civil Appeal No. 37 of 1985. The applicants' evidence was that the Deputy Registrar of the High Court wrote on 22 August 1988 informing the respondents' counsel that the proceedings were ready for collection on payment of fees, and that this letter was delivered to the respondents' counsel. The respondents' counsel admitted receiving the letter but claimed that when he went to collect the proceedings they were not ready, being still in handwritten notes, and that he wrote to the Registrar on 8 September 1988. A further letter of 16 January 1989 again advised that the proceedings were ready, after which counsel collected them. The respondents' counsel attempted to file the appeal on 30 March 1989. No explanation was given for why the 22 August 1988 letter would have issued if the record was not ready.

Issues

  1. On what date the record of proceedings became ready for collection.
  2. Whether the respondents filed their appeal within the time prescribed by rule 81(1) of the Rules of the Court.
  3. Whether the respondents' notice of appeal should be struck out under rule 80 for failure to take an essential step within the prescribed period.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Notice of appeal struck out with costs to the applicants.

Key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals — Time for filing — When the record of proceedings is treated as ready
A record of proceedings is treated as ready for the purpose of time running against an intending appellant from the date the Registrar writes informing counsel that the proceedings are ready for collection; a later letter repeating that information is a reminder and does not reset or extend the time.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Striking out notice of appeal — Rule 80 and rule 81(1) — Failure to take an essential step
Where an appellant has applied for the proceedings within thirty days of the decision, the appeal must be filed within sixty days of receiving the proceedings; an unsuccessful attempt to file an appeal after that period does not constitute filing, and the notice of appeal may be struck out under rule 80 for failure to take an essential step within the prescribed time.

Legislation cited (2)

  • East African Court of Appeal Rules r.80
  • East African Court of Appeal Rules r.81(1)

Cases cited (1)

  • Kitariko v Twino Kataama (1982) HCB 97
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.