Wakilii

Rushfah Trading Co. Ltd v Chongqing International Construction Corporation Ltd and Bi-Energy General Trading LLC (Misc. Application No. 210 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 218 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of execution of consent judgment pending determination of third-party proceedings
Decision
Application for stay of execution dismissed; consent judgment remains enforceable

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the application for stay of execution. The applicant failed to demonstrate sufficient cause for staying execution of a consent judgment on the basis of pending third-party proceedings. The court held that the issues raised were barred by res judicata, having been covered by the consent judgment, and that the application constituted an abuse of process as it replicated an earlier unsuccessful application to set aside the consent judgment.

Outcome

Application for stay of execution dismissed; consent judgment remains enforceable

Facts

The 1st respondent sued Colas East Africa for USD 694,731.57 arising from breach of contract for supply of Bitumen in Civil Suit No. 635 of 2019. The applicant was added as a third party and filed a counterclaim. On 16 March 2021, the applicant was granted leave to serve third-party notice on the 2nd respondent seeking indemnity for liabilities arising from allegations of adulterated bitumen. On 7 July 2021, before the matter was heard on merits, the parties entered a consent judgment requiring the applicant to pay USD 67,000 to the 1st respondent within three months. The applicant unsuccessfully sought to set aside the consent judgment in Miscellaneous Application No. 1702 of 2021. The 1st respondent subsequently demanded payment and threatened execution under EMA No. 485 of 2021. The applicant then filed this application seeking stay of execution pending determination of the third-party proceedings against the 2nd respondent.

Issues

  1. Whether the application for stay of execution of the consent judgment in Civil Suit No. 635 of 2019 pending determination of third-party proceedings against the 2nd respondent should be granted.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the 1st Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Stay of Execution — Sufficient Cause — Order 22 Rule 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules
For a court to grant a stay of execution under Order 22 rule 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the judgment debtor must demonstrate sufficient cause, presenting clear, credible, and legally valid reasons such as procedural errors, new evidence, or extenuating circumstances that justify delay in execution. It is not sufficient for the judgment debtor to claim vulnerability; it must be shown that execution would cause irreparable loss.
Res Judicata — Consent Judgments — Third-Party Proceedings
Where parties enter a consent judgment settling all disputes between them, issues and claims covered by that consent are barred by res judicata. If a party secures orders for third-party proceedings before the consent judgment and the payment obligation was intended to be contingent upon those proceedings, this condition must be made express in the consent judgment.
Abuse of Process — Henderson v Henderson Principle — Re-litigation of Settled Matters
A party may not raise in subsequent litigation claims which ought properly to have been raised in previous proceedings. Where a party files a second application replicating the content and substance of an earlier unsuccessful application with only minor modifications in the relief sought, this constitutes an abuse of process. The court has inherent jurisdiction to prevent such abuse of its processes.
Abuse of Process — Definition and Application
An action constitutes abuse of court process when the legal process is manipulated for improper purposes, such as filing multiple suits on the same subject matter, or when court processes are misused to achieve something not properly available in properly conducted proceedings. Abuse occurs when proceedings are conducted not to vindicate a right but in a manner designed to cause expense, harassment, or commercial prejudice beyond what is ordinarily encountered in properly conducted litigation.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (10)

  • Wilson Mukiibi v James Ssemusambwa (Civil Application No. 9 of 2003)
  • Registered Trustees of The Hindu Union v Kagoro Epimac and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 304 of 2017)
  • Re. Arjun Singh v. Mohindra Kumar and Ors., AIR (1964) SC 993
  • Satyadhyan Ghosal v. Sm. Deorajin Debi, [1960] 3 S.C.R. 590
  • Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 HARE 100, 67 ER 313
  • Johnson v Gore Wood, [2000] UKHL 6
  • Attorney General and Another v James Kamoga and Another (Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2004)
  • Prof. Isaiah Omolo Ndiege v Kyambogo University (Civil Appeal No. 142 of 2013)
  • Broxton v. McClelland and Another, [1995] EMLR 485
  • Reichel v Magrath (1889) 14 App Cas 665

Full judgment

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

Rushfah Trading Co. Ltd v Chongqing International Construction Corporation Ltd and Bi-Energy General Trading LLC (Misc. Application No. 210 of 2024) [2025] UGCommC 218 (15 July 202
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.