Wakilii

Inyangat v Oligo (Misc. Appl. No. 280 of 2000)

High Court · [2002] UGHC 41 · 2002 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of civil proceedings and referral to arbitration arising out of partnership dispute
Decision
Application for stay dismissed; civil suit to proceed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Application for stay of proceedings and referral to arbitration dismissed. The court held that section 17 of the Arbitration Act requires an application for stay to be made after appearance but before filing a written statement of defence or taking other steps in the proceedings. The applicant had filed his defence before applying for the stay. Further, the partnership deed was no longer subsisting, the partners having separated in 1995, and therefore there were no terms to enforce or refer to arbitration.

Outcome

Application for stay dismissed; civil suit to proceed

Facts

On 26 April 1984, Cyprian Inyangat and Andrew Bob Oligo created a partnership under the name Invo Consult Uganda. The Partnership Deed contained clause 19 providing that any dispute arising out of the partnership would be referred to arbitration under the Arbitration Act. The partnership ended on or about 6 August 1995. The defendant continued to do business under the firm name and received payments for work done before the partnership ended. The plaintiff filed Civil Suit No. 72 of 2000 against the defendant alleging breaches of the Partnership Deed. The defendant filed a written statement of defence on 24 February 2000. Subsequently, the defendant filed this application on 28 April 2000 seeking a stay of the civil proceedings and referral of the matter to arbitration under section 17 of the Arbitration Act. The plaintiff opposed the application on the ground that the defendant had already filed a defence and taken steps in the proceedings, making the application too late.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant/defendant was entitled to a stay of civil proceedings and referral of the dispute to arbitration under section 17 of the Arbitration Act.
  2. Whether the applicant had complied with the procedural requirements of section 17 by filing his application before taking steps in the proceedings.
  3. Whether the arbitration clause in the Partnership Deed remained valid and enforceable after the partnership ended in 1995.

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Arbitration — Stay of Proceedings — Timing of Application under Section 17
An application for stay of proceedings under section 17 of the Arbitration Act must be made after appearance and before filing a written statement of defence or taking any other steps in the proceedings. Filing a defence before applying for stay disentitles the applicant to the orders sought.
Arbitration Clause — Subsistence After Partnership Dissolution
An arbitration clause contained in a partnership deed that is no longer subsisting cannot be enforced where the partners have separated and parted ways. There are no terms to enforce or refer to arbitration once the partnership has ended.
Submission to Arbitration — Irrevocability — Leave of Court Required
A submission to arbitration is irrevocable except by leave of court under section 3 of the Arbitration Act. A party who files suit without seeking leave to revoke the arbitration clause breaches the submission agreement, but such breach does not automatically entitle the other party to a stay if procedural requirements are not met.
Civil Procedure — Effect of 1998 Amendments — Abolition of Entry of Appearance
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 1998 abolished the entry of appearance and required defendants to file a defence instead. The amendments also introduced Order 51B giving power to a defendant who wishes to dispute jurisdiction to give notice of intention to defend and apply to court within the time limited for service of defence.

Legislation cited (9)

  • Arbitration Act s.2
  • Arbitration Act s.3
  • Arbitration Act s.17
  • Civil Procedure Act s.61
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.43 r.5
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.48 r.1
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.51B
  • Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 1998 (S.I. No. 26/98)

Cases cited (1)

  • Muluki v Oriental Fire and General Insurance [1973] EA 162

Full judgment

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

Inyangat v Oligo (Misc. Appl. No. 280 of 2000) [2002] UGHC 41 (9 March 2002)
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.