Civil Litigation LECTURE NOTES
Civil Litigation LECTURE NOTES
Civil Litigation LECTURE NOTES
Once file and served, the Defendant may choose not to defend out of freewill or
due to an oversight.
CIVIL PROCEDURE
FRIDAY, 12. 05. 2006.
Late Start:
1. You want to ensure that you understand the cause of action displayed in
the facts the client presents to you. What is the cause of action established
by the facts.
2. Who is the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs
3. Where do I file my case in which court?
4. What remedy does my client have or ought to get.
5. Actual drafting of the pleadings ( I am saying this because this will depend
on the cause of action established in the facts) Once the pleading is ready
and drafted properly
6. File the pleadings
7. Preparation of summons , get them signed and paid for, served. This is
catered for in the Civil procedure rules.
8. The defendant who has been properly served may chose not to defend
either of the free will or because of the oversight. If the defendant is served
and he chose not to defend the action and not to file an appearance and
you will be seeking judgment in default of appearance or it may be
judgment in default of defense if it is not filed as much as there was filed
appearance.
9. Then there could be an interlocutory or final judgment in default of either .
10. If the defense is filed and served on time then you as the Plaintiffs
advocate must make a decision whether you can bring the suit to an end
and the decision will depend on the cause of action. Under Order 35 you
can go to court and apply for summary judgment however it does not
occur in all cases but in some cases. If you make such a decision you will
ask for Orders under the provisions of Order 35. You look at the defense
and think whether the defense actually constitutes the defense and if it is
not then you look at the provisions of the rule 13 of Order 6 the effect of
both is to terminate proceedings. If you think you cannot succeed under
both Order you can demand further particulars, matters clarified to enable
you to determine next cause of action. This is done to expedite trial and cut
the costs of the cause. If you are acting for the Plaintiff there is a risk that
the subject matter may be at risk and therefore it is necessary to move the
court to preserve the subject matter of litigation pending the trial. You do
not want judgment at that place all you are interested in preservation of
the subject matter of the suit and then you have to file an injunction and
there are various types of injunctions. You may even got under the
provisions of Order 38 which is similar to mareva injunction but there is a
clear distinction. There are various types of interlocutory applications and
it is important to determine which application you have to make. Once
you through with interlocutory proceedings assuming that you have not
brought the suit to an end but expedited the proceedings. You have to
prepare your suit for trial and you have to fix the suit for trial and summon
witness to give evidence in your favor and you will be interested in
procedure of adjournment the suit. Assuming you have dealt with these
steps and the suit came for trial you will be interested in knowing who has
the right to begin.
11. Under the Civil Procedure Rules there are times when the Defendant must
begin, where the defendant says that on the Plaintiff is not entitled to the
relief he is seeking or on the point of law. This will depend on the
pleadings that you have filed and the facts contained in the pleadings
12. Whichever party commences giving evidence it is always wise to make a
statement of what it is you cause of action is and you call your witnesses in
the order you prefer and you allow them to be cross examined and then
re examined and the other party will go through the same motion. The
only time the sequence changes if the witness turns hostile and then the
lawyer will have to establish that the witness is not a reliable person and
the evidence be destroyed. In terms of giving evidence it is good to have an
understanding with the witnesses before you got court and envisage the
kind of cross examination that may occur.
13. The court will then deliver judgment. The judgment must give reasons and
be signed and read. Once the judgment is written, there is a procedure of
extracting the decree, because it is the decree that allows you to execute
and enforce it. There are steps which are very important to be followed to
execute a judgment. Meaning that you take steps to convert the decree to
the benefit to your client. You must apply for the decree to be executed, the
only consolation that the decree does not go old. What mode of execution
you want to adopt will depend on the decree you have either attachment
of property or winding up. Execution proceedings are important. There are
difference modes of execution decrees and you have to know what will
happen if there is an objection to execution, or where there is a property
which you think belongs to the defendant but it is not in the hands of the
defendant. A lot of times many other proceedings may take place before
actual execution even when there is a decree in your clients favor.
14. One may even be appealing against the decree or order and that will be an
application for stay of decree or execution. If you are applying under the
Order 45 then you have to prepare memorandum of appeal , but the
procedure is different when you want to set aside a judgement .
15. Costs. If the judgement is tendered in default of appearance and defence
that means you have to execute and a certificate of costs issued by the
Registrar. You must file a bill of costs for taxation and once it is taxed that
enables you to apply for the execution. This is appealable.
16. Judicial Review is provided under Order 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules
and is within civil procedure it should not stand on its own.
Assuming the defendant has been served and opted not to defend the procedure
may be that one applies for judgment in default of defence. One has to find out
whether they are entitled to final or interlocutory judgment both of which have
different procedures.
If not under Order XXXV if one thinks what is filed does not constitute a defence
one may want to terminate the proceedings under Order VI Rule 13 in favour of
their client i.e. if the suit is frivolous. These are two ways of bringing to an end
the proceedings without a trial.
When one wants to demand for information to help them make their mind, or
wants matters clarified to determine the next step to take.
To preserve the subject matter of litigation pending trial, you dont want
judgment or to strike out the defence, for this purpose one requires an injunction
to preserve the subject matter. Order XXXVIII or XXXIX. At this stage one has
to make their minds which application to make these are interlocutory
proceedings.
Fixing your suit for trial has another series of steps i.e. summoning witnesses,
knowing whether there is a procedure in adjournment of suits. What happens if a
suit is fixed for trial and only the plaintiff turns up. After these and the suit
eventually comes to trial, one must know who has the right to begin.
Under Civil Procedure Rules there are times when the Defendant must begin,
usually it is the Plaintiff who is entitled. It depends on the kind of pleadings, if
the defence admits the facts as stated by the Plaintiff.
What is a judgment?
Once judgment is written, there is a procedure of extracting the decree. Trials of
civil proceedings do not end in judgment there is a subsequent step which is
important. This distinguishes whether your client has won theoretically. One
applies for execution of the judgment, enforcement of a right that has been
acquired. One must apply for the decree to be executed.
What mode of execution does one adopt, if one has an injunction, it will depend
on what one wants to enforce, it could be attachment of property or winding up.
Execution proceedings are very important.
Another party may appear at the execution stage i.e. claiming to have an interest
in what has been attached, or where the attached property is not in the hands of
the Judgment debtor. Proceedings take place,
Acting for the Defendant one may want to appeal the decision you go to court to
ask for a stay of execution, one of the mistakes which we make is to assume that if
judgment has been passed and one wants a stay of execution, Order 45 one must
go to the court dealing with appeals. Not always, where one is applying to set
aside, one must know the right procedures. One has to identify the right order,
this is not appealing or setting aside so one cannot apply for a stay,
Costs:
If judgment is entered in default of appearance and defence one goes for a
certificate of costs to enable execution. These are costs that have been certified
by the registrar and a certificate issued in respect of uncontested cases.
Ganishee Proceedings where one has a decree but property of the judgment
debtor is not in the hands of the judgment debtor.
HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
Kulobas Text
Said Said imported officials from India to administer the areas where the Sultan
had control. They borrowed heavily from the experience in India.
In 1865 a consular court was set up in Zanzibar, designed to hear trade disputes
and the jurisdiction drew on Indian experience. Civil appeals were referred to
Bombay court which was given concurrent original jurisdiction. This was the
time of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and there was a lot of movement
from Europe to Africa to source raw materials for the industries which were
growing in Europe. The Europeans came for raw materials to feed their
industries. They agreed to partition Africa to allow them to share.
In 1884 there was an Order in Council which applied jurisdiction to the mainland
dominions of the Sultan
1897 East Africa Association was set up for trade and commerce. Concession to
administer the regions of the Sultan.
They obtained a Charter which for Imperial British East Africa Company.
1889 The Sultan handed power to IBEA to administer his dominions and in the
same year we got the African Order in Council which was to regulate judicial
affairs of the council
1895 British buys IBEA and takes over direct administration of Kenya and they
pass the 1897 Order in Council which has the reception clause which applied
English Law into this country. The laws as they existed in UK at that time. This
gave Kenya a protectorate status. There were also courts for small causes under
Indian Civil Procedure Code of 1882.
In 1913 he completed the civil procedure code he used the 1882 India
Procedure Code which had been used since IBEA had taken charge of
administration of Kenya.
When it was passed it had no rules but under Section 83 of the Ordinance it set
up a Rules Committee to come up with detailed rules of procedure which were to
be followed in civil proceedings. The committee were 2 judges, AG at the same
time a sub-committee of LSK also set up a small committee to look at the
proposed set of rules and to propose amendments on the draft rules. The LSK
committee would consult with the rules committee until the final draft was
passed in 1927. While the Act was based on Indian Law but the rules were based
on English procedure. This mixture in certain situations didnt give favourable
results with the consequences that the two systems were not compatible.
Order XIII adopted rules for default judgment for non-appearance, most of our
procedure was borrowed from the English Procedure. The English system allows
for cases for short quick procedures and one need not have to draft a plaint if one
is claiming a small amount of money. One of the concerns was that there was
need for summary procedure in respect of small claims. eventually in 1927 the
rules were passed as supplement NO. 4 and our Civil Procedure and Rules came
into being.
Was it necessary to have different procedures for the lower court and the high
court, this was never resolved. According to Hamilton there should have been
one code that applied to all. The fact that we had professional and lay magistrate
who were not trained in civil procedure could not follow the drafted procedures,
some of the rules had also become redundant and in respect of small cases there
was too much pleading which was inappropriate, these reasons were advanced
for the case to have separate rules of procedure however, when this Act was
passed in 1927 it was passed for both High Court and Subordinate Courts. The
proposals were never taken into account and therefore this Act remains as one to
date.
We have the Act and Rules as originally conceived apart from where there have
been constitutional amendments. A good example is Order LVIII, Notice 164 of
1992 amended Order LVIII replaced, another amendment was the procedure for
hearing for application for leave ex parte more recently we have the requirement
of statutory arguments, Order LVIII Rule 9
Under the Judicature Act and Magistrate Court the CJ is empowered to make
rules of court relating to procedure and practice of subordinate courts. However
no such rules have ever been made, lower courts and the High Court continue to
apply the Civil Procedure as originally passed and amended. The bulk of the
rules apply to civil proceedings only and does not include other special
proceedings. Rules can apply expressly if a certain Act so provides like in the
Rent Restrictions Tribunal Act.
Should we have different rules for the subordinate courts and the High Court
Kuloba criticises the mixture inherent in the Act and says in page 15 a
proceduralist can see that the result of the amendments as a mere exercise in
patchwork
The rules are practical in the sense that they have been tested and applied, to
come up with another set will meaning subjecting them to a new set of court
scrutiny and this could take a while. There are benefits of the Act and the Rules
as they are.
1. Historical Sources
2. Material Sources
3. Formal Sources
Historical Sources
Tracing the history of the statute to see how it evolved over a particular period of
time and how it developed.
Material Sources
Concerned with physical source or repository where one can find law
Formal Source
From which a rule of law derives its validity.
We are concerned with the physical repositories where one can find civil
procedure and the sources from where the law of procedure derives its force and
validity. One can list the constitution, statute as the second source and rules of
courts and fourth is case law.
From the constitution and its contents it is evident that it is a source of civil
procedure. Section 3 which states the supremacy of the Constitution, it means
that whatever law substantive or procedural if it is inconsistent with the
Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency.
