Wakilii

Combined Services Limited v Attorney General and Another (Miscellaneous Application 811 of 2021)

High Court · [2022] UGCOMMC 115 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for mandamus to compel payment of judgment debts arising from two earlier civil suits
Decision
Application for mandamus dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for mandamus. While the applicant had obtained judgment and a certificate of order, the court held that payment of government judgment debts requires parliamentary appropriation under articles 154 and 156 of the Constitution. The applicant failed to show that the amounts claimed were included in the current financial year's appropriation. Additionally, the quantum claimed was in substantial dispute between the parties, making mandamus inappropriate where rights are doubtful.

Outcome

Application for mandamus dismissed

Facts

Combined Services Limited obtained judgments against the Attorney General in two civil suits in 2008 and 2009, totalling approximately US$375,868 and shs. 2.6 billion plus interest and costs. Certificates of order were issued in 2010. The government made a partial payment of shs. 2 billion in January 2014. The applicant claimed substantial outstanding amounts remained due (revised to US$188,174.33 and US$71,068.62 plus costs in a supplementary affidavit). The respondents contended only shs. 13,679,327.77 remained outstanding. The applicant sought mandamus to compel the Secretary to the Treasury to pay the claimed amounts. The respondents argued the amounts were disputed and that payment required parliamentary appropriation.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant has a clear legal right to payment of the judgment debts.
  2. Whether the respondents have a corresponding legal duty to pay the amounts claimed.
  3. Whether the right and duty are doubtful or in dispute.
  4. Whether the applicant has an alternative adequate remedy at law.
  5. Whether an order of mandamus should issue to compel payment of judgment debts against government.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Mandamus — Requirements for Issuance
To obtain a writ of mandamus, an applicant must establish: (i) a clear right vested in the applicant; (ii) a corresponding legal duty imposed on the respondent; (iii) that the right and corresponding duty are not doubtful; and (iv) lack of any alternative adequate remedy, or where an alternative remedy exists, that it is inconvenient, less beneficial, less effective or totally ineffective.
Public Finance — Consolidated Fund — Withdrawal of Monies
Under article 154(1) of the Constitution, no monies may be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except to meet expenditure charged on the fund by the Constitution or by an Act of Parliament, or where the issue of those monies has been authorised by an Appropriation Act or a Supplementary Appropriation Act. Court awards against government are not charged on the Consolidated Fund and must form part of the estimates included in an Appropriation Bill before the duty to pay crystallises.
Public Finance — Payment of Court Awards — Parliamentary Appropriation Requirement
The right to apply for enforcement of court decrees against government by way of mandamus does not accrue unless the applicant provides evidence that the amount sought to be recovered forms part of expenditure authorised for the financial year during which enforcement is sought. Payments in satisfaction of court decisions must comply with articles 153 and 154 of the Constitution and be covered under the government budget appropriated by Parliament.
Judicial Review — Mandamus — Doubtful or Disputed Rights
Mandamus cannot issue where the rights of the party are doubtful or are being disputed. Where the specific legal right for which discharge of the duty is necessary, or the duty to perform the act is doubtful, the obligation is not regarded as imperative. The writ of mandamus will not issue to establish a right or to compel an official to give to the applicant anything to which he or she is not clearly entitled.
Execution — Government Proceedings — Certificate of Order
Under section 19(4) of the Government Proceedings Act, save for issuance of a certificate of order, no execution or attachment or process in the nature of execution or attachment may be issued out of any court for enforcing payment by the Government of any money or costs awarded by court.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (8)

  • R v Barnstaple Justices Ex p Carder [1938] 1 KB 385
  • Nabuwati and Two Others v Secretary to the Treasury and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 2613 of 2016)
  • Benon Turyamureeba and 132 Others v Attorney General and Treasury Officer of Accounts (Miscellaneous Application No. 440 of 2005)
  • Southern Range Nyanza Ltd v Attorney General and Treasury Officer of Accounts (Miscellaneous Application No. 2157 of 2016)
  • Nampongo and Another v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 43 of 2012)
  • Shah v Attorney General [1970] HCB 99
  • Combined Services Ltd v Attorney General and Another (Miscellaneous Application No. 648 of 2015)
  • In the Matter of an Application for Judicial Review by Afro-Motors Ltd and Another (Miscellaneous Cause No. 693 of 2006)

Full judgment

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Combined Services Limited v Attorney General and Another (Miscellaneous Application 811 of 2021) [2022] UGCommC 115 (1 February 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.