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Concorp International Ltd v Eastern & Southern Trade and Development Bank (HCT-00-CV-CS-0048-2001)

High Court · [2001] UGHC 117 · 2001 Preliminary Objection Upheld AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Preliminary objection raised in civil suit for breach of contract and misrepresentation
Decision
Suit dismissed as prematurely filed without prejudice to refiling after obtaining presidential waiver

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court upheld a preliminary objection and dismissed the suit as prematurely filed. The court held that under the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Statute 1992 and Article 43(3) of the Bank's Charter, the bank enjoys immunity from legal process except where expressly waived by the President. The plaintiff had not obtained such a waiver before filing suit, making the action premature regardless of whether the bank could in principle be sued for commercial transactions.

Outcome

Suit dismissed as prematurely filed without prejudice to refiling after obtaining presidential waiver

Facts

The plaintiff brought suit against the defendant bank for breach of contract and misrepresentation. Applications were filed after the main suit. When one application came up for hearing, counsel for the defendant raised a preliminary objection that both the application and main suit were prematurely filed because the plaintiff had not obtained a waiver from the President as required before suing the defendant bank. The plaintiff contended that the bank was not immune from suit for purely commercial transactions involving private companies. The defendant did not dispute that the bank could be sued in principle, but maintained that a presidential waiver was a procedural prerequisite.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff was required to obtain a waiver from the President before commencing suit against the defendant bank under Article 43(3) of the Eastern & Southern African Trade and Development Bank Charter.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection upheld.
  • Suit dismissed for being pre-maturely filed.
  • Costs awarded to the defendant.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Immunity from Suit — Statutory Immunity — Presidential Waiver Requirement
Where a statute declares that an entity and its property shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process except where it has expressly waived its immunity through the President, a plaintiff must obtain such a waiver before commencing proceedings, and failure to do so renders the suit premature.
Statutory Interpretation — International Charters Given Force of Law — Immunity Provisions
Where a statute gives force of law to articles of an international charter, including an immunity provision requiring presidential waiver, courts must give effect to that immunity provision as domestic law.
Civil Procedure — Statutory Immunity — Commercial Transactions Exception — Waiver Requirement Unchanged
The fact that an entity with statutory immunity engages in commercial transactions with private parties does not eliminate the procedural requirement to obtain a presidential waiver before suing; the issue is not whether the entity can be sued at all, but whether the proper procedural prerequisite has been satisfied.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Statute 1992 s.4
  • Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Charter Article 43(3)

Cases cited (1)

  • TONONOKA STEELS LIMITED -VS- THE EASTERN & SOUTHERN AFRICA TRADE & DEVELOPMENT BANK, Kenya Court of Appeal, Civil Appeal NO. 255/98, unreported

Full judgment

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

Concorp International Ltd v Eastern & Southern Trade and Development Bank (HCT-00-CV-CS-0048-2001) [2001] UGHC 117 (19 May 2001)
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.