godlove raphael dembe vs philipo paul ndunguru and others 2023 tzhc 16690 5 april 2023

godlove raphael dembe vs philipo paul ndunguru and others 2023 tzhc 16690 5 april 2023

The suit is a land matter and was improperly filed as a civil case in the civil registry. Ordinary civil courts lack jurisdiction to entertain land disputes, which must be instituted in the land register. The defect is fatal and cannot be cured by amendment or application of the overriding objective principle. The plaint is incompetent and must be struck out.

Citation
godlove raphael dembe vs philipo paul ndunguru and others 2023 tzhc 16690 5 april 2023
Parties
Plaintiff: Godlove Raphael Dembe; 1st Defendant: Philipo Paul Ndunguru; 2nd Defendant: Virginia Fredrick Rwezaula; 3rd Defendant: Justine Hamisi Foroko
Court
TZHC
Jurisdiction
Tanzania
Judgment Date
5 April 2023
Procedural Posture
Civil / Ruling on Preliminary Objection and Jurisdiction
Outcome
plaint struck out for want of jurisdiction
Legal Topics
Jurisdiction, Land Disputes, Pleadings, Overriding Objective Principle
Source Language
English
Civil Procedure Land Law Jurisdiction Land Disputes Pleadings Overriding Objective Principle

Case Brief

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Parties

Godlove Raphael Dembe

Plaintiff

Philipo Paul Ndunguru

1st Defendant

Virginia Fredrick Rwezaula

2nd Defendant

Justine Hamisi Foroko

3rd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Ruling on Preliminary Objection and Jurisdiction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the High Court sitting as a normal civil court has jurisdiction to entertain the present matter
  2. 2 Whether the suit is properly instituted as a civil case or should have been filed as a land case

Ratio Decidendi

The suit is a land matter and was improperly filed as a civil case in the civil registry. Ordinary civil courts lack jurisdiction to entertain land disputes, which must be instituted in the land register. The defect is fatal and cannot be cured by amendment or application of the overriding objective principle. The plaint is incompetent and must be struck out.

Court Disposition

plaint struck out for want of jurisdiction

Orders

  • Plaint struck out
  • No order as to costs