Wakilii

Akampumuza v Attorney General & Ors (Constitutional Application No. 57 of 2010)

Constitutional Court · [2014] UGCC 106 · 2014 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Scheduling conference and oral application for recusal within a pending constitutional petition that could not be heard for lack of a full coram
Decision
Recusal application rejected as premature; petitioner granted time to file replies; petition adjourned for scheduling before a single Justice, with the interim injunction to lapse on completion of scheduling.

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Holding

The single Justice ruled that a scheduling conference is not a hearing, as no evidence is taken and it may be conducted before a Registrar or a single Justice who lacks jurisdiction to hear the petition. Because the petition was not being heard, the bias and disqualification application raised against the two available Justices was misconceived and premature, and should be raised before the full coram at the hearing. The petitioner was granted ten days to file replies and the respondents seven days for rejoinders. Noting the petition had been dormant for nearly four years after the petitioner obtained an open-ended interim injunction, the Court directed that the interim order lapse once scheduling is completed, to prevent abuse of court process.

Outcome

Recusal application rejected as premature; petitioner granted time to file replies; petition adjourned for scheduling before a single Justice, with the interim injunction to lapse on completion of scheduling.

Facts

A constitutional petition filed in 2010 was cause-listed for hearing before a coram of five Justices, but only two were available, so the petition could not be heard. The two Justices convened to inform the parties of the lack of coram, hold a scheduling conference, and adjourn the matter. During scheduling it emerged that the petitioner's counsel had been served with the respondents' answers but contended the service had not been brought to his personal attention, and the petitioner sought time to file replies. Counsel for the petitioner then raised objections of bias against both available Justices and asked them to disqualify themselves, including from scheduling. The petition had been pending for nearly four years with no effort to prosecute it after the petitioner obtained an open-ended interim injunction from the court.

Issues

  1. Whether a scheduling conference constitutes a hearing of the petition.
  2. Whether the two available Justices should disqualify themselves from the petition on grounds of bias at the scheduling stage.
  3. Whether the petitioner should be granted time to file replies to the answers to the petition.
  4. Whether the open-ended interim injunction should be allowed to continue.

Orders

  • Petitioner granted 10 days from 23 June 2014 to file and serve all necessary replies.
  • Respondents granted 7 days thereafter to file and serve any rejoinder.
  • Pleadings to be completed by 10 July 2014, after which the Registrar shall set the petition down for a scheduling conference before a single Justice.
  • Application to disqualify the Justices for bias found misconceived and premature.
  • The interim order of injunction shall lapse on the date the scheduling conference of the petition is completed.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Scheduling Conference — Distinction from a Hearing
A scheduling conference is not a hearing, since no witnesses are heard and no evidence is taken to determine issues of fact; it serves only to guide the process and may be conducted before a Registrar or a single Justice who has no jurisdiction to hear the petition.
Civil Procedure — Recusal for Bias — Proper Stage to Raise Application
An application that judicial officers disqualify themselves for bias is misconceived and premature when raised at a scheduling conference rather than at the hearing of the petition, and should properly be raised before the full coram when the matter comes for hearing.
Constitutional Law — Constitutional Court — Coram for Hearing a Petition
Two Justices cannot constitute a coram to hear a constitutional petition, and such a petition cannot be heard in the absence of a full coram.
Civil Procedure — Interim Injunction — Lapse to Prevent Abuse of Process
Where a petitioner obtains an open-ended interim injunction and then fails to prosecute the petition, the court may, in the interest of justice and to prevent abuse of court process, direct that the interim order lapse upon completion of the scheduling conference.

Full judgment

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

Akampumuza v Attorney General & Ors (Constitutional Application No. 57 of 2010) [2014] UGCC 106 (23 June 2014)
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.