Wakilii

Nabunya v Wasswa and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application 2885 of 2023)

High Court · [2023] UGHCLD 401 · 2023 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to strike out or dismiss civil appeal for non-service of memorandum of appeal
Decision
Application dismissed; appeal to proceed with memorandum to be served within 21 days

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that an appeal to the High Court is valid upon lodging a memorandum of appeal signed by the appellant or advocate. The Civil Procedure Rules require the court to serve notice of hearing on the respondent, not for the appellant to serve the memorandum itself. Where the respondent has appeared twice in court proceedings and the appeal is at preliminary stages, dismissing on grounds of non-service would shut the doors of justice. Application dismissed; respondents ordered to serve memorandum within 21 days.

Outcome

Application dismissed; appeal to proceed with memorandum to be served within 21 days

Facts

The applicant Teopista Nabunya was the respondent in Civil Appeal No. 23 of 2020 arising from Magistrate Court civil suit. The respondents lodged a memorandum of appeal on 3 March 2020. The High Court fixed the appeal for hearing and served a hearing notice on the applicant. The applicant appeared in court twice, with parties proposing to settle outside court. The applicant then brought this application seeking to strike out or dismiss the appeal on grounds that she was never served with the memorandum of appeal itself. The respondents contended that the law does not require service of the memorandum of appeal in appeals from magistrate court to High Court, only service of the hearing notice which had been done.

Issues

  1. Whether Civil Appeal No. 23 of 2020 should be struck out or dismissed for non-service of the memorandum of appeal.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Respondents to serve the applicant with the Memorandum of Appeal vide Civil Appeal No. 23 of 2020 within 21 days from the date of issuing this ruling.
  • Costs of this application shall abide the results of the appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals from Magistrate Court to High Court — Service Requirements
An appeal to the High Court is validly instituted upon lodging a memorandum of appeal signed by the appellant or advocate and presented to court. The Civil Procedure Rules do not impose a duty on the appellant to serve the memorandum of appeal on the respondent; rather, the court is required to serve notice of the hearing date on the respondent.
Civil Procedure — Inherent Powers of Court — Substance over Technicality
Where a respondent has appeared in court proceedings multiple times and the appeal is at preliminary stages, dismissing the appeal on grounds of non-service of the memorandum would shut the doors of justice. Courts possess inherent powers under Section 98 of the Civil Procedure Act to ensure the ends of justice are met and should not allow technicalities to defeat substantive justice.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (2)

  • Namiro v Uganda Marines Products Limited & Another (Misc. Cause No. 78 of 2015)
  • Mulindwa v Kisubika (Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2014)

Full judgment

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

Nabunya_v_Wasswa_and_2_Others_(Miscellaneous_Application_2885_of_2023)_[2023]_UGHCLD_401_(10_November_2023)
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.