Wakilii

Byamukama and Another v Buregyeya (Civil Suit 5 of 2021)

High Court · [2022] UGHC 148 · 2022 Preliminary Objection Upheld AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling on preliminary objection raised by plaintiffs challenging the validity of defendant's written statement of defence drafted by an entity not approved as a law firm
Decision
Preliminary Objection Upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that pleadings drafted and filed by Eco Concrete Limited, a construction company not approved by the Law Council as a law firm, were illegal under section 70 of the Advocates Act. The court found that the company committed an offence by acting as though qualified to practice law. The actions could not be allowed to stand once the illegality was brought to the court's attention.

Outcome

Preliminary Objection Upheld

Facts

The plaintiffs filed suit on 18 January 2021. The defendant's written statement of defence and counterclaim were drafted by M/S Legal Counsel, Eco Concrete Limited and filed on 5 February 2021. When the matter came up for scheduling on 19 September 2022, counsel for the plaintiffs raised a preliminary objection to the law firm that drafted the defence. The Law Council confirmed by letter dated 16 September 2022 that Eco Concrete Limited did not appear on its lists of approved law firms for 2020, 2021, or 2022. The Uganda Registration Services Bureau confirmed Eco Concrete Limited was incorporated on 13 January 2016 as a construction firm. The defendant admitted Eco Concrete Limited was not a law firm and filed a notice of change of advocates to M/S PNK Advocates on 29 August 2022.

Issues

  1. Whether pleadings drafted for a party to a suit by an entity that is not an approved law firm are a nullity.
  2. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objections — Disposal Before Hearing
A court has discretion under Order 6 rule 28 of the Civil Procedure Rules to dispose of a preliminary objection immediately or defer its ruling until after hearing the whole case.
Administrative Law — Legal Practice — Unauthorised Practice by Bodies Corporate
Under section 70 of the Advocates Act, a body corporate commits an offence when it acts in a manner calculated to imply that it is qualified or recognised by law to act as an advocate when it is not legally authorised to do so.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Validity of Pleadings Drafted by Unauthorised Entity
Pleadings drafted and filed by an entity that is not an approved law firm are illegal and cannot be allowed to stand once the illegality is brought to the attention of the court.
Administrative Law — Legal Practice — Section 14A Protection Not Applicable to Unapproved Entities
Section 14A of the Advocates Act, which protects clients who innocently obtain services from advocates whose practicing certificates are suspended or not renewed, does not apply where the entity drafting pleadings has never been a law firm and has never obtained Law Council approval.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (1)

  • Attorney General v Major General David Tinyefunza (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997)

Full judgment

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

Byamukama and Another v Buregyeya (Civil Suit 5 of 2021) [2022] UGHC 148 (4 October 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.