Order 41 — Jurisdiction of Chief Registrar

In this Order, any reference to the Chief Registrar means the Chief Registrar of the High Court and includes the Deputy Chief Registrar.

The Chief Registrar may transact all such business and exercise all such authority and jurisdiction as may be transacted or exercised by a Judge in respect of the following matters:

If any matter appears to the Chief Registrar proper for the decision of a Judge, the Chief Registrar may refer the same to the Chief Judge or the Judge who referred the matter to the Chief Registrar. The Chief Judge or the Judge may either dispose of the matter or refer the same back to the Chief Registrar with such directions as the Chief Judge or the Judge may deem fit.

(1) Any person affected by an order or decision of the Chief Registrar in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this Order may appeal therefrom to a Judge.

(2) Such appeal shall be by notice in writing to attend before the Judge without a fresh summons within 5 days after the decision complained of, or such further time as may be allowed by the Judge.

(3) Unless otherwise ordered by the Judge, there shall be at least 2 clear days between service of the notice of appeal and the day of hearing.

(4) An appeal from the decision of the Chief Registrar shall not operate as a stay of proceedings.

Lists of matters to be heard by the Chief Registrar shall be made out and published by being posted on the Courts’ notice boards.

In any proceeding before the Chief Registrar, any party may, if the party so desires, be represented by a Legal Practitioner.

Where any judgement or order is referred to the Chief Registrar for the purpose of taking accounts or making inquiries, the Chief Registrar shall certify the result of the accounts or inquiries.

Every certificate shall refer to the judgement or order under which the accounts or inquiries were taken or made.

(1) The certificate shall be in the form following:

“I certify that the result of the accounts and inquiries which have been taken and made in pursuance of the judgement (or order) in this cause dated the ………. day of ………. is as follows:

1. The Defendants ………. have received the amount of N ………. and they have paid, or are entitled to be allowed an account thereof, sums to the amount of N ………. leaving a balance due from (or to) them of N ………. on that account.
2. The particulars of the above receipts and payments appear in the account marked ………. verified by the affidavit of ………. filed on the ………. day of ………. and which account is to be filed with this certificate, except that in addition to the sums appearing on such account to have been received, the said Defendants are charged with the following sums (state the same here or in a schedule), and except that I have disallowed the items of disbursement in the said account numbered ………. and ……….
3. The Defendants have brought in an account verified by the affidavit of ………. filed on the ………. day of ………. and which account is marked ………. and which is also to be filed with this certificate, is a transcript of the account as altered and passed.”

(2) The accounts and transcripts, if any, referred to by certificate shall be filed therewith.

Every certificate with the accounts, if any, to be filed therewith shall be transmitted by the Chief Registrar to the Registry for filing and shall thenceforth be binding on all the parties to the proceedings, unless discharged or varied upon an application made to a Judge before the expiration of 8 clear days after the filing of the certificate.

When taxing a bill of costs, the Chief Registrar shall insert in red ink against every item disallowed, reduced or altered by the Chief Registrar, the substance of the modification made and at the bottom of the bill of costs the Chief Registrar shall certify the net result of the taxation. The Chief Registrar shall then transmit the bill of costs to the Registry for filing and the provisions of Rule 10 of this Order shall apply in respect of such certificate.

The Judge may, if the special circumstances of the case require, upon an application, direct a certificate to be discharged or varied at any time after the same has become binding on the parties.