Wakilii

Emojong & Ors v Bautu (MISC. APPLICATION NO. 471 OF 2016)

High Court · [2016] UGHCCD 84 · 2016 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of High Court orders in an earlier miscellaneous application arising from a civil suit
Decision
Application dismissed as misconceived

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

An application for review of court orders arising from a consent judgment was dismissed. The court held that review is a creature of statute requiring specific grounds: manifest error on the face of the record, discovery of new evidence, or sufficient reason analogous to those grounds. Disagreements between an advocate and client about remittance of funds paid pursuant to a consent order do not constitute grounds for review as they relate to events occurring after the order was made, not errors in the court record.

Outcome

Application dismissed as misconceived

Facts

In 2013, Emojong Francis, Okoth Andrew and others instituted HCCS No. 191 of 2013 by representative action against Uganda Revenue Authority for payment of terminal benefits. On 14 October 2014, the parties entered a consent judgment agreeing that the plaintiffs would be paid through the account of M/s SYBA Advocates in DFCU Bank. The same plaintiffs later filed Misc. Application 471 of 2016 seeking orders that the money be paid directly to their personal accounts instead, alleging that their lawyer had failed to fully remit sums to which they were entitled. The applicants filed 24 affidavits in support; the respondent filed two affidavits in reply. The hearing proceeded by written submission, with only the applicants filing submissions.

Issues

  1. Whether the court should review its earlier orders in Misc. Application 347 of 2015.
  2. Whether there were sufficient grounds to interfere with a consent judgment entered by the parties.
  3. Whether the applicants satisfied the statutory grounds for review under Order 46 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Review — Statutory Grounds — Right to Review as Creature of Statute
The right to review, like the right to appeal, is a creature of statute and must be expressly given by statute.
Civil Procedure — Review — Grounds Under Order 46 — Manifest Error, New Evidence, or Sufficient Reason
Order 46 of the Civil Procedure Rules sets out the grounds for review: manifest error apparent on the face of the record, discovery of new and important evidence, or any other sufficient reason. A sufficient reason must be analogous to the specified grounds and must relate to errors, omissions, or oversights of the court at the time of making the order, rather than events that took place outside court or after the order was made.
Civil Procedure — Consent Judgments — Principles for Setting Aside
A consent order made in the presence and with the consent of counsel is binding on parties and cannot be varied or discharged unless obtained by fraud or collusion, made pursuant to an agreement contrary to court policy, or given without sufficient material facts or in misapprehension or ignorance of material facts, or for other reasons which would enable a court to set aside an agreement.
Civil Procedure — Review — Improper Use — Advocate-Client Disputes
An application for review is not the proper remedy for disputes between an advocate and client regarding the remittance of funds paid pursuant to a consent order. Such disputes should be addressed through the clear provisions that exist in law for dealing with disagreements between an advocate and a client.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (4)

  • Attorney General v James Kamoga & Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 08 of 2004)
  • Hirani Vs Kassam [1952] EA 131
  • FX Mubwike v UEB (High Court Misc. Application No. 98 of 2005)
  • Abdullah Jaffer Devji Vs Ali RMS Duji [1958] EA 558

Full judgment

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

Emojong & Ors v Bautu (MISC. APPLICATION NO. 471 OF 2016) [2016] UGHCCD 84 (30 August 2016)
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.