Wakilii

Attorney General v Long (C.C. 11-1933.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1933] EACA 13 · 1933 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit by the Crown for payment; defendant filed counterclaim which Crown moved to strike out
Decision
Defendant's counterclaim struck out; Crown's application granted

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

In suits by the Crown, a counterclaim by the subject cannot be entertained. The proper procedure for a subject to assert a claim against the Crown is to proceed by petition of right and obtain the Governor's fiat under Cap. 17, Laws of Kenya. Allowing counterclaims would render the statutory petition of right procedure abortive.

Outcome

Defendant's counterclaim struck out; Crown's application granted

Facts

The Attorney General, on behalf of Government, sued Captain E. Caswell Long for Sh. 1,700 for vaccine supplied by Government to the defendant. The defendant filed a counterclaim for damages in the same sum or such lesser sum as he might be adjudged liable to pay the plaintiff. Crown Counsel applied to strike out the counterclaim on the ground that the defendant had not followed the proper procedure of obtaining the Governor's fiat under Cap. 17, Laws of Kenya, which governs claims against the Government.

Issues

  1. Whether a counterclaim by a defendant can be entertained in a suit brought by the Crown.

Orders

  • Counterclaim excluded.
  • Taxed costs of this application to the Crown.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Suits by the Crown — Counterclaim by Subject — Inadmissibility
In suits by the Crown, a counterclaim by the subject cannot be entertained at common law; the subject must proceed by petition of right to assert claims against the Crown.
Administrative Law — Petition of Right — Statutory Procedure — Mandatory Compliance
Where domestic legislation provides a statutory procedure for subjects to assert claims against the Crown (petition of right requiring the Governor's fiat), that procedure must be followed and cannot be circumvented by filing a counterclaim in a suit brought by the Crown.
Civil Procedure — Set-off Against the Crown — Prohibition
No set-off can be asserted against the Crown at common law; a subject cannot avoid the petition of right procedure by refusing to pay a debt to the Crown and then asserting a claim by way of set-off or counterclaim.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Cap. 17, Laws of Kenya s.3
  • Cap. 17, Laws of Kenya s.8

Cases cited (4)

  • Hettihe wage Siman Appu and Others v Queen's Advocate (9 AC 571)
  • Rex v Sherwood (146 ER 258)
  • Secretary of State v. Easdale
  • Attorney General v Guy Motors Ltd (2 KB 1928 78)

Full judgment

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

Attorney General v Long (C.C. 11-1933.) [1933] EACA 13 (1 January 1933)
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.