Wakilii

Dabule and Others v Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda (Appeal 9 of 2022)

East African Court of Justice · [2023] EACJ 6 · 2023 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice concerning dismissal of a reference on grounds of time bar
Decision
Appeal dismissed; Reference No. 5 of 2016 remains dismissed as time barred

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The East African Court of Justice Appellate Division dismissed the appeal, upholding the First Instance Division's finding that Reference No. 5 of 2016 was time barred under Article 30(2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. The Court held that the two-month limitation period began to run in April 2004 when the appellants first filed a constitutional petition in Uganda concerning the frozen accounts, not in August 2016 when the Minister for Finance allegedly failed to respond to a demand letter. The Court further held that once the Trial Court found it lacked jurisdiction due to the time bar, it was not obliged to determine the remaining issues. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; Reference No. 5 of 2016 remains dismissed as time barred

Facts

The appellants, 1005 Ugandan citizens, had their bank accounts frozen in the early 1980s under directives issued by the Ugandan Government pursuant to the Banking Act (Amendment) Statute 18 of 1980. In 1995, the Minister for Finance directed commercial banks to unfreeze the accounts, but this did not occur. In 2004, some appellants filed Constitutional Petition No. 2 of 2004 in the Uganda Constitutional Court seeking unfreezing and compensation; the petition was dismissed, as was a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court of Uganda in 2015. In August 2016, the appellants' counsel wrote to the Minister for Finance demanding release of the funds; receiving no response, they filed Reference No. 5 of 2016 in the East African Court of Justice on 6 September 2016, alleging violation of Articles 6(d) and 7(2) of the Treaty. The First Instance Division dismissed the reference as time barred. The appellants appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether the First Instance Division erred in law by holding that Reference No. 5 of 2016 was time barred.
  2. Whether the First Instance Division erred in law and committed procedural irregularities by declining to hear and determine all the issues as directed by the Appellate Division.
  3. What remedies if any are the parties entitled to.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Judgment and orders of the Trial Court upholding dismissal of Reference No. 5 of 2016 for being time barred are upheld.
  • Each party shall bear their own costs of the Reference and of this Appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Limitation of Actions — Article 30(2) of the EAC Treaty — Commencement of Time
Under Article 30(2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, proceedings must be instituted within two months of the enactment, publication, directive, decision or action complained of, or in the absence thereof, of the day it came to the knowledge of the complainant. Time begins to run when the alleged infringement commenced, not when it ceased or when a subsequent demand was made.
Limitation of Actions — Continuing Violations — No Exception to Two-Month Rule
Article 30(2) of the Treaty does not recognize any continuing breach or violation of the Treaty outside the two-month period after the alleged infringement came to the knowledge of the claimant. The Court has no power to extend the set time limit. The rationale for strict time limits is to ensure legal certainty and protect the system from prejudice of stale claims.
Limitation of Actions — Knowledge of Infringement — Filing of Domestic Proceedings as Evidence
Where a claimant has filed proceedings in domestic courts concerning the same alleged infringement, the date of filing those domestic proceedings is evidence that the claimant was aware of the alleged transgression at that time. Time for filing a reference in the East African Court of Justice begins to run from that date of knowledge, not from a later date when a demand letter was allegedly ignored.
Jurisdiction — Effect of Time Bar on Jurisdiction
Where a court finds that a reference is time barred under Article 30(2) of the Treaty, it is devoid of jurisdiction to deal with the remaining issues. Time limitation is a legal point that disposes of the matter. Without jurisdiction, a court has no power to take even a single step.
Treaty Interpretation — Vienna Convention — Ordinary Meaning
The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, being an international treaty among sovereign states, is subject to international law on interpretation of treaties. Under Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), a treaty shall be interpreted in good faith and in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose.

Legislation cited (20)

  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 6(d)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 7(2)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 9(4)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 23(1)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 27(1)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 30(1)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 30(2)
  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Article 35A
  • Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) Article 31(1)
  • Banking Act (Amendment) Statute 18 of 1980
  • Banking Act of 1969 s.26A
  • Banking Act of 1969 s.26B
  • Financial Institutions Statute No. 4 of 1993
  • Constitution of the Republic of Uganda Article 26
  • African Charter on Human and People's Rights Article 14
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2019 Rule 63(1)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2019 Rule 79(5)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2019 Rule 97(1)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2019 Rule 120
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of Procedure 2019 Rule 127

Cases cited (21)

  • Audace Ngendakumana v Attorney General of Burundi (Reference No. 11 of 2014)
  • Plaxeda Rugumba v Secretary General of the East African Community and Attorney General of the Republic of Rwanda (Reference No. 8 of 2010)
  • Hon. Sitenda Sebalu v Secretary General of the East African Community and 3 Others (Reference No. 1 of 2010)
  • Independent Medico Legal Unit v Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya (Reference No. 3 of 2010)
  • Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya v Independent Medico Legal Unit (Appeal No. 1 of 2011)
  • Mbugua Mureithi Wa Nyambura v Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda (Reference No. 11 of 2011)
  • Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda and Another v Omar Awadh and 6 Others (Appeal No. 2 of 2012)
  • Attorney General of Rwanda v Plaxeda Rugumba (Application No. 9 of 2007)
  • Manariyo Desire v Attorney General of Burundi (Reference No. 8 of 2015)
  • Alcon International Ltd v Standard Chartered Bank & Others (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2011)
  • Legal Brains Trust (LBT) Ltd v Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda (Appeal No. 4 of 2012)
  • Republic of Rwanda and Union Trade Centre Limited UTC v Succession Makuza Desire & 2 Others (Appeal No. 2 of 2018)
  • Secretary General of East Africa Community v Rt. Hon. Margaret Zziwa (Appeal No. 7 of 2015)
  • Owners of Motor Vessel "Lillian S" V. Caltex Oil (Kenya) Ltd [1989] KLR
  • Attorney General of Tanzania v African Network for Animal Welfare (Appeal No. 3 of 2011)
  • Edward Fredrick Ssempebwa v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 1986)
  • Quick Cargo Handling Service Ltd v Iron Steel Wares Ltd & 2 Others (High Court Civil Suit No. 328 of 2002)
  • Sajan Singh v. Sardar Ali (1960) 1 All ER 269
  • Hon. Margaret Zziwa v. The Secretary of the East African Community (supra)
  • Case 24/69 Nebec v EC Commission [1975] ECR 145
  • Case 209/83 Ferriera Valsabbia Spa v EC Commission OJ C2009, 9.8.84 p.6

Full judgment

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

Dabule and Others v Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda (Appeal 9 of 2022) [2023] EACJ 6 (22 May 2023)
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.