Civil Procedure Act

Section Application of Act Section This Act shall extend to proceedings in the High Court and magistrates courts.

Section Interpretation Section In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “ advocate ” means any person entitled to appear and plead for another in court ; “ court ” means any court exercising civil jurisdiction; “ currency point ” has the value assigned to it in the Schedule to this Act; “ decree ” means the formal expression of an adjudication which, so far as regards the court expressing it, conclusively determines the rights of the parties with regard to any of the matters in controversy in the suit and may be either preliminary or final and the decree shall be deemed to include the rejection of a plaint or writ and the determination of any question within section 34 or 92 , but shall not include— (a) any adjudication from which an appeal lies as an appeal from an order ; or (b) any order of dismissal for default; Explanation — A decree is preliminary when further proceedings have to be taken before the suit can be completely disposed of and is final when the adjudication completely disposes of the suit . A decree may be partly preliminary and partly final. “ decree holder ” means any person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made, and includes the assignee of such decree or order ; “ district ” means any one magisterial area as defined in the Magistrates Courts Act; “ foreign court ” means a court situate beyond the limits of Uganda which has no authority in Uganda; “ foreign judgment ” means the judgment of a foreign court ; “ judge ” includes a magistrate exercising civil jurisdiction in a magistrate’s court ; “ judgment ” means the statement given by the judge of the grounds of a decree or order ; “ judgment debtor ” means any person against whom a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made; “ legal representative ” means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and where a party sues or is sued in a representative character, the person on whom the estate devolves on the death of the party so suing or sued; “ magistrate’s court ” means a court established under the Magistrates Courts Act; “ mesne profits ” of property means those profits which the person in wrongful possession of the property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received from it, together with interest on those profits, but shall not include profits due to improvements made by the person in wrongful possession; “ movable property ” includes growing crops; “ order ” means the formal expression of any decision of a civil court which is not a decree , and shall include a rule nisi ; “ pleading ” includes any petition or summons, and also includes the statements in writing of the claim or demand of any plaintiff, and of the defence of any defendant to them, and the reply of the plaintiff to any defence or counterclaim of a defendant; “ prescribed ” means prescribed by rules ; “ public officer ” means a person falling under any of the following descriptions— (a) every member of the civil service of Uganda; (b) every commissioned or gazetted officer in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces; (c) every officer of a court of justice whose duty it is, as such officer, to investigate or report on any matter of law or fact or to make or authenticate or keep any document, or to take charge or dispose of any property, or to execute any judicial process, or to administer any oath, or to interpret, or to preserve order in the court and every person especially authorised by a court of justice to perform any of those duties; (d) every person who holds any office by virtue of which he or she is empowered to place or keep any person in confinement; (e) every person whose duty it is, in an official capacity, to prevent offences, to give information of offences, to bring offenders to justice or to protect the public health, safety or convenience; (f) every officer whose duty it is, as such officer, to take, receive, keep or expend any property on behalf of the Government, or to make any survey, assessment or contract on behalf of the Government, or to execute any revenue process, or to investigate, or to report on any matter affecting the pecuniary interests of the Government, or to make, authenticate or keep any document relating to the pecuniary interests of the Government, or to prevent the infraction of any law for the protection of the pecuniary interests of the Government; and (g) every officer in the service or pay of the Government or remunerated by fees or commission for the performance of any public duty; “ registrar ” includes a district and deputy registrar; “ rules ” means rules and forms made by the rules committee to regulate the procedure of courts; “ share in a corporation ” shall be deemed to include stock, debenture stock, debentures or bonds; “ signed ” includes the affixing of a mark by a person unable to write; “ subordinate court ” means any magistrate’s court , and no other court shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be subordinate to the High Court; “ suit ” means all civil proceedings commenced in any manner prescribed .

Section Jurisdiction, power, etc. under other laws not limited by this Act Section In the absence of any specific provision to the contrary, nothing in this Act shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect any special jurisdiction or power conferred, or any special form of procedure prescribed by or under any other law for the time being in force.

Section Pecuniary jurisdiction Section Except insofar as is otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this Act shall operate to give any court jurisdiction over suits the amount or value of the subject matter of which exceeds the pecuniary limits, if any, of its ordinary jurisdiction.