Statute law we are concerned with the Civil Procedure Act Cap 21. sometimes it
is assumed that anything non-criminal is civil and this is not correct. The Civil
Procedure is basically concerned with cases of a civil nature in the court, their
procedure. We exclude procedures which are stated as specific statute granting
specific procedures to be followed, we exclude this from the Civil Procedure.
Winding up of a company has the winding rules and this is therefore excluded
from civil procedure. Matrimonial Causes Act also prescribes procedures for
prosecuting under this Act. Contentious Probate matters are catered for under
the Law of Succession Act and therefore excluded. Where you have an Act of
Parliament granting specific jurisdiction and prescribing procedure, then that is
the procedure to be followed unless the Act itself states that the Civil Procedure is
to be followed.
All Laws of Civil Procedure emanate and the chapters dealing with procedure are
under the Bill of Rights which is of eminence importance as it lays down the
protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. This chapter
provides for procedural fairness Section 70-84 one finds that the Civil Procedure
has been constitutionalised.
The Constitution provides for procedure in applications which are founded on the
Constitution.
When promulgated by the rules committee they must be consistent with the
provisions of the Act. If there is any inconsistency of the Rules Committee with
the main legislation, or where the rules and the Act collide, the Act prevails. to
illustrate this point the cases of Central District Maize Millers Association v
Maciel[1944] 6ULR ]130
Facts: in a suit against a payee and first endorser of a promissory note the plaint
contended on averment that no notice of dishonour had been given. In the
written statement of defence the defendant alleged that the plaint disclosed no
cause of action because it did not contain an averment that notice of dishonour
had been given to the defendant. The trial magistrate amended the plaint by
inserting particulars of the notice of dishonour and having heard evidence gave
judgment against the defendant. The Defendant appealed against the judgment
and the main ground of appeal was that the Plaint should have been rejected
because it did not disclose a course of action and that there was no power to
amend. The question that the High Court had to determine was whether on there
being no averment that notice of dishonour of the promissory note was given the
Amendment of pleading by the Magistrate was proper or whether the magistrate
was bound by Order VII Rule 11. The Court held that the correct way of looking
at the matter would be to say that the plaint did disclose a cause of action but
unnecessary averment was omitted which could be cured by amendment under
the Act notwithstanding the provisions of Order VII Rule 11 which appeared to be
inconsistent with Section 99 of the Act. The words does not disclose a cause of
action under Order VII Rule 11 must mean that the plaint must be such that no
legitimate amendment can be made to give it a cause of action. Although the
rules may seem to confer the right to amend a pleading to disclose a cause of
action, an amendment would be allowed under the general powers provided for
under Section 100 to rectify a bona fide mistake in a plaint. Where there is
conflict between the rules and the Act the provisions in the Act will prevail over
those in the Rules.
If a rule is inconsistent with the Act it is ultra vires to that extent. Secondly if the
Act confers unfettered power or discretion, a rule which limits the exercise of the
power is prima facie inconsistent with the Act and is therefore ultra vires.
Thirdly if a rule is capable of two constructions one consistent with the provisions
of the Act and the other inconsistent with the provisions of the Rules then the
court should lean to the construction which is consistent with the provisions of
the Act.
Section 80 confers an unfettered right to apply for review and the only fetter is
that the court should exercise this discretion judiciary. Order VLIV has
qualifying words, it purports to set out grounds for review. The ruling was that
the wording in that particular Order should be given a liberal construction to
avoid inconsistence with the wordings of Section 80, there should be no
limitation to Section 80. invoke Section 80 for review its is safer.
The Act the rules made thereunder are not exhaustive although the intention is
that they should apply to all matters of civil nature in court there are other rules
prescribed by other statutes which give specific jurisdiction but these other rules
should be taken to complement the civil procedure rules. Where a statute
specifically provides that the Act and the Rules shall apply then the Act and the
Rules should be applied to those proceedings and the fact that no rules have been
made where law grants jurisdiction to the court does not mean that that
jurisdiction cannot be exercised. Section 3 of the Act confers jurisdiction to the
Court and explains that where one has specific procedure provided by an Act of
Parliament then that procedure ought to prevail, where it provides for the rules
under the Civil Procedure, then that should be the case.
The court ought to act on the principle that every procedure is to be taken as
permissible unless it has been shown to be prohibited. One should not proceed
on the basis that every procedure is to be taken as prohibited unless it is
permitted. The best illustration is the case of
The word Inherent Power has not been defined by any court but an attempt has
been made in the following case.
Mistreal Trust Co v Churchill Forest Industries (Manitoba) Ltd [1971] 21 DLR 3 rd
ed) at P 75 Sir Jack I.H. Jacob attempted to define inherent jurisdiction.
inherent jurisdiction is the reserve or fund of powers, a residue source of
powers, which the court may draw upon as necessary whenever it is just or
equitable to do so, and in particular to ensure the observes of the due process to
prevent improper vexation or operation, to do justice between the parties and to
secure a fair trial between them.
The nature of inherent jurisdiction is to compare it with other jurisdiction.
Rules of the Court apart from the Civil Procedure Rules there are Rules,
Regulations and Directions which the court uses to guide the smooth operations
of the court process. Kuloba says something on practice directions. In Milimani
Commercial Courts for example, there is the direction that rulings are for the
afternoons hearings and mentions for the mornings these are practice
directions, to have orderly conduct for the business of the courts. These practice
directions are normally bestowed in the Judicial Officer presiding over that
particular court or it could be from the CJ. The practice in UK is that they report
these kind of directions in the Law Reports to be part of the records but here one
never gets to know what happens.
Murage v Mae the court was considering the provisions of Order XXXVIII the
judge was concerned with the provisions of Order XXXVIII and the Mareva
Injunction. Can one really cater for the needs of their clients through an
application under Order XXXVIII without applying for a Mareeva Injunction.
COURT OF APPEAL
COURT OF APPEAL
KADHIS COURT
COURTS MARTIAL
CIVIL CUSTOMARY
DM II (PROF
Jurisdiction is a creature of statute. The only way to attack a courts power to
decide is only if the court is operating outside that power. Power granted to the
court to hear cases, it can either be appellate or original.
COURT APPEAL
This court is granted power to hear appeals only. Exercises appellate jurisdiction,
can only hear cases on appeal only. This court cannot undertake cases of first
instance. The only limited jurisdiction that one can say exists is where one
invokes the power of original jurisdiction under Rule 5 (2) (b), of the Rules of the
Court of Appeal where you can go for application to grant a stay pending an
appeal. In all other situations there must be an appeal of the decision of the High
Court the power is granted under Appellate Jurisdiction Act Cap 9.
It is settled that where one goes directly to the Court of Appeal under Rule 5 (2)
(b) it is the only time one can approach the Court of Appeal directly.
HIGH COURT
The High Court is important because of the jurisdiction it has been vested with.
The High Court under Section 60 of the Constitution is granted unlimited
original criminal and civil jurisdiction. This means one can file any case at the
High Court or commence any case of a civil nature. There are other rules that say
you have to commence your suit in the lowest court competent to hear your case.
TRIBUNALS
The tribunals are subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court,
appeals from the tribunals may be referred to the High Court. under Section 65
the jurisdiction applies to all tribunals.
COURT MARTIAL & KADHIS COURTS
Appeals are to the High Court and they are subject to the supervisory jurisdiction
of the High Court.
The Resident Magistrates courts have jurisdiction throughout the republic and
they have the same jurisdiction to entertain customary law claims as the District
Magistrates Courts. Civil Jurisdiction is either territorial or pecuniary, when one
talks of territorial it is the area to which the jurisdiction of the court extends, it is
delimited by geographical expanses. The DM courts have their jurisdiction
delimited by geographical expanses. The DM courts are established under the
Magistrates Courts Act and each administrative district has a Magistrate. Two
administrative district can be formed to be one judicial district and the
jurisdiction of the magistrate covers the extended judicial district and where
there are several magistrates within a district, the question is whether they share
the jurisdiction in that district or whether each one of them has jurisdiction over
that district? Each one of them will have jurisdiction over the entire judicial
district.
The District Magistrates Courts have jurisdiction over claims of a customary law
nature and when they are exercising this jurisdiction there is no limit in terms of
monetary value as long as it is under customary law.
The jurisdiction of the court can also be limited by the maximum monetary value
in respect of the claim that has been filed, where this happens we call it pecuniary
jurisdiction and each court has limited pecuniary jurisdiction in civil claims. one
should find out whether a court has extended jurisdiction since the Chief Justice
has power to extend pecuniary jurisdiction. Where there is extension the power
to hear cases is enhanced and one can file a case of that an amount. Where there
is extension, the jurisdiction relates to the magistrates and the court when the
magistrate is transfer the jurisdiction ceases and the next magistrate must be
gazetted with new pecuniary jurisdiction. One must find out whether the current
magistrate has been vested with the jurisdiction that the previous magistrate has.
Customary law claims, we are talking of land held under customary law tenure,
marriage divorce, maintenance and dowry, seduction or pregnancy of a married
woman or girl. (find out whether the provisions still apply cross check with
Childrens Act). Childrens Act is a specific Act and therefore where it conflicts
with customary law the Childrens Act shall prevail.
Enticement of or adultery with a married woman falls under customary law,
matters affecting status and in particular the women, widows and children and
more particularly custody of children.
Intestate Succession and administration of intestate estates so far as these are not
governed by any written law.
DRAFTING
2. Does one have the right parties to the cause of action, one must ask
themselves who is the Plaintiff/s or Defendant/s addressing your mind
to the issue of joinder of parties;
5. One must have proper pleadings One must be able to identify from
the facts which one has been given a course of action. What form
should the pleadings take, Plaint, Chamber Summons, Petition,
Originating Motion or in case of compulsory acquisition it should be by
appeal. Where one wants to challenge the government right or
compulsory acquisition is by appeal.
6. The Subject Matter there must be something over which people are
fighting, it could be money, property or one seeking a declaration from
the court, or breach of a statutory right. if there is no subject matter
there ought not to be any suit.
COMPETENT JURISDICTION
Make sure that the suit is filed in a court of competent jurisdiction; assuming
that one has identified the correct court with correct pecuniary and territorial
jurisdiction, one must also worry about the parties to the action for example
does the plaintiff have capacity to sue? Capacity affects jurisdiction because it
can stop a court from hearing a suit. A party may lack capacity if they are
under age and the procedure prescribed under Order 33 is not followed then
the suit will be struck out. Order XXXIII is commencement of action by
minors and people of unsound mind. If the Plaintiff is an artificial personality
and one wants to found an action on an ultra vires act i.e. where the company
has acted outside its objects, then it lacks capacity to commence the suit. The
party to be named as plaintiff and their capacity must be taken into account
before commencing any action. For example if a company is under
receivership based on a court order, one must seek leave of the court before
commencing a suit against the company.
Apart from capacity there are provisions of Section 6 and 7 of the Act that one
must take into consideration. Section 6 is on Stay of suit. The section is designed
to prevent courts of concurrent jurisdiction from simultaneously adjudicating on
a suit with the same parties and the same matter, the policy of law is to confine
plaintiff to one litigation avoiding possibility of two conflicting judgments in
respect of the same relief which would be an absurdity. Provisions of Section 6
do not prevent the court from entertaining the filing of a suit. It does not bar
institution of a suit but only bars trial of suit of certain conditions are fulfilled.
When one is raising an objection under Section 6, the jurisdiction of the court is
to stay and not to dismiss. Reinstitution of the case is not barred, only
proceedings. One wants to stay the suit rather than dismissing it, if the suit is
stayed the subsequent suit can be dismissed under Section 7.
