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Basajjalaba and Anor v A.G. of Uganda (Application 6 of 2018)

East African Court of Justice · [2018] EACJ 76 · 2018 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ex-parte application for interim restraining orders arising from Reference No. 8 of 2018
Decision
Ex-parte application dismissed; matter to proceed inter-partes

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court declined to grant ex-parte restraining orders sought by the Applicants. The Court found that the Applicants had not demonstrated irreparable injustice warranting ex-parte relief, as they were already beneficiaries of protective orders issued by the Constitutional Court of Uganda in Petition No. 12 of 2013, which prohibited the Respondent from prosecuting them and stayed criminal proceedings. The Applicants should pursue enforcement of those existing orders rather than seek re-issuance by the EACJ without hearing the Respondent.

Outcome

Ex-parte application dismissed; matter to proceed inter-partes

Facts

The Applicants sought ex-parte restraining orders to prevent the Respondent from implementing a summons dated 9th April 2018 requiring them to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department for interrogation in Criminal Case No. 003 of 2018. The Applicants also sought orders restraining their arrest, charging, and the re-constitution of the Constitutional Court bench hearing Petition No. 12 of 2013. On 8th May 2013, the Constitutional Court of Uganda had granted orders in Petition No. 12 of 2013 prohibiting the Respondent from prosecuting the Applicants for charges arising from Criminal Case No. 003 of 2013 and staying all pending criminal charges and proceedings against them. The present application arose from a letter dated 9th April 2018 requiring the Applicants to appear on 24th April 2018 to provide information for the ongoing criminal case.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court should grant ex-parte restraining orders preventing the Respondent from implementing a summons requiring the Applicants to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department.
  2. Whether the delay caused by proceeding in the ordinary way would entail irreparable injustice warranting ex-parte orders.

Orders

  • Application for ex-parte orders dismissed.
  • Notice of Motion dated 16th April 2018 and filed on 17th April 2018 to be served for hearing on 5th June 2018.
  • Parties at liberty to file and exchange skeletal written submissions before 5th June 2018.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Ex-parte Applications — Requirement of Irreparable Injustice
A court may grant ex-parte orders only if satisfied that the delay caused by proceeding in the ordinary way would or might entail irreparable injustice to the applicant.
Civil Procedure — Ex-parte Applications — Existence of Protective Orders from Another Court
Where an applicant is already a beneficiary of protective orders issued by another competent court covering the same subject matter, no irreparable injustice arises from declining to grant ex-parte orders, and the applicant should pursue enforcement of the existing orders rather than seek their re-issuance.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 39

Full judgment

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

Basajjalaba and Anor v A.G. of Uganda (Application 6 of 2018) [2018] EACJ 76 (24 April 2018)
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.