NA TZHC Dar es Salaam

•, t IN THE HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA (DAR ES SALAAM DISTRICT REGISTRY) AT DAR ES SALAAM CIVIL APPEAL NO. 114 OF 1997 BIASHARA CONSUMER SERVICE ) .......... APPELLANT LIMITED ) Versus NGURUWE T. WEREMA & OTHERS .........• RESPONDENT (Chipeta, J., Bubeshi, J., Ihema,J.) JUDGMENT .. The appellants have filed this appeal against the Ruling of the Industrial Court, dated 12/8/1997. The filed ground are that- - the learned Deputy Chairman erred in law and fact in holding that the trade dispute was reported to the field branch within the time prescribed by the law; the Deputy Chainnan erred in law and fact in holding that the trade dispute was not time barred; ......... - the learned Deputy Chairman erred in law and fact in 'r,' not holding that the duty to prove that the matter_ was reported to the OTTU filed branch within the specified time lay on the complainants; the Deputy Chainnan misdirected himself in law and fact in not holding that even if the dispute had been reported to the field branch within the time prescribed by the law, / then the dispute concerned only the four Complainants who , I -,.' reported the dispute and not the rest of the complainants; - the Deputy Chairman misdirected himself in law and fact in not holding that the Industrial Couti had no jurisdiction to entertain a time-barred trade dispute. Appearing for the appellants was Mr. Ndyanabo, learned counsel, while Mr. Kashumbugu learned counsel represented the complainants/respondents. Having considered the filed written submissions, the main issue for determination is twofold, namely, whether the dispute was reported to the field branch within the Statutory period or not. The other issue is whether the dispute concerned all the retrenchees or only the four complainants. There is, however, an important aspect of this appeal which has not been canvassed by either party, namely, whether this Court has jurisdiction to hear the appeal. There are two schools of thought: some judges hold the view that this Court has no jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Industrial Court while others hold the opposite view. Our position is that the right to appeal can only be founded on a statute - see the following cases - Ludovick /(. Mboma vs. National Bank of Commerce- Civil Application No.I of 1996 Mwanza Registry- Court of appeal unreported - Attorney General vs. Shah (1971) E.A. 5() - Leo K. Lekule vs. .JV Limited - Civil Appeal No/3/1998 JJar es Salaam Regi5t,y unreported. This Court has not been automatically clothed with appellate jurisdiction over the Industrial Court by the prouncement that Section 27(1C) of the Industrial Court of Tanzania Act 41/67, as amended by Act 3/1990 has been declared unconstitutional. We are to that extent bound by the decision of the Court of Appeal in the Ludovici, ](. Mboma 's Case - Supra. ' . ' \ In the premises, we are unable to consider the merits of this appeal as filed and accordingly we strike out the appeal with no order as to costs. /4 B. D. ~/4p~ IPETA JUDGE A.G. BUBESHI JUDGE S. IHEMA JUDGE