Note that the matter in issue in the subsequent suit must be directly and
substantially in issue in the previous suit, both suits must be between same
parties or their representatives. The previously instituted suit must be pending in
the same court in which the subsequent suit is brought or in any other court
having jurisdiction to hear and entertain the suit. The court in which the
previous suit is instituted must have jurisdiction to grant the relief claimed in the
subsequent suit. Both parties must be litigating under the same title in both
suits.
A Decree which is passed in contravention of Section 6 of the Act can
be enforced. The provisions of section 6 are merely procedural and in
fact can be waived by the parties to the action by urging the court to
proceed with the subsequent suit and ignore the previous suit. None of
the party can thereafter challenge the decree as the doctrine of estoppel
would apply.
Res Judicata : Section 7 bars the court from trying any suit and the
doctrine embodies by this section is the doctrine of Res Judicata which
means the conclusiveness of judgment. This Section requires that once
a matter has finally been decided by a competent court, nobody can be
permitted to open it in subsequent litigation. In the absence of this
rule there would be no end to litigation. One judgment is a suit is
sufficient.
CIVIL PROCEDURE LECTURE 4 2nd June 2006
Res Judicata one of factors limiting the jurisdiction of court. this doctrine
requires that there should be an end to litigation or conclusiveness of judgment
where a court has decided and issued judgment then parties should not be
allowed to litigate over the same issues again. This doctrine requires that one suit
one decision is enough and there should not be many decisions in regard of the
same suit. It is based on the need to give finality to judicial decisions. Res
Judicata can apply in both a question of fact and a question of law. where the
court has decided based on facts it is final and should not be opened by same
parties in subsequent litigation. The only way to avoid it is where there is a
pending appeal or where an appeal has been successful and therefore the decision
has been reversed then one cannot plead res judicata. If no appeal lies of right or
an appeal has been dismissed, under Section 7 one can plead res judicata, the
parties will not be allowed to litigate on the same issue.
It is a combination of public policy and private justice and even in criminal court
it is against public policy to charge someone once they have been dismissed by a
competent court. a man shall not be vexed twice for the same cause.
One also cannot keep revisiting litigation, if the court has already decided it
should be final and private justice will require that there be an end to litigation.
With regard to res judicata it relates to a matter already adjudicated upon while
sub judice relates to a matter pending for trial or judicial enquiry.
one of the two doctrines bars trial of the suit where the matter in issue has
already been adjudicated upon in a previous suit this is res judicata, sub judice
bars trial of a suit in which the matter is pending.
Under what circumstances can one raise objection on the basis of res judicata and
sub judice? Once the matter is decided unless there is an appeal you can raise
objection under res judicata but where there is an appeal one can raise sub judice
Canada Dominion Sugar Co. Ltd v Canadian National Steamships Ltd (1947)AC
46 ESTOPPEL BY RECORD
Res Judicata arises from a decision of court but estoppel arises from acts of
parties where there is an existing contract and where a party breaches a contract
by reneging from a promise the other party can stop the other party by estoppel.
The broader concept of estoppel is founded on doctrines of equity, if one by
conduct has induced another to a position they cannot turn around and renege.
While res judicata bars multiplicity of suits, estoppel prevents multiplicity of
representations.
Res judicata halts the jurisdiction of the Court and that is why it is one of the
factors affecting jurisdiction of the court. The effect of this is that the court is
prevented from trying the case in limine i.e. from the beginning. Estoppel is only
a rule of evidence and the effect is to shut the mouth of the party, that one cannot
say one thing after having said the other.
The rule of res judicata presumes conclusively the truth of the decision in the
former suit while the rule of estoppel prevents a party from denying what he
called the truth.
Explanations which are given under these Section 7 are important as they give an
illustration of what happens in situations where one can plead res judicata,
matters in issue, matters constructively in issue.
Matters that are collaterally and incidentally in issue are not important. This is
because we say a matter is in issue when one party alleges it and the other party
denies it but if it does not help the court to adjudicate upon the rights of the
parties, it is collaterally in issue. The only matters that are important in res
judicata are only those that are matters that are in issue.
A foreign judgment can affect the jurisdiction of the court but in certain
circumstances. If the foreign judgment has
Jurisdiction is a fundamental requirement coz it can take away the right of the
court to hear and determine a suit.
Who are the correct parties to the suit this should be an element of concern.
The topic of parties to a suit can be complicated but some of the rules are straight
forward. One must think of capacity and ask what is the capacity of the plaintiff,
if the plaintiff is a minor, one has to look at capacity vis--vis the cause of action
or if a minor entered into a contract the cause of action does not lie as that
contract is void. The procedure allows parties who lack capacity to litigate under
certain circumstances. If one wants to commence a suit for a minor one has to
follow the procedure laid down for example it must be in the name of the minor
suing through a friend.
If one is then suing a minor there is a procedure under Order XXXIII , consent of
guardian is necessary the interests of the guardian and person suing must not be
in conflict with the interests of the minor. Where it is a corporation which has
changed status i.e. if it is under court receivership, one must seek leave, if it is in
liquidation, this affects the suit and one has to know which steps to take.
The next thing to consider is the question of whether one has the right parties,
this is about joinder of parties and joinder of causes of action. Order I is on
joinder of suits. A common question of fact arises where common question of
fact arises and if this happens the parties cannot be joined. If persons travelling
in a motor vehicle are injured, if each of them were to file a suit a common
question of fact would arise and therefore one can sue three or four of them and
they can all sue jointly. In a situation where there is no common question of fact,
one has to separate. Where one joins a wrong party, this is Misjoinder of a party,
they ought not to be joined in the suit. Misjoinder does not affect the suit as the
court can strike out the name of the party who is brought in to that suit and does
not belong, where there is one defendant. One can make an application to
substitute the Defendant and bring in the correct Defendant.
Order I Rule 10 part two to Rule 10 states that any person whose presence may
be necessary in order to enable the court effectually and completely to adjudicate
upon and settle all questions involved in the suit be added. The Civil Procedure
Rules under this rule presupposes the existence of a party who can intervene in
circumstances where the parties pecuniary or other interests may be affected. The
party does not have to be the Plaintiff or the Defendant but their presence can
affect the proprietary of the parties interests. This is basically an intervener who
applies to be joined to protect his interests. For example where directors of a
bank may be involved in a dispute, a bank that has lent them money will be
interested in the matter to ensure that their money is secure and will be repaid
and that they are not in any danger of losing their money due to the dispute, they
join as interested party not as plaintiff or defendant.
The defendant may admit liability to an extent but state that there is a 3 rd party
who is not part of the action to be blamed. In situations where the defendant has
alleged that a 3rd party ought to be brought in so that the issues can be clearer.
The nature of this 3rd party action is that it is a separate claim, meaning that the
Defendant could opt to proceed with the action which the Plaintiff has brought
against him and later sue the 3rd party. When one joins the 3rd party under the
rules one commences a separate claim with a life of its own independent of the
main action and if the main action is settled, then the 3 rd party proceedings can
continue. 3rd party proceedings are independent and have a life of their own.
There must be a nexus between the plaintiffs claim, the defendants claim and
the 3rd party, there must be a nexus. Look at Stoth v West Yorkshire Car Co. Ltd
[1977]2QB 651
The rationale for 3rd party procedure is to prevent a multiplicity of actions. The
3rd party is brought to avoid multiplicity and to avoid the same facts being tried
with different results.
A claim for resolution is a question that arises out of the plaintiffs claim and
which has to be decided not only between the plaintiff and the defendant but also
between the defendant and/or the Plaintiff and the 3 rd party.
It is therefore a requirement that the Defendants rights against the 3 rd party must
be dependent on the Defendants liability on the plaintiff to the action. Unless
the defendant is held liable to the plaintiff he has no cause of action to the 3 rd
party. Procedure does not apply in situations where the defendant has another
cause of action against another person. When drafting the defence, blaming a 3 rd
party is not a defence, one must first have a defence. An allegation must be
specifically denied and traversed i.e. the defendant denies causing the accident
but simply stating that the 3 rd party caused the accident is not a defence. One can
also deny and join issues with the Plaintiff but one must deny and traverse.
The procedure to follow is laid down under Order I Rule 14, apply leave of court
once granted, its by way of Chamber Summons, ex parte supported by an
affidavit.. It is easy. If the 3rd Party is being joined after the limitation period,
(to find out)
Once granted leave serve the 3rd party and procedurally all the 3rd party has to do
is to enter appearance but in actual fact the lawyers will serve 3 rd party notice and
plaint, the defence and serve the order which granted the leave to join the 3 rd
party. Once 3rd party enters appearance he is ready to be joined. The trial of 3 rd
party should take part at the same time that the main suit is proceeding. The
court has agreed that it should be concurrent. If the 3 rd party turns up with
appearance and defence, there will be a trial and the court will apportion liability
in the usual way.
The Notice is a recital of the claim against the 3 rd party and must contain a
summary of the Plaintiffs claim on top of attaching the claim. It must state
clearly if there are several claims the claim by the defendant to the 3 rd party,
whether it is a claim of damages and the grounds of the claim must be stated also
but in the notice to 3rd party they should be in summary since one is going to
serve the plaint anyway.
When crafting the notice it is always elegant to use the word you instead of the
3rd party is required. Once must also show the nexus between the plaintiffs claim
and the claim between the Defendant and the 3 rd party with a view to showing the
common question which must be concurrently tried by court in a 3 rd party
proceedings.
LECTURE 5
RULES OF PLEADINGS
PLEADINGS:
These are written statement of parties in actions served by each party in turn on
the other, setting forth in summary form the material facts on which each relies
in support of his claim or defence as the case may be.
The definition of pleadings given in Bullen and Leak is one of inclusion rather
than exclusion. Pleadings include a statement of claim, defence, reply,
counterclaim, defence to counterclaim and pleadings subsequent thereto and
includes a statement of claim endorsed on a written summons but not a general
endorsement on a writ not a petition, summons, preliminary
Objects of Pleadings:
From the definition above one could isolate the purpose or objects of pleadings.
A party is entitled to know the case of his opponent so that he can meet it. In
other words the sole object of pleadings is
1. To define with clarity and precision the issues or questions which are in
dispute between the parties i.e. to bring the disputes to court;
2. They require each party to give proper notice to her opponent to enable then
to prepare for trial.
3. To inform the court of the precise matters in issue which the court ought to
determine since they set the limits of the action which may not be extended
without amendment properly done.
4. To provide a brief summary of the case of each party and to provide a record
of issues and question arising form them so as to prevent litigants form
bringing the same issues to court ( res judicata)
RULES OF PLEADINGS:
Note:
It is the duty of the parties to state facts upon which to rely for their claim or
defense and it is the duty of the court to sieve the facts, to apply evidence to the
facts and determine the case. You cannot mix facts and law.
When we talk about facts this is to be distinguished from points of law when you
need to raise an objection.
Pleading law and raising points of law are two distinct matters. Raising points of
law is allowed, while pleading law is not allowed because pleading law is
pleading conditions of law which ought to be tired by court. Distinguish between
stating.based on law
When you talk about pleading law which is not allowed you talk about the
conclusions of law which goes to clouding the issues and that is why it is not
allowed. This is different from raising a point of law as an objection. When you
are raising a point of law as an objection you are isolating an issue based on
law, which you are asking the court to determine as a preliminary matter, which
may determine the suit at that stage.
