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ABBA Ltd v Attorney General of the Republic of Rwanda (Reference No.18 of 2018)

East African Court of Justice · [2022] EACJ 17 · 2022 Reference Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Reference filed under Article 6(d) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community challenging the Ombudsman's decision and seeking reversal of the revocation of a sale agreement
Decision
Reference dismissed for lack of jurisdiction ratione temporis

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The East African Court of Justice dismissed the Reference for being filed out of time. The Court held that the cause of action arose on 25 June 2015 when the Mayor of Rubavu revoked the sale agreement, not when the Ombudsman communicated its decision in August 2018. Since the Reference was filed on 20 September 2018, more than three years after the revocation, it exceeded the two-month limitation period prescribed by Article 30(2) of the Treaty. The Court lacked jurisdiction ratione temporis to entertain the matter.

Outcome

Reference dismissed for lack of jurisdiction ratione temporis

Facts

On 7 March 2014, the District Council of Rubavu resolved to sell Gisenyi Modern Market to ABBA Limited. Following an advertisement in July 2014, ABBA Limited emerged as the winner and a Sale Agreement was entered on 19 September 2014. On 25 June 2015, the Mayor of Rubavu revoked the Sale Agreement on grounds that the District had sold the market in error and contrary to laws governing public domain assets. ABBA Limited challenged the revocation in national courts but lost. The Applicant then sought intervention from the Ombudsman's office, which on 17 July 2018 informed ABBA Limited that no injustice had been occasioned, noting that the market was a public domain asset. ABBA Limited filed this Reference on 20 September 2018 seeking reversal of the revocation and compensation.

Issues

  1. Whether the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Court
  2. Whether the Reference was filed within the prescribed time
  3. Whether the act of the Mayor of Rubavu District revoking the Sale Agreement infringes Article 6(d) of the Treaty
  4. Whether the Respondent is answerable for the actions of Rubavu District local Council as a decentralised entity
  5. Whether the challenged decision of the Ombudsman is unlawful and infringes the provisions of the Treaty
  6. Whether the parties are entitled to the reliefs sought

Orders

  • Reference dismissed for being filed out of time.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Jurisdiction — Ratione Temporis — Limitation Periods
Jurisdiction in a judicial context comprises three essential elements: jurisdiction ratione materiae (subject matter), ratione personae (locus standi), and ratione temporis (temporal condition). Ratione temporis refers to the time-frame prescribed for the institution of cases in a court.
Civil Procedure — Limitation — Commencement of Time — Cause of Action
The limitation period begins to run from the date when the cause of action arises, which is the date of the act or omission complained of, not from the date of a subsequent decision that merely confirms or declines to reverse the original act.
Administrative Law — Ombudsman — Effect of Decision — Retrospective Application
An Ombudsman's decision declining to find injustice cannot retrospectively influence or validate an earlier administrative decision, nor can it serve as the basis for a cause of action where the relief sought relates to the original administrative act rather than the Ombudsman's decision itself.
Civil Procedure — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Not a Prerequisite
Under the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, exhaustion of local remedies is not a prerequisite for filing a matter or seeking remedies in the East African Court of Justice. The fact that a party has exhausted local remedies does not per se warrant audience to such party nor accord jurisdiction to the Court over the matter.
Civil Procedure — Limitation — Article 30(2) of the Treaty — Two-Month Period
Article 30(2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community prescribes a period of two months from the occurrence of an alleged infraction of the Treaty as the time within which proceedings can be filed in the East African Court of Justice. A Reference filed beyond this period is time-barred and the Court lacks jurisdiction ratione temporis to entertain it.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 6(d)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 30(1)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 30(2)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure, 2019 Rules 8, 14, 17 and 24
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure Rule 127(1)
  • Law No.87/2013 of 11th September 2013 Article 3

Cases cited (5)

  • Attorney General of the Republic of Rwanda v Plaxeda Rugumba (Appeal No. 1 of 2012)
  • Manariyo Desire v Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi (Appeal No. 1 of 2017)
  • Joseph Kipkoech Sigei v Secretary General of the East African Community (Claim No. 1 of 2018)
  • Adam Kyomuhendo v Attorney General of Uganda & 6 Others (Reference No. 11 of 2020)
  • Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania v Anthony Calist Komu (EACJ Appeal No. 2 of 2015)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

ABBA Ltd v Attorney General of the Republic of Rwanda (Reference No.18 of 2018) [2022] EACJ 17 (23 June 2022)
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.