Wakilii

Ntare v kiboga west livestock cooperative society & anor (Miscellaneous Application No. 249 of 2012)

High Court · [2013] UGHCCD 154 · 2013 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to High Court seeking supervisory review to set aside costs orders made personally against the applicant by the Chief Magistrate in underlying miscellaneous cause and application
Decision
Orders for personal costs set aside; parties to bear own costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that costs orders made personally against a member of a cooperative society who filed proceedings on its behalf should be set aside where the member acted pursuant to a valid resolution and had locus standi. The court found that the applicant, though not formally a party to the underlying proceedings, was an aggrieved party who had suffered a legal grievance and should have been heard before costs were awarded against him personally. The costs should have been awarded against the cooperative society itself, not the individual member acting under its mandate.

Outcome

Orders for personal costs set aside; parties to bear own costs

Facts

Nathan Ntare filed an ex parte application in Miscellaneous Cause No. 07 of 2012 on behalf of Kiboga West Livestock Cooperative Society to gain access to the Society's property after its tenancy was terminated. The Chief Magistrate granted leave to withdraw the application and ordered Ntare to pay costs personally, though he was not formally a party to the proceedings. When the Society sought review in Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2012, preliminary objections were raised regarding locus standi. The Chief Magistrate dismissed that application and upheld the personal costs order against Ntare. Internal disputes existed within the Cooperative regarding the validity of resolutions authorizing Ntare to act on its behalf. The chairperson of the Cooperative denied that Ntare had authority to file proceedings.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant, as a non-party to the proceedings, was properly ordered to pay costs personally in Miscellaneous Cause No. 007 of 2012 and Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2012.
  2. Whether the applicant had locus standi to institute legal proceedings on behalf of the Cooperative Society.
  3. Whether the applicant was denied a fair hearing in breach of the principles of natural justice.
  4. Whether the costs order violated the principle of corporate personality where the applicant acted as an agent of a registered cooperative society.

Orders

  • The Trial Magistrate's orders for costs against the Applicant personally in Miscellaneous Cause No. 007 of 2012 and Miscellaneous Application No. 39 of 2012 are set aside.
  • Each party to bear their own costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Company Law — Cooperative Societies — Locus Standi — Authority to Institute Proceedings
A member of a registered cooperative society has locus standi to institute legal proceedings on behalf of the society where a resolution of the society confers such authority, notwithstanding disputes about the validity of that resolution.
Company Law — Corporate Personality — Liability of Agents — Cooperative Societies
Where a member of a registered cooperative society acts pursuant to a resolution authorizing legal proceedings, costs arising from those proceedings should be awarded against the society as a body corporate under Cooperatives Act s.28, not against the individual member personally.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Personal Costs Orders Against Non-Parties
A costs order made personally against a person who is not formally a party to proceedings, without giving that person an opportunity to be heard, violates the principles of natural justice and should be set aside.
Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Inherent Supervisory Powers — High Court
The High Court may exercise its inherent supervisory jurisdiction under Judicature Act s.14 and s.17 to set aside orders of subordinate courts where no specific statutory remedy is available, particularly to prevent abuse of process and uphold the ends of justice.
Civil Procedure — Natural Justice — Audi Alteram Partem — Costs Orders
The principle of audi alteram partem requires that a person against whom a costs order is to be made must be given an opportunity to present their case before the order is made, even where that person is not formally a party to the proceedings.

Legislation cited (12)

Cases cited (14)

  • Ladak Abdulla Muhammed H v Griffiths Isingoma Kakiiza and 2 Others (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 1995)
  • Benoist Plantations Ltd v. Jean Emile Adrien Felix (1954) 2 EACA 105
  • Ahmed Hassan Mulji v. Shirinbai Jadavji [1963] EA 217
  • Kamurasi Charles v Accord Properties and Anor (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 3 of 1996)
  • Matovu v. Sseviri & Anor [1979] HCB 174
  • Salomon v. Salomon & Co. (1897) AC 22
  • Watteau v. Fenwick [1891] 4 ALLER
  • United Assurance Co v Attorney General (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 1 of 1998)
  • Bugerere Coffee Growers Ltd v. Ssebaduka
  • Re Nakivubo Chemists (U) Ltd, (1949) HCB 12
  • Foss v. Harbottle (1843) AC67 ER 189
  • Burland v. Earle (1902) AC 83 at 93
  • Christopher Kayoboke v. Amos Agaba & 2 Others KALR (1992) 2 at page 96
  • East Mengo Growers v. Francis Nalweyiso H.CC.S 892/99

Full judgment

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Ntare v kiboga west livestock cooperative society & anor (Miscellaneous Application No. 249 of 2012) [2013] UGHCCD 154 (22 November 2013)
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.