For example, if you say in your pleadings that On the basis of Rule in
Rylands v. Fletcher etc you are pleading the law. But if you are
pleading that .the plaintiff at an appropriate state will show that the suit is
bad in law as it is res judicata.. this is raising a point of law.
Whether a raised a point of law has been pleaded or not you are not precluded
from raising that at any time in the suit.
You do not have to raise a point of law in pleadings; the parties may raise a point
of law by filing a Notice of objection
2. The facts that you plead must be material facts and material facts
only.
The words material facts have not been defined in the Civil Procedure Act
or Rules and simply mean all the facts upon which the Plaintiffs cause of
action of the Defendants defense depend all the facts that have been
proved in order to establish the ones case
3. Facts must be pleaded but not the evidence with which those facts
may be proved.
Here we need to distinguish between the Facta Probanda (the facts that
required to be proved at the trial) and the Facta Probatia (refers to the
evidence of facts by which the first set of facts are to be proved).
The rule is that pleadings should contain only the Facta Probanda and not
the Facta Probatia. By way of illustration if it is your contention in a Plaint
that a driver who has caused an accident was drunk, on which you want
to base your cause of action, it is sufficient to state the fact of drunkenness,
but it is unnecessary to state how much alcohol he has taken. It is sufficient
to state that the cause of the accident was drunkenness. You should not go
into details of how, when he got drunk because these are secondary facts to
prove drunkenness and should not be included. You are only required to
state those that establish cause of action except those causes of action where
you are required to state particulars and they are known. In all other
situations you are only required to state the facts.
The material facts should be stated precisely and coherently. The rationale is
obvious - because if you do not plead specifically the opponent party will not
be able to establish the cause of action and you will put the other party at a
disadvantage. It is a requirement that the case must be stated coherently,
dont make conclusions. (If you have evidence that a person just wants to
proceed to embarrass then you can proceed
These are the main rules but there are others of a lesser importance:
Where you plead statutory negligence you plead using the language of the
statute in furnishing the particulars of negligence.
Examples of statutory negligence are to be found in
- Occupiers Liability Act,
- Law Reform Act, and
- Fatal Accidents Act.
If you allege the cause of action is based on any of these statutes you
should state
- the section of the statute and
- in the language of the statute the breach.
If you do not do that your cause of action is defective.
When the party fails to give the particulars 2 things are to happen:
- If the required missing particulars go to the core of the action then the
opposite party is entitled to require to strike out the suit;
- If they do not go to the core, say where there are more than one causes
of action, the court may order to furnish further and better
particulars, and when you fail to furnish further and better particulars
the suit can be dismissed and that is one of the ways of attacking the
opponents pleadings.
4. Where you are required to make averments and therefore you are required
to state material facts and you omit to state those facts, then at the trial
you will be restrained only to the facts pleaded and not any other facts
which are not pleaded. That is why you should state everything that is
material to your cause of action.
5. You do not need to plead issues on the point of law where the party denies
that a contract existed that is just the denial of the fact but it does not deny
the legality or validity of such a contract therefore when you are drafting
your defense to such a claim you can isolate the legality or validity of the
contract. Whether pleaded or not it can be isolated and dealt with by the
court.
6. When you are referring to documents you do not need to state verbatim
what the document states or reproduce it, however, words which are
alleged to be defamatory must be repeated the way the were uttered and if
you do not include those words then your cause of action is defective. If
words which are defamatory in defamation suit (innuendo) you must
particulars of what they were understood to mean.
10. Facts which the law presumes in favor of the party or to which the burden
of proof lies to the other side need not be proved
Look at the precedents on how you should state you facts. Remember the first
question is on pleadings.
CIVIL PROCEDURE
LECTURE N6
1. Objects of pleadings
2. Rules that govern pleadings;
3. Amendment of Pleadings (we will look at how you can amend pleadings
and attack your opponents pleadings).
This is an important topic because it is the basis of Civil Procedure because if you
do not have proper pleadings your suit may be struck out.
I will be giving you problems which are to be discussed in groups; basically I will
be testing the application of the rules when you are given certain facts.
Definition of pleadings:
Pleadings are the statements in writing drawn up and filed by each party to a case
or to a civil suit stating what his claim or defense will be at the trial and giving all
such details as his opponent needs to know in order to prepare his case to
answer.
Or
From Nkathas Notes:
These are written statements of parties in actions served by each party on the
other, setting forth in summary form the material facts on which each relies in
support of his claim or defence as the case may be.
The definition of pleadings given in Bullen and Leak is one of inclusion rather
than exclusion. Pleadings include a statement of Claim, Defence, Reply,
Counterclaim, Defence to Counterclaim and Pleadings subsequent thereto and
includes a statement of Claim endorsed on a written summon, but not a general
endorsement on a writ, not a petition, summons , preliminary act, nor an
originating summons, nor any affidavit or notice of appeal but includes
particulars of pleadings.
Objects of Pleadings:
From the definition above one could isolate the purpose or objects of pleadings.
A party is entitled to know the case of his opponent so that he can meet it. In
other words the sole object of pleadings is
5. To define with clarity and precision the issues or questions which are in
dispute between the parties i.e. to bring the disputes to court;
6. They require each party to give proper notice to her opponent to enable then
to prepare for trial.
7. To inform the court of the precise matters in issue which the court ought to
determine since they set the limits of the action which may not be extended
without amendment properly done.
8. To provide a brief summary of the case of each party and to provide a record
of issues and question arising form them so as to prevent litigants form
bringing the same issues to court ( res judicata)
RULES OF PLEADINGS:
Note:
It is the duty of the parties to state facts upon which to rely for their claim or
defense and it is the duty of the court to sieve the facts, to apply evidence to the
facts and determine the case. You cannot mix facts and law.
When we talk about facts this is to be distinguished from points of law when you
need to raise an objection.
Pleading law and raising points of law are two distinct matters. Raising points of
law is allowed, while pleading law is not allowed because pleading law is
pleading conditions of law which ought to be tired by court. Distinguish between
stating.based on law
When you talk about pleading law which is not allowed you talk about the
conclusions of law which goes to clouding the issues and that is why it is not
allowed. This is different from raising a point of law as an objection. When you
are raising a point of law as an objection you are isolating an issue based on
law, which you are asking the court to determine as a preliminary matter, which
may determine the suit at that stage.
For example, if you say in your pleadings that On the basis of Rule in
Rylands v. Fletcher etc you are pleading the law. But if you are
pleading that .the plaintiff at an appropriate state will show that the suit is
bad in law as it is res judicata.. this is raising a point of law.
Whether a raised a point of law has been pleaded or not you are not precluded
from raising that at any time in the suit.
You do not have to raise a point of law in pleadings; the parties may raise a point
of law by filing a Notice of objection
6. The facts that you plead must be material facts and material facts
only.
The words material facts have not been defined in the Civil Procedure Act
or Rules and simply mean all the facts upon which the Plaintiffs cause of
action of the Defendants defense depend all the facts that have been
proved in order to establish the ones case
7. Facts must be pleaded but not the evidence with which those facts
may be proved.
Here we need to distinguish between the Facta Probanda (the facts that
required to be proved at the trial) and the Facta Probatia (refers to the
evidence of facts by which the first set of facts are to be proved).
The rule is that pleadings should contain only the Facta Probanda and not
the Facta Probatia. By way of illustration if it is your contention in a Plaint
that a driver who has caused an accident was drunk, on which you want
to base your cause of action, it is sufficient to state the fact of drunkenness,
but it is unnecessary to state how much alcohol he has taken. It is sufficient
to state that the cause of the accident was drunkenness. You should not go
into details of how, when he got drunk because these are secondary facts to
prove drunkenness and should not be included. You are only required to
state those that establish cause of action except those causes of action where
you are required to state particulars and they are known. In all other
situations you are only required to state the facts.
The material facts should be stated precisely and coherently. The rationale is
obvious - because if you do not plead specifically the opponent party will not
be able to establish the cause of action and you will put the other party at a
disadvantage. It is a requirement that the case must be stated coherently,
dont make conclusions. (If you have evidence that a person just wants to
proceed to embarrass then you can proceed
These are the main rules but there are others of a lesser importance:
11. When you plead misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, willful default
or undue influence, negligence you must furnish particulars with dates and
the items which you want to rely on. There are also others such as where
you plead damages. When you plead malicious prosecution - state facts.
Where you plead statutory negligence you plead using the language of the
statute in furnishing the particulars of negligence.
Examples of statutory negligence are to be found in
- Occupiers Liability Act,
- Law Reform Act, and
- Fatal Accidents Act.
If you allege the cause of action is based on any of these statutes you
should state
- the section of the statute and
- in the language of the statute the breach.
- If the required missing particulars go to the core of the action then the
opposite party is entitled to require to strike out the suit;
- If they do not go to the core, say where there are more than one causes
of action, the court may order to furnish further and better
particulars, and when you fail to furnish further and better particulars
the suit can be dismissed and that is one of the ways of attacking the
opponents pleadings.
14. Where you are required to make averments and therefore you are required
to state material facts and you omit to state those facts, then at the trial
you will be restrained only to the facts pleaded and not any other facts
which are not pleaded. That is why you should state everything that is
material to your cause of action.
15. You do not need to plead issues on the point of law where the party denies
that a contract existed that is just the denial of the fact but it does not deny
the legality or validity of such a contract therefore when you are drafting
your defense to such a claim you can isolate the legality or validity of the
contract. Whether pleaded or not it can be isolated and dealt with by the
court.
16. When you are referring to documents you do not need to state verbatim
what the document states or reproduce it, however, words which are
alleged to be defamatory must be repeated the way the were uttered and if
you do not include those words then your cause of action is defective. If
words which are defamatory in defamation suit (innuendo) you must
particulars of what they were understood to mean.
20.Facts which the law presumes in favor of the party or to which the burden
of proof lies to the other side need not be proved
Look at the precedents on how you should state you facts. Remember the first
question is on pleadings.
Amendment of Pleadings:
It is a requirement that pleadings be brief and concise so they can state the issues
that the court ought to decide.
It may happen that material information comes to one after filing of the suit or
one has made an error in the statement of facts, it will therefore require one to
restate their case. Order VIA is designed to assist a party who has made a
genuine mistake to amend the pleadings so that issues for trial are clearly stated
out. The order is to allow parties to restate their case with a view to allowing the
court to decide the real issues.
The object of Order VIA is to allow the court to try the merits of the case that
come before them. They allow parties to restate the facts which may be necessary
for determining the real question in controversy between parties.
The basis statement of this object or the principle governing the rules in
amendment were stated in Cropper v Smith (1884) 29 Ch.d 700 Bowen LJ stated
I think it is a well established principle that the object of courts is to decide the
rights of the parties and not to punish them for mistakes they make in the
conduct of their cases by deciding otherwise than in accordance with their
rights. I know of no kind of error or mistake which if not fraudulent or
intended to overreach over the court ought not to correct if it can be done
without injustice to the other party. Courts do not exist for the sake of discipline
but for the sake of deciding matters in controversy, and I do not regard such
amendment as a matter of favour or grace. It seems to me that as soon as it
appears that the way in which a party has framed his case will not lead to the
decision of the real matter in controversy, it is as much a matter of right on his
part to have it corrected if it can be done without injustice as anything else in
the case is a matter of right.
From this statement one can say that there are three considerations in granting
amendments
1. The courts are given wide discretion and this wide discretion can be
exercised in favour of the party applying; this is to ensure that the real
issues between the parties are determined by the courts. Apart from
that there are two considerations that the court must take into account
in granting leave
Order VIA Rule 1 - At any time before pleadings are closed one can amend.
