Wakilii

Pirbhai Sunderji and Co. v Compagnie Des Chemin De Fer Du Congo Superieur Aux Grands - Lacs Africains (C.A. 33-1933.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1937] EACA 145 · 1937 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from Registrar's taxation of costs following dismissal of appeal
Decision
Application to set aside Registrar's taxation order dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that a fee of Sh. 600 for perusing a 500-folio record containing substantial French language was reasonable, exceeding the usual Sh. 1 per folio rate due to language complexity. The Court further held that the Registrar's failure to record good cause for allowing an instructions fee of Sh. 500 (exceeding the scale fee of Sh. 75) was a mere oversight and no ground for disallowing the fee where the amount was otherwise reasonable.

Outcome

Application to set aside Registrar's taxation order dismissed

Facts

On 10 February 1934, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appellants' appeal with costs. The respondents taxed their costs before the Registrar on 17 February 1934. The Registrar allowed Sh. 1,150 from a claimed Sh. 1,300, allocating Sh. 500 for instructions, Sh. 600 for perusing the record, and smaller amounts for other items. Three months later, on 26 May 1934, the appellants applied to set aside the Registrar's taxation order under Rule 25 of the East African Court of Appeal Rules. The appellants challenged the instructions fee and the perusal fee as excessive. The record comprised 500 folios and contained substantial French language text.

Issues

  1. Whether the Registrar's allowance of Sh. 600 for perusing a record of 500 folios containing French language was reasonable.
  2. Whether the Registrar's allowance of Sh. 500 as an instructions fee was reasonable in circumstances where the Registrar failed to record good cause for exceeding the scale fee of Sh. 75.

Orders

  • Appeal from Registrar dismissed.
  • Costs to the respondent fixed at Sh. 130.

Rules and key headnotes

Taxation of Costs — Perusal Fee — Record in Foreign Language
Where a record contains substantial text in a foreign language, a perusal fee exceeding the usual rate of Sh. 1 per folio is reasonable to account for the additional complexity and time required.
Taxation of Costs — Instructions Fee — Registrar's Discretion — Failure to Record Good Cause
The Registrar's failure to record good cause for allowing an instructions fee exceeding the scale fee is a procedural oversight and does not render an otherwise reasonable fee improper, provided good cause in fact existed.
Taxation of Costs — Appeal from Registrar — Standard of Review
On appeal from a Registrar's taxation, the Court will not interfere with the Registrar's exercise of discretion on quantum unless it is shown that the Registrar failed to exercise discretion or exercised it on wrong principles.

Legislation cited (4)

  • East African Court of Appeal Rules Rule 25
  • East African Court of Appeal Rules Second Schedule
  • English Rules Order LXV reg. 38
  • English Rules Order LXV reg. 41

Cases cited (2)

  • Ogilvie v Massey [1910] P 243
  • Slingsby v Attorney-General [1918] P 239

Full judgment

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

Pirbhai Sunderji and Co. v Compagnie Des Chemin De Fer Du Congo Superieur Aux Grands - Lacs Africains (C.A. 33-1933.) [1937] EACA 145 (1 January 1937)
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.