Wakilii

Ruzizi S.A. v Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi (Reference No. 7 of 2019)

East African Court of Justice · [2023] EACJ 16 · 2023 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Reference to the East African Court of Justice challenging a decision of the Special Court on Land and Other Assets of Burundi
Decision
Reference dismissed for being filed outside the two-month limitation period prescribed by Article 30(2) of the Treaty

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The East African Court of Justice dismissed the Reference for being time-barred. The Applicant filed the Reference on 18 April 2019, one day beyond the two-month limitation period prescribed by Article 30(2) of the Treaty, which expired on 17 April 2019. The Court held that it lacked jurisdiction ratione temporis to determine the Reference on its merits. The Court also held that the Applicant had locus standi before the Court, rejecting the Respondent's contention that the Applicant ceased to exist as a legal person in 1994.

Outcome

Reference dismissed for being filed outside the two-month limitation period prescribed by Article 30(2) of the Treaty

Facts

Ruzizi S.A., an agro-industrial company incorporated in 1928 in the then Rwanda-Urundi territory, owned land measuring 718 hectares at Kivoga. In 2002, the Burundian Army raided and cut the Applicant's coffee plantation. Disputes arose over ownership of the land between the Applicant, the State of Burundi, and local populations. The National Commission for Land and other Assets initially ruled in favour of the Applicant but later reduced the land by 260 hectares. The Special Court on Land and Other Assets dismissed the Applicant's claims and returned all properties to the State of Burundi without compensation. The Appellate Chamber of the Special Court dismissed the Applicant's appeal on 25 January 2019. The Applicant was notified of this decision on 18 February 2019 and filed a Reference to the East African Court of Justice on 18 April 2019, seeking to challenge the decision and recover the land or obtain compensation.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has locus standi to sue the Republic of Burundi before the East African Court of Justice.
  2. Whether the Court has jurisdiction ratione temporis to deal with the Reference.
  3. Whether the actions of the Respondent and its agents in dispossessing the Applicant of its land and property without due compensation are in violation of Articles 6(d) and 7(2) of the Treaty, national laws of the Republic of Burundi, international laws, norms and instruments.
  4. Whether the Applicant Company is the rightful owner of the land comprised in an area of 718ha 50a 74ca at Kivoga.
  5. Whether parties are entitled to the remedies sought.

Orders

  • The Reference is dismissed in its entirety for being time barred.
  • Each party shall bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Jurisdiction — Time Limitation — Computation of Time
A reference to a 'month' in the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community is to be construed as a reference to a calendar month as directed by the Gregorian calendar, not as a period of a fixed number of days. The two-month limitation period under Article 30(2) of the Treaty is computed by reference to calendar months, not by counting 60 days.
Jurisdiction — Time Limitation — Strict Application
The principle of legal certainty requires strict application of the time limit in Article 30(2) of the Treaty. The Treaty provides no power to the Court to extend, condone, waive, or modify the prescribed time limit for any reason, including for continuing violations.
Jurisdiction — Ratione Temporis — Effect of Time Bar
Where a Reference is filed one day beyond the two-month period specified in Article 30(2) of the Treaty, the Court is stripped of jurisdiction ratione temporis to hear and determine the Reference on its merits. The Reference is time-barred and must be dismissed.
Locus Standi — Legal Personality — Estoppel
Where a respondent has continued to transact with an applicant company as a legal person and owned shares in it beyond the date when it allegedly ceased to exist, the respondent is estopped from raising the issue of the applicant's lack of legal personality at a later stage.
Jurisdiction — Preliminary Objections — Merits
Where a challenge to locus standi is based on grounds that are inextricably linked to the merits of the reference, the Court cannot uphold the challenge without delving into the merits of the Reference. Such a challenge should be overruled at the preliminary stage.
Jurisdiction — Fundamental Nature
Jurisdiction is the most fundamental issue that a court faces in any trial. It is the very foundation upon which the judicial edifice is constructed. Without jurisdiction, a court cannot take even the first step in its judicial journey to hear and dispose of a case.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community Articles 6(d), 7, 23, 27, 30(1), 30(2)
  • East African Court of Justice Rules of the Court, 2019 Rules 4, 19, 25, 49, 63(7), 127(1)
  • Laws of the Community (Interpretation) Act, 2004 s.63(3), s.63(4)
  • Civil Code Book III of Burundi Article 33
  • Law No. 1 002 of March 6, 1996 on the Code of Private and Public Companies Article 13

Cases cited (8)

  • Rugo Farm v Attorney General of Burundi (Reference No. 14 of 2018)
  • Mary Ariviza and Another v Attorney General of Kenya and Another (Application No. 3 of 2010)
  • Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania v Antony Calist Komu (Appeal No. 2 of 2015)
  • Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania v African Network for Animal Welfare (Appeal No. 3 of 2011)
  • Angella Amudo v Secretary General of the East African Community (Appeal No. 2014)
  • Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya v Independent Medical Legal Unit (Appeal No. 1 of 2011)
  • Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda and Another v Omar Awadh and 6 Others (Appeal No. 2 of 2012)
  • Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi v Secretary General of the East African Community and Another (Appeal No. 2 of 2019)

Full judgment

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

Ruzizi S.A. v Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi (Reference No. 7 of 2019) [2023] EACJ 16 (28 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.