Where pleadings are closed one must only do it with leave of court.
Amendment can even be allowed in the course of trial lawyers use this to
exhaust the opposite side because you can keep on amending for a very long time.
No amendment will be allowed which will cause injustice to the opposite party
but it is also a cardinal rule that there is no injustice if the other side can be
compensated by costs. Bowen LJ states that I have found in my experience that
there is one panacea which heals every soul in litigation and that is costs.
So long as you can provide costs, then allow the amendments.
When is leave to amend refused by the court the court will generally refuse
leave to amend in the following circumstances
3. Where the effect of the proposed amendment is to take away the legal
right of the other party its favour accrued by lapse of time. Weldon v
Neal (1880 19 QB 394.
I
Leave to amend may be granted at any stage of the proceedings and the right
to amend is not governed by any law of limitation. However if the effect of the
amendment is to bring in a new course of action that is statute barred, this
can be opposed as (the effect of the amendment is to introduce a cause of
action which is statute barred) the right to amend itself has not limitation.
When it is before the proceedings are closed one does not need leave of court.
after the pleadings have been closed one has to take leave of the court, where
amendments are in breach of the rules of amendment, one has a right under
the rules to disallow an amendment, even where the other party has done it
without leave of court and one knows that the court would have said no.
2.(1) Within fourteen days after the service on a party of a pleading amended
under rule 1(1), that party may apply to the court to disallow the amendment.
Where one is given leave to amend within a particular time and that time
elapses, then one has to seek fresh leave.
Once one has amended in accordance with conditions granted by the court,
the amendment goes back to the commencement of the suit.
1. Traversive
2. Confession and avoidance
3. Raise an objection on a point of law; others are
4. Force your opponent to furnish further and better particulars it is an
indirect way of attacking because failure to provide may lead to an
application to strike out
5. Reply to a pleading in such a way that you force your opponent to
amend.
Usually the way to traverse is to have an omnibus denial, which is framed as save
as herein expressly admitted each and every allegation of fact is deemed to be
denied as if it was being set out seriatim and traversed specifically.
Joinder of issues where there is a joinder of issues one need not traverse
allegations contained in that pleading but there is a joinder of issues in the last
pleading filed unless that pleading raises allegations which must be traversed.
There is a joinder of issues when a defence is filed but there is no joinder of issues
if the opponent chooses to file a reply to the defence. If a defence has a counter
claim the allegations in the counterclaim must be traversed by the Plaintiff. If
they are not traversed then Rule 9 requires they be deemed to be admitted. If one
is served with a defence with a counterclaim, one must traverse the counterclaim
since it is acting as a plaint. Where a counterclaim is seeking general and special
damages, one cannot ask for final judgment, as one can only ask for final
judgment on the case of special damages otherwise for general damages one
would ask for interlocutory Judgment.
Where the Plaintiff has filed the suit, has served the defendant and the defendant
files a defence and denies everything and requests for the suit to be dismissed. In
this case there is a joinder of issues and the next step is to fix the suit for trial and
if the plaintiff succeeds against the defendant then he gets his reliefs.
Where after the Defendant is served with the plaint he chooses to use the same
suit to claim against the Plaintiff, he joins issues with the plaintiff in the plaint.
Together with the defendant includes general damages, special damages and
repair costs for the car (in case of a car accident) as between the plaintiff and the
defendant on the main suit, there is joinder of issue, as between the plaintiff and
the defendant in the counterclaim there ought to be traverse, if the plaintiff does
not traverse the counterclaim, the defendant may ask for judgment on default of
defence of the counterclaim. Where 14 days pass and defence for the
counterclaim has not been filed, the defendant may make an application from the
registrar for a judgment in default. It should read as please enter judgment
against the Plaintiff who has been served with a counterclaim and has failed to
reply. Costs must be assessed after the interlocutory judgment.
Where the claim is for liquidated damages only- please enter final judgment
against the plaintiff as claimed in the counterclaim in default of a defence. Costs
to be assessed. Once one receives final judgment and receives assessment for
costs. One then can proceed to execute judgment on the plaintiff. General
damages require interlocutory judgment.
If there is no reply to a defence, there is a joinder of issue on that defence but one
cannot have a joinder of issues of a plaint or a counterclaim, these must be
traversed. At the close of the pleadings there is a joinder of issues on the
pleadings last filed.
Denials must be specific as general denials are not sufficient. Where an opponent
is alleging for example there is money owed, denial of this must be specific.
General statements are not traversing, one has to be clear and if figures are used
one must deny that figure or any other figure or at all.
Where the opponent pleads in the conjunctive, then one must plead in the
disjunctive. If your opponent is pleading in the conjunctive you must reply in the
disjunctive.
This gives one a way of dealing with proceedings in a summary manner where
they contravene the rules or the principles governing pleadings. It is important
to note that the grounds placed under rule 13 apply at any stage of the
proceedings, one can apply to strike out at any stage.
(1) At any stage of the proceedings the court may order to be struck out or
amended any pleadings on the ground that
(a) Where there is no reasonable defence or cause of action. where a
contract is illegal, the suit does not constitute a cause of action and you
may ask the court to strike it.
(c) it may prejudice, embarrass or delay the fair trial of the action; - this is
where the suit is designed to prevent the proceedings from being
evasive or concealing the real issues between the parties i.e. embarrass
if it is ambiguous, states immaterial matters raises irrelevant issues to
delay the matter.
(d) Abuse the process of the court using the court to settle scores, acting
in bad faith, suit not properly grounded and brought for the sake of
embarrassing the other party and has no purpose.
Where one is served with a defence or plaint and when one looks at the way it
is drafted and one feels that certain things stated therein are not clear, instead
of filing a defence, one may ask for further and better particulars in respect of
certain pleadings which have been raised. This is the most usual way of
attacking an opponents pleadings. If the defendant for example refuses to
furnish further and better particulars, one can apply for an order to be
furnished with the same. If the opponent refuses to comply with the order
one can apply for dismissal of pleadings.
Force the opponent to amend their pleadings this is not direct, since one
does not do it, one forces the opponent to amend. When one applies for
further and better particulars, one may easily seek leave to amend. You can
cure the defect by amending the pleadings assuming the pleadings have not
been closed, it is a way of attacking.
Interlocutory Applications
Where one applies for judgment in default of appearance, the party who has
not appeared has a right to appear at any stage before final judgment.
Judgment in default of defence where a party enters appearance and fails to
file a defence is not totally disabling, the opponent is allowed to participate at
the formal proof in respect of assessment of damages but the opponent cannot
challenge his liability to the plaintiff but he can challenge the quantum of
damages.
Order IXA - Rule 2 where any defendant fails to appear and the plaintiff
wishes to proceed against such defendant he shall file an affidavit of service or
return of service of the summons unless the summons has been served by a
process-server appointed by the court.
Applications which have the effect of determining the suit and upon the
hearing or even before the effect is to have the suit finally determined Order
XXXV.
Ex parte applications
Secrecy
You go to court because the rules permit you, no other party is required or
because of the nature of the pleadings
Suit out of time it is not contested and you are asking court to grant discretion
in your favour. The rules permit one to proceed ex parte and only after getting
leave of court can one engage other parties.
Where the other party is not affected by the outcome like where after obtaining
judgment one wants to correct an error on the face of the record, the apparent
error, the other party may not have an interest and you can go to judge exparte to
ask leave of court to correct the error
Where one wants to keep secrecy and not to alert the other party which may
defeat the purpose of the application. You seek injunction to protect the status
quo and one feels serving the other side beats the purpose, this affects the Mareva
Injunctions where the other party has assets and you want to preserve them
before they are transferred outside jurisdiction. Anton Piller orders are meant to
protect the property in the hands of the person breaching copyright. You cannot
file and serve as the other party can destroy the property.
Applications which are heard in presence of other parties and even where ex-
parte orders are granted, they have to be served. These are inter party orders. it
is important that all material facts be disclosed. Failure to disclose when
applying for exparte orders would allow the other party to apply to disallow.
The other broad category is those applications that are designed to save costs and
expedite trial. The categorisations are not neat and to preserve status quo may
need to serve the other party.
Prosecution of suits
There are two types of dismissal for want of prosecution; one leaves discretion
and the other one does not.
In a case of defamation, where the defendant said words were fair comment on
matters of public interest or published on privilege, Rule III Order 10 will not
allow interrogatories as to the defendant source of information.
Discovery should take place immediately after close of pleadings. Discovery may
be voluntary.
Rule 10
Where the party requested fails to produce the documents, the requesting party
may apply for an order to direct discovery. The court considers if it is necessary
and makes an order, if it is not necessary, then discovery will not be ordered. If
the court decides discovery is necessary it will make an order for discovery.
EX-PARTE PROCEEDINGS
c. secrecy
I. where you dont want to alert the other party. E.g. in seeking
injunctions where you dont want to alert the other party as to what you
are doing. Secrecy is paramount in certain applications
II. orders to preserve evidence which may be in the hands of the person
against whom the order is made
With regard to ex-parte applications, all material facts, even those adverse to
your case must be disclosed. Failure to disclose such facts will allow the other
party to apply to discharge such orders forthwith. R v Kensington Tax
Commissioners Ex parte Polignae (1917) 1 KB 486
TIWI Beach Properties Ltd v Stamn [1982] 2
SAVING COSTS
A. Can make an application for an order for interrogatories
B. Application for discovery of documents
C. Application for inspection
D. Application for admission
When we talk of interrogatories; stte of questions put by one party to the other.
The rules require that such questions be relevant to the issues which the court
must try. The object of interrogatories is to clarify the facts and therefore narrow
down issues before the court for trial. This enables the saving of costs and time.
The rules permit anyone to deliver to the other relevant interrogatories. Leave of
the court must be obtained, applied for from the court before interrogatories are
delivered. Interrogatories which are delivered must be relevant and mustnt be
scandalous or unreasonable. They mustnt be ambiguous. There is requirement
that only one set is delivered.
Delivery of interrogatories application is normally made by way of chamber
summons after close of pleadings. It is only after the close of pleadings that the
facts are established. What is to be served is an application for leave in which you
attach the proposed interrogatories and this application must be filed in court
and served on the other party. When the court looks at the application itll take
into account offer made by the other party in terms of
i. to deliver particulars
ii. to make admissions
iii. to produce documents relating to the matter in question
The court will have to examine these circumstances and if it falls under the above
three where the other party has offered to do them, then application shall fail.
Fishing interrogatories are not allowed; aimed at finding out something at which
the interrogating party does not know at time of interrogation but hopes to obtain
and file proceedings.
Rule 7, order 10
Answers must take form of affidavit and must be sufficient i.e. mustnt be evasive.
The party who is interrogating may ask the court for the party being interrogated
to answer further or answer as the case may be. If the party disregards the order,
if it is plaintiff, then is liable to have suit dismissed for want of prosecution. If the
party is the defendant, then hell be liable to have his defence struck out and be
put back in the same position as if he had not defended the suit.
Go back and apply under the relevant order for judgment in default of defence.
If the sum is liquidated final judgment while if not liquidated interlocutory
judgment
What happens when suit is dismissed for want of prosecution
In a defamation case and words are of public interest or a privileged position no
interrogatories can be filed on the source of information. (Rule 3, Order 10)
Order 10, Rule 11A we have what is referred to as automatic discovery rule
i.e. within one (1) month of the close of pleadings in the High Court every party
shall make discovery by filing and serving upon other party a list of documents
relating to matters in the suit deemed to be in his possession or power.
