Wakilii

Hon Balyeku v Ali Buk (Civil Miscellaneous Application No 153 of 2020)

Court of Appeal · [2021] UGCA 144 · 2021 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application challenging taxation ruling arising from consent award in employment matter
Decision
Taxation ruling set aside and bill of costs re-taxed at lower amount in accordance with taxation regulations

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court set aside the Registrar's taxation ruling and re-taxed the bill of costs applying the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018. The court held that instruction fees should be calculated at 10% of the claim amount, drawing fees for court documents should follow Rule 10(3) rates (50,000/= plus 20,000/= per extra copy), and disbursements legitimately incurred during litigation are properly allowable despite not being covered in the Regulations. The total allowed costs were reduced from 17,270,000/= to 9,403,400/=.

Outcome

Taxation ruling set aside and bill of costs re-taxed at lower amount in accordance with taxation regulations

Facts

The respondent filed a claim for 11,334,000/= as special damages plus general and exemplary damages. The case proceeded through several adjournments until 25/09/2018 when parties consented to an award of 7,000,000/= with costs to be discussed. The parties could not agree on costs and the matter went to the Registrar for taxation. On 28/10/2020 the Registrar granted costs of 17,270,000/=. The applicant challenged this ruling, arguing the Registrar misapplied the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018 in calculating instruction fees, drawing fees for various documents, and other items. The applicant's new counsel was not present at the original taxation hearing where the parties' previous counsel had agreed on most items.

Issues

  1. Whether the Registrar correctly applied the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018 in taxing the bill of costs
  2. Whether instruction fees were properly computed under Rule 1(d) of the Sixth Schedule
  3. Whether drawing fees for various court documents were properly allowed under Rules 10 and 11
  4. Whether disbursements should be allowed as part of the bill of costs

Orders

  • The taxation ruling of the Registrar signed on 28/10/2020 is set aside.
  • The bill of costs is re-taxed at 9,403,400/= (nine million four hundred three thousand four hundred shillings only).
  • Instruction fees allowed at 1,133,400/=.
  • Drawing fees for various documents allowed at specified rates per the Sixth Schedule.
  • Attendances allowed at 2,760,000/=.
  • Disbursements allowed at 950,000/=.

Rules and key headnotes

Taxation of Costs — Instruction Fees — Calculation Method
Instruction fees under Rule 1(d) of the Sixth Schedule to the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018 are calculated at 10% of the amount claimed, not 10% of amounts exceeding a threshold.
Taxation of Costs — Drawing Fees — Court Documents
Affidavits of service, witness statements, scheduling memoranda, and hearing notices fall under Rule 10(3) of the Sixth Schedule and attract drawing fees of 50,000/= plus 20,000/= for each extra copy, not the higher rates under Rule 10(2).
Taxation of Costs — Drawing Fees — Pleadings and Similar Documents
Memoranda of claim, summaries of evidence, lists of authorities, and trial bundles fall under Rule 10(1) of the Sixth Schedule as pleadings or similar documents and attract drawing fees of 300,000/= plus 50,000/= for each extra copy.
Taxation of Costs — Disbursements — Allowability
Disbursements are properly allowable as part of a bill of costs even though not specifically covered under the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018, as they represent costs legitimately and reasonably incurred by the litigant during litigation including transport, accommodation, and other necessary expenses.
Taxation of Costs — Consent Agreements — Judicial Scrutiny
Where parties or their counsel agree on items during taxation, the taxing officer and the court on review must ensure that what is agreed conforms to law, as agreements on costs must be within the applicable taxation regulations.

Legislation cited (6)

Full judgment

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Hon Balyeku v Ali Buk (Civil Miscellaneous Application No 153 of 2020) 2021 UGCA 144 (22 October 2021)
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.