Section Review Section Any person considering himself or herself aggrieved— by a decree or order from which an appeal is allowed by this Act, but from which no appeal has been preferred; or by a decree or order from which no appeal is allowed by this Act,

Section Revision Section The High Court may call for the record of any case which has been determined under this Act by any magistrate’s court , and if that court appears to have— The power of revision referred to in subsection (1) shall not be exercised— exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it in law; failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested; or acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity or injustice, unless the parties are first given the opportunity of being heard; or where, from lapse of time or other cause, the exercise of that power would involve serious hardship to any person.

Section Supplemental proceedings Section In order to prevent the ends of justice from being defeated, the court may, if it is so prescribed — issue a warrant to arrest the defendant and bring him or her before the court to show cause why he or she should not give security for his or her appearance, and if the defendant fails to comply with any order for security commit him or her to prison; direct the defendant to furnish security to produce any property belonging to him or her and to place the same at the disposal of the court or order the attachment of any property; grant a temporary injunction and in case of disobedience commit the person guilty of it to prison and order that his or her property be attached and sold; appoint a receiver of any property and enforce the performance of his or her duties by attaching and selling his or her property; make such other interlocutory orders as may appear to the court to be just and convenient.

Section Compensation for arrest, attachment or injunction on insufficient grounds Section Where, in any suit in which an arrest or attachment has been effected or a temporary injunction granted under section 64 — it appears to the court that the arrest, attachment or injunction was applied for on insufficient grounds; or the suit of the plaintiff fails and it appears to the court that there was no reasonable or probable ground for instituting the suit , An order determining any such application shall bar any suit for compensation in respect of such arrest, attachment or injunction.

Section General power to amend Section The court may at any time, and on such terms as to costs or otherwise as the court may consider appropriate, amend any defect or error in any proceeding in a suit ; and all necessary amendments shall be made for the purpose of determining the real question or issue raised by or depending on such proceeding.

Section Power to amend Schedule Section The Minister responsible for finance may, by statutory instrument, with the approval of Cabinet, amend the Schedule to this Act.

Section Exemption of certain women Section Women who, according to the customs and manners of their community, ought not be compelled to appear in public shall be exempt from personal appearance in court . Nothing in this section shall be deemed to exempt such women from arrest in execution of civil process.

Section Arrest other than in execution of decree Section Sections 40 , 41 and 43 shall apply, so far as may be, to all persons arrested under this Act.

Section Exemption from arrest under civil process Section No judge , magistrate or other judicial officer shall be liable to arrest under civil process while going to, presiding in or returning from his or her court . Where any matter is pending before a tribunal having jurisdiction in the matter, or believing in good faith that it has such jurisdiction, the parties to the matter, their advocates and recognised agents, and their witnesses acting in obedience to a summons shall be exempt from arrest under civil process other than process issued by that tribunal for contempt of court while going to or attending that tribunal for the purpose of that matter, and while returning from that tribunal. Nothing in subsection (2) shall enable a judgment debtor to claim exemption from arrest under an order for immediate execution or where the judgment debtor attends to show cause why he or she should not be committed to prison in execution of a decree .

Section Procedure where person to be arrested or property to be attached is outside district Section Where an application is made to a magistrate’s court that any person shall be arrested or that any property shall be attached under any provisions of this Act not relating to the execution of decrees, and where that person resides or that property is situate outside the limits of the local jurisdiction of the court to which the application is made, the court may in its discretion issue a warrant of arrest, or make an order of attachment, and send to the magistrate’s court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the person or property resides or is situate the warrant or order together with the probable amount of the costs of the arrest or attachment. The magistrate’s court receiving such warrant or order shall cause the arrest or attachment to be made, and shall inform the court which issued or made the warrant or order of the arrest or attachment. The court making an arrest under this section shall send the person arrested to the court by which the warrant of arrest was issued, unless the person shows cause to the satisfaction of the former court why he or she should not be sent to the latter court , or unless he or she furnishes sufficient security for his or her appearance before the latter court or for satisfying any decree that may be passed against him or her by that court , in either of which cases the court making the arrest shall release the person, and shall inform he court by whom the arrest was ordered accordingly.

Section Language of courts Section The language of all courts shall be English. Evidence in all courts shall be recorded in English. Written applications to the courts shall be in English.