When making applications under this rule is by chamber summons. Powers of the
court are discretionary in ordering the discoveries must be necessary and will
save on costs.
Form 5, Appendix B has form of the request documents. It has two parties
namely
If documents are in part 2 must give reasons why not willing to produce.
Schedule 2 states documents party had but no longer in his possession. The party
must state when last had documents, and in whose hands documents are.
Reasons for not willing to produce are found in Sections 132 138 of
Evidence Act. For example Section 130 where married couples are not
allowed to produce evidence against each other. Section 131 where no
documents that are prejudicial to public interest and security cannot be
discovered. Raichura v Sodhi [1967] EA 624
Section 134 138 provides documents between advocate-client privilege,
thus such documents cant be discovered.
Inspection
Other parties have right to inspect and make copies of documents including
affidavit of discovery. We do this by notice of inspection to the other party.
Inspection serves purpose of verifying the documents and know the content of
documents. It also serves purpose of confirming if documents are authentic
documents which have a bearing on the documents produced according to the
rules of evidence.
Where party requested has refused to allow for inspection he is not afterwards at
liberty to put such documents as evidence apart from with leave of the court. The
party may within three days state where documents may be inspected where they
allow for inspection. Could be at advocates chambers or place where documents
have been stored.
Where party wishes to object the inspection, the investing party may ask the
court for order for inspection. The court may then grant such order.
Where the party fails to obey such order the consequences are similar to failure to
comply with order for discovery or interrogatories.
Admissions
Order 12 parties may by notice in writing admit part or whole of the truth of
facts of a matter or claims of the other party. Any party may admit to other party
by notice to the admission of certain facts or certain documents. Once a party
admits, there may be judgment entered based on the admission. Notices may be
a. notice of admission of document
b. notice of admission of fact
With admissions, one cannot move to court to compel another party to admit
documents or facts. Admissions are voluntary and are made within fourteen days
of service of notice of admission. Where party does not want to admit he or she
must serve notice of non-admission within fourteen days. If not, he will be
deemed to have admitted the documents.
Irrespective of outcome of suit, the person failing to reply will be charged the
costs of the admission process.
Form 9 may call upon other party to admit facts specified in notice. If does not
within 21 days, will bear costs of admission even if judgment is for him.
Order 12, Rule 6 Admit facts and now entitles the other party to judgment, the
other party may apply for judgment based on admission. Where only liability is
admitted to ask for interlocutory judgment pending damages being determined
by the court.
Order 6, Rule 13 A-D; already discussed. All of them are aimed at termination of
suit at this stage.
Any other application aimed at ending suit either res judicata or by any other
reason fall under this category. Effect is suit will come to an end. There are
various but important one is under Order 35
Order 35, Rule 1B It is limited in scope, only allows for application for summary
judgment in respect to two circumstances;
a. where the claim is for liquidated sum with or without interest
b. recovery of land with or without claim for rent or mesne profit and term
has expired. It also applies where breach of covenant and term ahs ended
or proper notice is given and so want to recover land.
Thus it is only applicable to above circumstances. If you succeed, the suit will be
determined finally at this stage.
The next favorable order that can be granted by the court; where the court enters
judgment for the plaintiff but orders a stay of execution pending that the
counterclaim which defendant has filed. Counterclaims could Be
B. Connected counterclaims
This would justify a stay
INTERLOCUTORY APPLICATIONS
These are applications made to preserve the status quo of the subject matter.
The orders are designed to enable the court to determine interests of parties
applications made by a party who has no interest, if there is no existing suit, you
are required to commence by Originating Summons if there is an existing suit, it
should be done by way of Chamber Summons.
If the application is made by the Defendant, the court may stay any other
proceedings.
INJUNCTIONS
Permanent
Interlocutory those made before trial
Interim
In 1975 in American Cynamide v Ethicon 1975 AC 396 the House of Lords gave
guidelines and principles to apply when an applicant comes for an interlocutory
injunction. The court held that the most significance of these principles was that
it was not necessary for the court to be satisfied that on a balance of probabilities
the plaintiff had made a prima facie case of succeeding at trial. It would appear
that the House of Lords went for a lower standard than the one in Giella
Cassman, they were suggesting for one to look for the balance of probabilities and
see who it favours the plaintiff or defendant. Counsel was urging the court in
UHDL was that he should abandon principles of giella and adopt American
cynamide. American Cynamide principles had been accepted in most common
law jurisdictions. The Judges held that
Order XXXIX does not provide for mandatory injunctions and the jurisdiction is
found in Section 3A but if the purpose of the mandatory injunction is to preserve
the status quo. Hand in hand for an order of a mandatory injunction would be an
order to restrain the defendant from doing that which he has done, so first you
apply for mandatory and then interlocutory.
No temporary injunction is required to last more than 14 days. All exparte orders
last 14 days and not more than that.
If a party who has been served with an order, since it is a requirement to serve the
other party with a penal notice. The penal notice warns the party that in the
event of failure to comply with the order, then the party risks imprisonment for
six months. If the party says that they were not aware of the penal notice,
without the penal notice you cannot take a party to prison and usually they will
deny to have ever been aware of the penal notice.
No injunction can be issued against the government Section 16 Cap 40, Court of
Appeal under Rule 5 (2) (b) is empowered to grant injunctions for the purpose of
preserving the property the subject of the suit. Refer to Stanley Githunguri v
Jimba Credit C. A. 197 of 1998 one approaches the court of appeal under Rule 5
(2) (b) and one must have an arguable case before the court of appeal and the
order you are seeking must show that if not granted then the appeal will be
rendered nugatory.
You approach the court by way of, how do you commence the action under Rule 5
(2) (b) you are asking the court to preserve the status quo you go to court
with
MAREVA INJUNCTIONS:
Order XXXVIII allows the applicant to go to court to ask for the arrest of the
defendant or the attachment of the property to preserve the property pending
trial. When one has a defendant who is not a resident of the country and may run
away before the case is decided, you want to ask the case to preserve the status
quo. In UK there was no jurisdiction to attach property of defendant before
judgment was issued. The case of Lister v Stubbs [1890] 45 Ch. D1 and Kaish v
Karageorgis (1975)1WLR 1093 Defendant could not be compelled to give security
before the case was heard and determined.
The plaintiffs were ship owners and the defendants were voyage charterers. The
defendants had received money from their sub charterers which money was
deposited in a bank in London. On the basis of those facts the court refused to
consider itself bound by Lister v Stubbs which had held that a defendant could
not be compelled to give security before judgment. Relying on the wide
discretion conferred by what is now Section 37 of Supreme Court Act 1981. The
court then held that the plaintiff could be granted an injunction restraining the
defendant from removing or disposing out of jurisdiction the monies held in the
London bank. These orders which were granted and which later become the
mareva injunction has now been codified and is contained in Section 37 Order 31
of the Supreme Court Act.
The procedure is that one applies before the judge exparte in UK it has been
held that the order could be granted after judgment in aid of execution. if one
goes before the court for Mareva Injunction to issue, one
1. Must have a cause of action justiciable in England
2. Must have a good arguable case;
3. The defendant must have assets within jurisdiction except for what has
now been called worldwide Marevas which affect assets both in UK and
abroad.
4. There must be a real risk that the defendant may dispose off or
dissipate those assets before assets can be enforced.
It may also act as auxiliary order and discovery of documents to enable the
plaintiff to discover the whereabouts of the defendants assets, it can be granted as
an auxiliary order.
The court be pleased to issue a temporary order from selling or charging L.R. NO.
The defendant in the alternative gives security for 20 million
Justice Wakis judgment discusses it under due process of the law and gave the
history of the remedy (Mareva) the Mareva principle has been codified under
Order XXXVII he states the
in the first place the Kenyan authority relied on does not support the view
expressed by Mr. Gatonye that a Mareva injunction may be issued in this country,
there is no jurisdiction to grant of a Mareva since in UK there were no
provisions as those found under Order XXXVIII, if there were similar provisions
for preservation of assets the Mareva injunction will not have evolved. In Indian
Courts
Derby v Weldon (No 1) and No. 2) (1989)1 All ER 469 AND 1002 circumstances
under which a Mareva Injunction will issue.
These orders are forms of interlocutory injunctive reliefs which derive the name
from a case decided in UK in 1976 by the name of ANTON PILLER K.G. vs
Manufacturing Processes Ltd (1976) Ch. 55 - this was a court of appeal decision,
Lord Denning was involved in the decisions. Facts: the plaintiffs were German
Manufacturers of electric motors and generators. One of their products was a
frequency converter for use in computers. The defendants were the plaintiffs UK
agents. Two defectors employed by the defendants flew to Germany and
informed the plaintiffs that the defendants had been secretly negotiating with the
Plaintiffs competitors with the object of supplying the competitors with manuals,
drawings and other confidential information which would allow the competitor to
copy the plaintiffs products and ruin their market. The plaintiffs were worried
that if the defendant were given notice of court proceedings they would destroy or
remove incriminating evidence, so before they had time even to issue the writ in
the contemplated proceedings the plaintiffs solicitors applied exparte which was
granted on appeal to the court of appeal that the defendant do permit such
persons to enter forthwith the premises of the defendants for the purpose of (a)
inspecting all documents relating and (b) removal of the articles and documents
from the defendants custody.
When one applies for anton piller the court must be convinced the case is strong
cause the nature of the order is draconian.
It is very common in music piracy cases where people are involved in breach of
of other peoples works. The policy is that police should not
MODE OF TRIAL
ORDER XV
Once the summons are served on a party to give evidence, the party has an
obligation to attend the court until court discharges the party, failure to attend
constitutes contempt of court and Order XV Rule 10(3) provides that where it is
shown that the witness was served and has failed to attend, the court may issue a
warrant of arrest or that the property of the witness be attached and sold and the
proceeds be used to utilise any expenses incurred by the court, the court can also
fine the witness. The court may also issue a proclamation requiring the witness
to attend, give evidence and produce documents. The proclamation would
indicate the time and place where the witness would be required to attend and
give evidence or produce evidence and indicate that failure to comply the court
will proceed to fine or order property to be attached and sold.
If the defendant has entered appearance they must take a date and if the other
party does not appear then one can take an exparte date and serve the other
party.
FIXING OF DATES
Once pleadings are closed and all the preliminary applications and steps are
taken, the suit ought to be fixed for trial. The provisions of Order XVI give the
procedure to be followed where either parties have failed to fix the suit for trial
within a particular time or where having fixed the suit for trial it is stood over
generally.
Order XVI Rule 5 the defendant is given the choice of fixing the suit for trial
or to apply for dismissal.
Every defendant who has entered appearance ought to be served but if the
defendant is invited to fix a date, the obligation is in regard to the defendant who
has appeared. One is required to invite the defendant whether there is a defence
or not. If the party has entered appearance the matter must proceed for formal
proof.
Once the other party has been invited and the hearing date has been fixed Order
9b both the plaintiff and defendant are supposed to appear on the date fixed for
trial. Rule 2 of 9b provides that the court may dismiss the suit where both parties
dont appear. Where only the plaintiff appears, the court may proceed ex-parte.
It is the duty of the plaintiff to satisfy the court that notice to attend was served
on the other party in good time, they have the discretion then to dismiss.
Where only the defendant attends court, and if the defendant does not admit any
part of the plaintiffs claim then the court shall dismiss the suit and record its
reasons for dismissing. Where the defendant admits part of the defendants
claim, the court will enter judgment on such admission and then dismiss the
remainder of the claim, if the defendant has a counter claim then if he does not
admit any part of the plaintiffs claim the Plaintiffs claim will be dismissed and
the defendant will proceed to prove the counter claim against the plaintiff.
