Wakilii

Mbale Municipal Council v Islamic University in Uganda (Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 28 of 1998)

Court of Appeal · [1998] UGCA 65 · 1998 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to file an appeal out of time before the Court of Appeal
Decision
Application for leave to file appeal out of time granted; applicant to file appeal within twenty-one days

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court considered whether leave to file an appeal out of time should be granted where the delay resulted from the applicant's former Counsel's mistaken belief that leave to appeal had to be obtained before giving the Notice of Appeal. Relying on authorities including Hudani v Tejani, the Court held that mistakes or negligence by Counsel are not necessarily a bar to extension of time, and that the applicant need only show the delay was not of his own making. As the delay was caused by Counsel's error, it constituted sufficient reason. The application was allowed and the applicant was directed to file the appeal within twenty-one days.

Outcome

Application for leave to file appeal out of time granted; applicant to file appeal within twenty-one days

Facts

On 12 February 1995 the Chief Magistrate of Mbale made an order under the Rating Decree No. 3 of 1979 against the respondent. That order was set aside by the High Court (Ouma J.) on 4 April 1997. The applicant, wishing to appeal the High Court decision, was granted leave to appeal on 28 May 1997. The applicant's former Counsel purported to give Notice of Appeal on 11 June 1997 against the High Court decision of 4 April 1997. The Notice of Appeal was filed out of time because the former Counsel erroneously believed that leave to appeal had first to be obtained before giving the Notice of Appeal. Under the Rules, a Notice of Appeal must be lodged within 14 days of the decision. The applicant accordingly applied for leave to file the appeal out of time, relying on the mistake of Counsel as sufficient reason.

Issues

  1. Whether the mistake of the applicant's former Counsel in filing the Notice of Appeal out of time constitutes sufficient reason to extend the time for filing an appeal under rule 4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Applicant to file the appeal within twenty-one days from the date of this ruling.
  • Costs of this application to abide the result of the intended appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Mistake or Negligence of Counsel as Sufficient Reason
A mistake or negligence by an advocate is not necessarily a bar to obtaining an extension of time; where the delay in filing was caused by Counsel's error and not the litigant's own making, that error constitutes sufficient reason for extension of time under rule 4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal.
Civil Procedure — Extension of Time — Test of Sufficient Reason
To establish sufficient reason for an extension of time under rule 4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal, the applicant need only show that the delay was not due to his or her own making.
Civil Procedure — Notice of Appeal — Time for Lodging Where Leave Required
Where an application for a certificate or for leave is necessary, such application may be made before or after the Notice of Appeal is lodged, but the Notice of Appeal must still be lodged within 14 days after the date of the decision appealed against.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Courts of Appeal Rules Directions 1995 r.4
  • Courts of Appeal Rules Directions 1995 r.40(2)
  • Courts of Appeal Rules Directions 1995 r.55(2)
  • Courts of Appeal Rules Directions 1995 r.75
  • Rating Decree No. 3 of 1979

Cases cited (2)

  • Sirazali Hudani v Jimmy Tejani (Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 31 of 1997)
  • Ngoni Matengo Cooperative Marketing Union Ltd v A. Osman [1959] EA 577

Full judgment

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

Mbale Municipal Council v Islamic University in Uganda (Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 28 of 1998) [1998] UGCA 65 (23 October 1998)
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.