Wakilii

Ebetu and 2 Others v Etiru and 11 Others (Taxation Reference 1 of 2023)

High Court · [2024] UGHC 209 · 2024 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Taxation reference from Assistant Registrar's taxation ruling on bill of costs following dismissal of civil suit
Decision
Taxation ruling set aside; unenrolled practitioner to face criminal charges

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that costs totalling UGX 19,616,000 awarded in a taxation application must be set aside where the person who represented the successful parties was not an enrolled advocate. Section 69 of the Advocates Act prohibits recovery of costs for work done by unqualified persons. The court directed criminal proceedings against the unqualified person under section 64 of the Advocates Act.

Outcome

Taxation ruling set aside; unenrolled practitioner to face criminal charges

Facts

The applicants filed Civil Suit No. 08 of 2015 in the High Court which was dismissed on 31 March 2022. The respondents then filed a bill of costs which was taxed at UGX 19,616,000. The applicants discovered that Charles Ariko, who had represented the first seven respondents during the suit proceedings, was not an enrolled advocate according to records from the Chief Registrar. Court records confirmed that Ariko Charles had appeared for the respondents on multiple dates between 2017 and 2021. The respondents contended they were represented by M/s Atigo & Co. Advocates as a firm, not by Ariko Charles individually.

Issues

  1. Whether the taxation ruling arising out of Miscellaneous Application No. 03 of 2022 be set aside?

Orders

  • The unlawful award of costs of UGX 19,616,000 vide Taxation Application No. 56 of 2022 to Charles Ariko is set aside.
  • Charles Ariko is ordered to be charged in a criminal offence under Section 69 of the Advocates Act, Cap 267 for acting as an advocate whereas he was not.
  • The costs of this application to be met personally by Charles Ariko.

Rules and key headnotes

Costs — Taxation — Recovery of Costs by Unqualified Person
No costs shall be recoverable in any suit, proceeding or matter by any person in respect of anything done where the doing of that thing constitutes an offence under the Advocates Act, regardless of whether prosecution has been instituted.
Advocates Act — Unlawful Practice — Pretending to be an Advocate
A person who is not an enrolled advocate but represents parties in court proceedings commits an offence under section 64 of the Advocates Act and is liable to criminal prosecution.
Court Records — Proof of Representation
Where court records show that a specific individual appeared for a party on multiple occasions, the court may rely on those records to establish representation, notwithstanding assertions to the contrary in affidavit evidence.

Legislation cited (6)

Full judgment

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Ebetu and 2 Others v Etiru and 11 Others (Taxation Reference 1 of 2023) [2024] UGHC 209 (18 April 2024)
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.