One will need to find out whether there was a claim for set-off, the court in this
case may stay the plaintiffs claim until the counterclaim is determined and then
allow for set-off.
If the suit is dismissed for non attendance, the Plaintiff may bring a fresh suit
but where the Plaintiff does not attend the court will dismiss and the plaintiff
cannot bring a fresh suit. Where the suit has been dismissed for non attendance
or judgment entered the parties may agree to have the judgment set aside.
If a party gives good reasons why judgment entered for non-attendance should be
set aside the court may allow for fresh application.
Where all the parties attend and ready, the next thing is to conduct the trial. One
has to worry about who begins and how to proceed
The order of proceedings depends on whether the defendant will adduce evidence
or not where he elects not to call evidence whether or not he will have given
notice in support
1. The Plaintiff or advocate makes opening submissions
2. Plaintiffs witness are called, examined and cross examined
3. Plaintiffs advocate sums up the case
4. then the defendant states the case for the defence and makes closing
submissions. This closes the case where the defendant does not wish to
call evidence.
5. If the defendant elects to call evidence then the proceedings
(a) Defendant or his advocate makes opening submissions
(b) Call the witness for the defendant
(c) Defendant makes a brief submission stating their defence
(d) Witnesses are called, examined and cross examined.
Every witness must be examined in chief, cross examined and re-examined. After
this the Defendant will make closing submission and the Plaintiffs advocate will
then make submissions and then close.
ORDER XVII Rule 1 the Plaintiff has a right to begin but this requirement has
exceptions
1. Where the defendant admits but raises objection on a point of law,
then the defendant is required to make submissions on the point of law
upon which the plaintiffs advocate will called to reply. If the court
finds in favour of the point of law which has been raised, then the effect
would be that the suit may be terminated at this point. Things dealing
with jurisdiction, res judicata, sub judice etc. fall in this category.
When a defendant raises a point of law, isolate the point of law from
the pleadings to give notice to the other party. Points of law are not
points of evidence and therefore one will be entitled to raise the point
even where it is not included in the pleadings. In the event it is not
raised in the pleadings, one can give notice to the other side by filing in
court and serving, it is called a point of preliminary objection.
2. Where the defendants admits the facts alleged but avers that the
plaintiff is not entitled to the reliefs he is seeking either on point of law
or on further facts which the defendant has stated, in this case the
defendant will be entitled to begin. For example where there is an
admission that the Plaintiff has paid some money to the defendant,
then there is obligation on the defendant to pay and the onus is on the
defendant to show why the money should not be repaid to the plaintiff,
the burden is on the defendant to begin and prove why the money
ought not to be paid to the defendant. Seldon v Davidson [1968] 1
WLR 1083 (CA) - Plaintiff had brought proceedings for recovery for
1550 which he had lent to the defendant, defendant admitted having
receiving the money but pleaded to the court that it was a gift. Then
the plaintiff replied that there were no circumstances which could have
given rise to the presumption of a gift and in those circumstances felt
the onus to begin was on the defendant so he could demonstrate how it
should be treated as a gift.
Where there is a dispute as to who should begin, the court should give directions
but ordinarily the court will direct the party who has most issues to prove to
begin. The rule is he who alleges must prove.
Where the defendant has the right to begin, the procedure will be the same as if it
was the Plaintiff beginning. Where in the process of making final submissions to
the court, where people cite authorities which had not been referred to earlier the
court will give the other party time to look at the authorities being cited, the
purpose is to be fair.
The purpose or object is to elicit facts favourable to the case for the party who has
called the witness. In examination in chief, one must not ask leading question
except in respect of matters which are not in dispute. Examination in chief must
not be conducted in an attacking manner but if the witness becomes hostile then
one can attack the witness but ask the leave of the court to declare the witness
hostile and destroy the credibility of the witness.
Cross examination has 3 aims and it is here that one shows skills as courtroom
advocate, to test and cast down the testimony given by witness, to elicit for
further particulars favourable to your case or to impeach the credibility of
witness. It is at this stage that one builds up a case on which to rely on. The
scope of cross examination is wide that leading questions may be asked, one may
even ask the witness on previous statements that may be inconsistent with what
he saying at the witness box. One need not be too long in cross, once the purpose
for which the cross was intended then one need not spend any further time on it.
The best witnesses are children and ladies, the worst are policemen and
advocates the reason being that children are able to distinguish between what
they were told and what they know. Ladies tend to be emotional, policemen are
the worst and lawyers are terrible.
The evidence of witnesses is taken orally in open court, whereas questions are
asked and answers are given, the judge or magistrate writes in the narrative
unless the party has specifically asked that a particular question be noted. Order
XII Rule 12 if there is an objection, the court should record the objection the
answer and name of person raising the objection.
When the court is taking down evidence it should also record remarks in the
demeanour of witnesses.
Evidence de bene esse Order XVII Rule 11 provides that the witness can
apply for taking of evidence before trial. It is by chamber summons and anytime
before institution of a suit. The purpose of this evidence is to allow the witness to
testify before departure i.e. if they are dying. The evidence is taken in the normal
way and then signed and forms part of the evidence in that suit, there must be an
need for the evidence to be taken. It is designed to preserve evidence before a
witness departs or dies.
Affidavit Evidence Order XVIII an affidavit which is based on information
and does not state the sources of that information or based on belief and does not
state the basis of belief then it is defective. In respect of interlocutory
applications parties may be allowed to state matters based on information
provided the sources are stated and those based on belief provided the grounds of
belief are stated. Article by Pheroze Nowrojee on the Defective Affidavit.
Order IX (b) where a party fails to turn up the suit may be dismissed or proceed
exparte if only the plaintiff attends or dismiss suit if only defendant attends.
There is a window that if the suit is dismissed under Rule 6 but under Rule 2
where parties have been asked to show cause, if the suit is dismissed then the
Plaintiff cannot bring on a fresh suit.
Order XVI Rule 5 if the plaintiff does not set the suit for trial the defendant may
apply for suit to dismiss for want of trial. If the judge is unable to complete case
because of death or transfer, the successor may deal with the suit as if he had
taken the evidence himself and continue to hear the suit as if he had taken the
evidence himself.
Once evidence has been taken and submissions have been made the court should
pronounce judgment
Order XX judgment must pronounce reason for every issue ratio decidendi
Rule 2 empowers the judge to pronounce and sign a judgment which has been
written, signed but not pronounced by predecessor can be read and signed by the
subsequent judge or magistrate. It should be dated and signed by him in open
court at the time of pronouncing it. Where the judgment is read by a different
judge who did not write the judgement the one who wrote should countersign.
Once a judgement has been read, the court becomes functus officio.
Under provisions of Section 39 the court may add for purposes of correcting
clerical or arithmetical errors. An error on the face.
Decree nisi
The date on decree should be the date on which judgment was delivered but
should be in agreement with the judgment.
Rule 6 Order XX number of the suit, names and particulars of parties, reliefs
granted and other determination granted, by who the costs are to be paid.
Rule 7 any party to a suit may prepare a decree and give it to other party for
approval, if they dont ask the court to accept the draft and if the court approves
they sign and seal and it becomes the official decree. If the parties disagree as to
the format,, the party can make the decision on how it is to be settled and the
decree is signed and sealed and remains part of the courts records.
Procedure under Order XXXVIII does not provide for secrecy and therefore in
terms of efficiency a Mareva is better placed to protect the interests of a party.
EXECUTION PROCEEDINGS
When you execute the decree against the judgement debtor it will constitute of
either civil jail or execution against property.
There is a certain limit and where the decree is for recovery it may be executed by
the decree holder. One of the orders one may seek in respect of property is
vacant possession order, if one seeks for this, and one succeeds, the way to
execute it is to dispossess the judgment debtor and place the decree holder into
possession. That process of dispossessing has to be undertaken by a court bailiff.
Section 30 the decree may be executed by the court which passed the decree or
the court to which decree is sent for execution. it is possible to have a decree
passed by one court and executed by another. On the application of the decree
holder the court that passed the decree may send it to another court
1. If the decree holder carries business or resides or works for gain in the
jurisdiction of such other court.
2. if the judgment debtor has property within the local limits of
jurisdiction of another court then the decree may be sent to such other
court for execution.
3. if the decree directs sale of immovable property within whose
jurisdiction the property is situate
4. where the court which passed the decree considers that the decree
should be executed by another court but the reason must be recorded
in the file.
The court to which the decree is sent will cause the copies and certificate to be
filed without any further proof of the decree unless for some other reasons
Where the decree is for money and the judgment debtor is still in the precincts of
court one can apply for his arrest.
One must indicate the mode of assistance they require from court in executing
the decree.
Where one attaches the property that does not belong to the JD they are inviting.
Under rule 18 in certain cases before the execution can proceed, rule 18
requires that notice must be given to the JD to show cause why one should not
proceed with execution, where the decree is attached to the salary of the JD
there must be notice to the JD to show cause why the decree should not be
executed against him or her. Notice to show cause why one should not be
committed to civil jail is another instance when notice must be issued to show
cause Rule 32
Section 40 arrest and detention there is no provision that one must show
cause but in reality one must issue notice to show cause unless the JD is within
the precincts and an oral application can be made.
Change of circumstances
Where the JD is declared bankrupt, then circumstances change, the capacity of
the JD changes and a decree cannot be executed.
Where the JD dies or not in existence in the case of a company.
Is in receivership
the circumstances dictate that one must issue notice to show cause.
Where the notice to show cause is issued against the representatives of the JD.
One must issue notice to establish who the personal representative is and where
the personal representative is not there. Where the decree is for the attachment
of the salary of the JD, notice must be issued since the JD could have been sacked
or has quit. The notice is to establish whether the JD is still in employment.
When its attachment on salary the attachment is for a third of the salary and not
all of it.
The discretion to dispense with notice to show cause is vested with the court itself
and therefore the registrar has no power to dispense with the notice. Where
there is requirement that notice to show cause and no notice is given, then any
orders which the court may make in the absence of the JD are a nullity. Madhaji
v Alibhai [1960] EA 167
Order XXI Rule 13 requires that the court satisfies itself that all the
requirements are complied with. If not complied with the court may reject the
application. If the JD is served with notice to show cause and fails to appear in
court as required or appears but fails to show cause why decree should not be
executed, then the court will order for the execution.
Rule 22 provides for situations where the court to which the decree has been
sent upon sufficient cause being shown stays execution to allow the JD to appeal
to the court which passed the decree to set it aside or to go on appeal to an
appellate court for a stay of execution. Rule 22 deals with situations where the
JD wishes to apply for a stay of execution.
The proper application for stay of execution should be made under Order XLI
Rule 4
One can proceed under Rule 5(2) b which gives one the authority to invoke the
court of appeal. One must first apply to the High Court under Rule 4(1) of Order
XLI one does this when the stay has been rejected, one can go straight to court
of appeal under 5(2)(b) to invoke the court of appeal original jurisdiction to grant
the stay. The second attempt to the court of appeal should be under Order 41
rule 4(1) which is an appeal but going under rule 5(2) b is when one has not
appealed the order in the high court but is going straight to the Court of Appeal.
The conditions which are likely to be imposed by both courts are the same. The
reasoning of the court is that when there is an appeal it is not the work of the
court to prejudge but to preserve the status quo until the appeal is heard. They
dont want to punish any party by prejudging issues. If the applicant is willing to
provide security so that the rights of the holder are not prejudiced, the court will
issue a stay.