Section Power to call in assessors Section Any fit person may, subject to any exemptions, be summoned as an assessor but the following persons shall be exempt from liability to be summoned as assessors— Any court may, if it considers fit, and shall, upon the request of either party to a cause or matter pending before it in which questions may arise as to the laws or customs of any tribe, caste or community, summon to its assistance one or more competent assessors, and those assessors shall attend and assist accordingly. In any admiralty or vice admiralty cause of salvage, towage or collision, the court , whether it is exercising its original or its appellate jurisdiction, may, if the court considers fit, and shall upon request of either party to the cause, summon to its assistance, in such manner as it may direct or as may be prescribed , two competent assessors; and those assessors shall attend and assist accordingly. Every such assessor shall be summoned in such manner as the court may direct, and shall receive such fees for his or her attendance as may be prescribed to be paid in such manner as the court may direct. members of the Cabinet or of Parliament; the Clerk to Parliament and the persons appointed to act as official reporters to Parliament; persons actively discharging the duties of priests or ministers of their respective religions; physicians, surgeons and apothecaries in active practice; legal practitioners in active practice; officers and others in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces on full pay; members of the police and prisons services; persons exempted from personal appearance in court under the provisions of this Act, or any rules made under it; persons disabled by mental or bodily infirmity; other persons exempted by the Minister from liability to serve as assessors. Any person summoned to attend as an assessor who, without lawful excuse, fails to attend as required by the summons, or who, having attended, departs without having obtained the permission of the court , or fails to attend after adjournment of the court , after being ordered to attend, is liable by order of the court which he or she has failed to attend or from which he or she has departed without having obtained the permission of the court to a fine not exceeding two hundred currency points. That fine may be levied by attachment and sale of any movable property belonging to the assessor within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the court making the order . For good cause shown, the court may remit or reduce any fine so imposed. In default of recovery of the fine by attachment and sale, the assessor may, by order of the court , be imprisoned as a civil prisoner for fifteen days, unless the fine is paid before the end of that period.

Section Miscellaneous proceedings Section The procedure provided in this Act in regard to suits shall be followed as far as it may be applicable in all proceedings in any court of civil jurisdiction.

Section Orders and notices to be in writing Section All orders or notices served on or given to any person under this Act shall be in writing.

Section Application for restitution Section Where and insofar as a decree is varied or reversed, the court of first instance shall, on the application of the party entitled to any benefit by way of restitution or otherwise, cause such restitution to be made as will, so far as may be, place the parties in the position they would have occupied but for such decree or such part of it as has been varied or reversed; and for this purpose the court may make any orders, including orders for the refund of costs and for the payment of interest, damages, compensation and mesne profits , which are properly consequential on the variation or reversal. No suit shall be instituted for the purpose of obtaining any restitution or other relief which could be obtained by application under subsection (1) .

Section Enforcement of liability of surety Section Where any person has become liable as surety— for the performance of any decree or any part of it; for the restitution of any property taken in execution of a decree ; or for the payment of any money, or for the fulfilment of any condition imposed on any person, under an order of the court in any suit or in any proceeding consequent thereon,

Section Consent or agreement by persons under disability Section In all suits to which any person under disability is a party, any consent or agreement as to any proceeding shall, if given or made with the express leave of the court by the next friend or guardian for the suit , have the same force and effect as if that person were under no disability and had given such consent or made such agreement.

Section Execution of decree of High Court before costs are ascertained Section Where the High Court considers it necessary that a decree passed in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction should be executed before the amount of the costs incurred in the suit can be ascertained by taxation, the court may order that the decree shall be executed forthwith, except as to so much of it as relates to the costs, and as to so much of it as relates to the costs that the decree may be executed as soon as the amount of the costs shall be ascertained by taxation.

Section Extension of time Section Where any period is fixed or granted by the court for the doing of any act prescribed or allowed by this Act, the court may, in its discretion, from time to time, extend that period, even though the period originally fixed or granted may have expired.

Section Power to make up deficiency of court fees Section Where the whole or any part of any fee prescribed for any document by the law for the time being in force relating to court fees has not been paid, the court may, in its discretion, at any stage, allow the person by whom the fee is payable to pay the whole or part, as the case may be, of that court fee; and on payment, the document in respect of which the fee is payable, shall have the same force and effect as if the fee had been paid in the first instance.

Section Saving of inherent powers of court Section Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent power of the court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the process of the court .

Section Amendment of judgments, decrees or orders Section Clerical or mathematical mistakes in judgments, decrees or orders, or errors arising in them from any accidental slip or omission may at any time be corrected by the court either of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties.