Wakilii

Chief Registrar of Titles v Sudaplast Industries (Civil Appeal 6 of 1998)

Court of Appeal · [1999] UGCA 52 · 1999 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from the High Court, determined on counsel's concession that the originating proceedings were a nullity
Decision
Appeal allowed; impugned High Court proceedings quashed and orders set aside as a nullity

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Counsel for the respondent conceded that he had no valid practising certificate when he filed the originating High Court applications, rendering all subsequent proceedings a nullity. The court agreed that the proceedings in Misc. Application No. 93/95 and No. 266/95 were a nullity. It allowed the appeal, quashed those proceedings and set aside the orders made under them. Because the respondent's counsel filed the proceedings knowing he had no practising certificate, the court ordered him to personally pay the costs of the High Court proceedings and of the appeal.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; impugned High Court proceedings quashed and orders set aside as a nullity

Facts

The respondent's counsel had filed Misc. Application No. 93/95 in the High Court while he did not hold a valid practising certificate. Further proceedings, including Misc. Application No. 266/95, followed and orders were made. When the appeal came up for hearing in the Court of Appeal, counsel for the respondent conceded that he had lacked a valid practising certificate at the time of filing the application and that all subsequent proceedings were therefore a nullity, meaning there was no competent appeal before the court. The Commissioner for Civil Litigation, appearing for the appellant, agreed that the High Court proceedings were a nullity and should be quashed and the orders set aside, and submitted that the appellant should have costs because it was the respondent's counsel who filed the proceedings despite knowing he had no practising certificate.

Issues

  1. Whether proceedings filed by an advocate who lacked a valid practising certificate were a nullity rendering the subsequent appeal incompetent.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Proceedings in Misc. Application No. 93/95 and No. 266/95 quashed.
  • Orders made thereunder set aside.
  • Costs of the proceedings awarded to the appellant.
  • Counsel for the respondent to personally pay the costs of the High Court proceedings and of the appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Practising Certificates — Proceedings Filed by Advocate Without Valid Certificate Are a Nullity
Proceedings filed by an advocate who does not hold a valid practising certificate at the time of filing are a nullity, and all subsequent proceedings founded on them, including any resulting appeal, are likewise invalid.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Personal Liability of Counsel
Where counsel files proceedings knowing he lacks a valid practising certificate, thereby rendering the proceedings a nullity, the court may order that counsel personally pay the costs occasioned by those proceedings.

Full judgment

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

Chief Registrar of Titles v Sudaplast Industries (Civil Appeal 6 of 1998) [1999] UGCA 52 (14 September 1999)
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.