[1989 1992]KLR
The officer of the court who is authorised to execute decrees is the one to whom
the warrants issued by the court are forwarded for execution. depending on the
decree one wants to execute, they have to determine the proper officer e.g. if it is
dispossessing its done by a court bailiff.
If those conditions are satisfied, then the court must record that they are satisfied
and that the sums are equal. If the sums are not equal, then the one with the
larger sum will be allowed to execute but only in the difference between the two
sums.
MODES OF EXECUTION
The mode of execution depends to a large measure on the suit, where the decree
is for payment of money Rule 26 of Order XXI is the applicable rule. Every
decree for payment of money can be executed by the arrest and/or detention of
the JD or the attachment of the property of the JD or both.
If one chooses to attach the property of the JD and the order remains in force for
6 months, the court will allow the sale and out of the proceeds the court may
award the decree holder which has been fixed as an alternative to the delivery of
the property.
If the judgment debtor has obeyed the decree within 6 months or has delivered
the specific moveable property as ordered by the court, then the attachment will
be lifted.
Rule 28 of Order XXI makes provisions for enforce of decree for specific
performance.
RESTITUTION
Where the JD has refused to obey the decree, the JD may be arrested where there
is wilful refusal to comply e.g. restitution of conjugal rights etc. this is
outrageous!
Where the property has been attached, if the JD has not obeyed the decree then
the decree holder can apply to have the property sold. Where it remains in force
for 6 months. The proceeds from the sale may be utilised to compensate the
party in respect of what the party has incurred. This can only be for injunctions
and specific performance and not for restitution of conjugal rights.
Arrest and detention: where an application is made for payment of money for the
decree of arrest and detention, then the rule is 32 the rule gives court discretion
to require from the JD to show cause why he should not be put in jail. When a
warrant is issued for the JD to be brought into court, this is done with all
convenient speed unless the money has been paid.
If the JD with a view to obstruct execution, in those circumstances the court will
order that he be arrested.
Where one gets facts in a case that indicates that since the decree was issued the
JD has concealed any property with a view to defeat justice, one should apply to
have the JD committed to civil jail.
The decree for a sum for which the JD was bound to account for in a fiduciary
capacity such as an advocate and client, then the JD ought to be committed to
civil jail.
One may want the JD to be put in an environment where he can learn to pay his
debts, then one seek to send the JD to a place where he can be prompted to pay
like Manyani Prison for example.
Under Rule 34 the JD cannot be committed to civil jail unless the decree holder
has paid the subsistence allowance which is fixed by the court. if the JD is in
prison and the amount has been paid to the decree holder, then the JD should be
released forthwith to prison, it requires that the JD be released on the
application of the decree holder or upon the failure of the decree holder to pay
the subsistence allowance. The JD cannot be re-arrested after his release in
respect of the same release.
Section 43 after the warrant of arrest has been issued, the court may cancel it,
on the account the JD is seriously ill, and if he has already been arrested the court
may release him. If the JD has already been committed to prison he may be
released on the ground of the existence of an infectious or contagious disease or
on the ground that he is suffering from some serious ailment.
ACTUAL ATTACHMENT
ACTUAL ATTACHMENT
Attachment of Salary firstly one has to issue a notice to show cause served on
the JD and if the JD does not show sufficient cause, then the court will make an
order attaching one third of the salary of the JD and the order will require that
the employer deducts one third of the salary and forfeits to the court or the
advocate of the Decree Holder if the court so directs. The reasoning is that one
third is what a person saves and therefore can afford.
The procedure when one wants to sell immoveable property is lengthy and
complex and one has to abide by it. When one wants to attach immoveable
property one has to register the prohibitory order to ensure that JD and third
parties do not interfere with the property. Then one has to actualize the sale.
One needs to establish if there are third parties with an interest in that property
like a financial institution, the interest must be noted and catered for by fixing
the matter with deputy registrar for settlement of terms of sale to establish value
of property and what other parties have interest in the property and how the
interests can be catered for and when and how the property will be sold. The
court will then give an indication on how the property is to be sold subject to a
reserve price. the court may also wants to find out how much is owed and then it
may direct that after the sale the third party interests be catered for and the net
sum is what will be available in settling the debt. If there is a charge registered
against the title, the same may be discharged if the court directs and if the
chargee is holding the title they must release title to facilitate transfer.
There could be outstanding statutory payment which must be catered for and the
court ought to know how much is owed in land rent and rates to the government
and the courts must direct how the interests should be catered for.
SALE
Once the property has been attached it cannot be transferred by sale gift or
otherwise, once it is attached the property belongs to the court. where it has been
attached it remains attached until sold or attachment is lifted. The circumstances
under which the court would lift include if the JD satisfies the decree in any way
or where the decree is set aside or varied on appeal.
The court has power to order that any property attached should be sold.
Once the property is sold the proceeds of sale are paid to the decree holder or his
advocate and if there is any balance it is paid to the JD. Every sale is usually
conducted by an officer appointed by court by way of public auction. The court
attaches a public notice of intended sale to be carried in such a manner as it may
direct and the court will give notice to decree holder and JD indicating the date,
the time and the place of intended sale by auction and it should also specify as
accurately as possible the property to be sold, any encumbrance to which the
property is subject, amount to be recovered after the sale and any other matter
which the court considers material for purchaser to know in order to assess the
nature and value of the property.
Except with the consent in writing of the JD, the sale will not take place until
after expiry of at least 30 days in the case of immoveable property and at least 15
days in the case of moveable property. This period is calculated from the date in
which the copies of the notices are affixed on the court notices. Where the
property is subject to speedy and natural decay (inherent vice) then the officer
tending to the auction may sell it at once. If it is livestock the court may make
arrangements for its custody and maintenance i.e. the court directs that it may be
held at the nearest prison since there are fields and free labour.
The court has a discretion to adjourn the sale to a specified date and hour and an
officer conducting any such sale may also adjourn it giving the reasons for
adjournment. If the sale is to be conducted in presence of the court it cannot be
adjourned without the leave of court. if adjourned for more than 7 days a fresh
date must be given. Every sale shall be stopped if before the sale is completed
1. The outstanding debt and cost has been paid by the debtor to the
presiding officer
2. Proof is given to the officer that the amount of debt and cost have been
paid to the court which ordered the sale i.e. by production of a receipt.
The Decree Holder must not participate at the auction without the permission of
the court and if he participates directly or through another person, the court may
set aside that sale and the court may set aside the sale if the JD applies or if any
other person whose interests have been affected by the sale applies to the court.
if it turns out that there was improper sale, the cost of that sale and proceedings
will be borne by the decree holder. If after auctioning the proceeds are not
enough to satisfy the decree, then the decree holder can look for any other
property that the JD may have if the warrants are still valid, one need not make a
fresh application.
When executing against a partnership, one can only execute against the
partnership property if and only if the decree is against the partnership or in their
capacities as partners. If it is in their personal capacity, the decree cannot be
executed against personal property. If the decree is against the firm, then one
can execute against partnership property or against any person who has either
appeared in his own name or admitted on the pleadings that he is a partner or
has been adjudged as a partner by the court.
Against any person other than an infant who has been equally served as a partner
and has failed to enter appearance any subsequent decree issued by court can be
executed on that person whether or not he entered appearance or whether or not
he ceased to be a partner. He must have been served as a partner and fail to file
a defence.
A partner who has not been served as a partner or who has not entered an
appearance, the decree holder can only serve him with leave of court. when one
applies for leave to execute against such a person, and such a person disputes
liability by alleging he is not a partner, the court will have to determine the
matter of liability. If liability is not disputed then the court will grant leave for
execution.
OBJECTION PROCEEDINGS
Where judgement has been entered against a JD and a decree has been issued
and a decree holder has applied for execution and property has been attached,
there is provision for objection to the attachment, the grounds are usually that
the property does not belong to the JD but to a third party, usually the
commonest of objections are made by the spouses. Initially they used to talk of
legal interest but this was amended to take care of equitable interests and the
purpose was to entertain objections raised by the spouses. This is one of the few
occasions where one gets an automatic stay without applying for one. Once you
lodge objection proceedings, you are granted an automatic stay.
Where there is a family property, or a body corporate and the JD is a director, the
company has a right to object to the attachment that the property belongs to the
company Salmon v Salmon principle the property belongs to the company, the
property can therefore not be attached. It is made easier for the company to
object on its own through another advocate to avoid conflict of interest. The
court will call upon the decree holder upon receipt of notice, order stay of
execution, prepare a notice which goes to decree holder requiring decree holder
to indicate whether he still wishes to proceed with attachment, then the decree
holder should communicate to court if he still wishes to proceed. If the decree
states that he does not wish to proceed with execution, the court will order that
the attachment may be raised and make orders as to costs as it may deem fit. The
question of costs is on who bears the costs since there is a third company i.e. the
company, the court must then make an order as to costs. If it appears to have
been wrongful attachment, the costs payable to objector are to be paid by decree
holder.
Rule 53 avails a loophole because grant of stay is automatic, there is the feeling
that the court should first consider the issues before granting the stay.
Where the decree holder wishes to continue with execution and attachment, the
court will issue notice to objector directing objector to take out notice to establish
his claim within 10 days. This is by way of Chamber Summons establishing a suit
in which the decree has been issued for execution, the application should
establish claim by objector. It is served on decree holder and any other party the
court may direct to be served but the court can also direct that it may be served
on the JD. If the objector fails to file proceedings within time allowed by the
court, then the objection will be deemed to have been weak and attachment and
execution will proceed.
If the objector files the application and the objector has evidence to adduce to the
effect that decree holder is not entitled to order for lifting attachment, they may
be allowed to file affidavits, if the court feels that there are matters in the affidavit
that ought to be proved it will order oral evidence to be adduced before making a
final order. If the objection is rejected, the decree holder will be allowed to
proceed with the attachment and execution. If the objection is proved the court
will order release of the property to the Objector and make an order as to costs.
The costs of the objector must be provided for where the objector has succeeded.
Another situation is where property of the Judgment Debtor is in the hands of the
3rd party.
There is execution there is attachment and the property being attached belongs to
JD but it is in the hands of a third party. One can apply against 3 rd party and the
procedure is what is called Ganishee proceedings.
Instead of ordering attachment of debt the court may order Ganishee to show
cause why he should not pay the decree holder the debt due to him from the JD.
Alternatively instead of the order nisi the court may choose may require 3 rd party
to show cause why the property should not be attached in satisfaction of the
decree, the order must be served on Ganishee 7 days before the date of hearing.
If the Ganishee does not appear for hearing of the Order nisi, the court may order
that decree be levied against the property or to be served on Ganishee personally.
For purposes of Ganishee proceedings a credit in a deposit in a bank or building
society can be attached notwithstanding that the following apply to the account
1. Notice Required before any money is withdrawn
2. that a personal application must be made before any money is
withdrawn;
3. a deposit book must be produced before any money is withdrawn; or
4. that a receipt for money deposited in the account must be produced
before any money is withdrawn.
Whatever the conditions, once the order is issued, then it will bind the bank or
financial institution irrespective of what that institution may have set for the
operation of that account.
APPELLATE PROCEDURE
Right to apply under Rule 5 (2) (b) of the Court of Appeal Rules.
If the High Court denies one a stay order, one may make an application under 5
(2) (b).
Appeal as of right
Leave to appeal