Order 56 — Appeals From Lower Courts

Every appeal shall be brought by notice of appeal, which shall be filed in the lower Court within 30 days of the decision appealed from and served on all other parties affected by the appeal within that period.

(1) The notice of appeal shall set out the reference number of the proceedings in which the decision complained of was given, the names of the parties, the date of such decision and the grounds for appeal in full.

(2) Where the Appellant complains only of a part of the decision, the appeal shall be taken to be against the decision as a whole.

(3) The notice of appeal shall give an address within the Judicial Division in which the lower Court appealed from is situated, to which notices may be sent to the Appellant, and such notices may be sent to the Appellant by registered post or by such other means provided in the Rules of Court or Practice Direction or as may be directed by the Court.

(4) The notice of appeal shall be in Form 39 in the appendix and may be varied to suit the circumstances of the case but so that no variation of substance shall be made.

The Registrar of the lower Court shall, within three months of the decision appealed from, prepare as many certified copies of the proceedings required for the consideration of the appeal as there are parties on record. Save where the fees for preparing such copies are remitted, a deposit decided upon by the Registrar as likely to cover such fees, shall be made by the Appellant before preparation of such copies.

The Registrar of the lower Court shall, within 7 days of preparing the certified copies of the proceedings, send the same to the Registrar of the Court in the Judicial Division in which the lower Court is situated.

When notifying a party of the day fixed for the hearing of the appeal, the Registrar of the Court shall send a copy of the proceedings to such party.

Where the time available to the Appellant for the taking of any step has expired before such step has been taken or completed, the Respondent may, on notice to the Appellant, apply to the Court to strike out the appeal, and the Court may strike out the appeal or, for sufficient reason shown, enlarge time for the Appellant to take the required step(s) in the appeal.

The appeal shall come on for hearing at such time and at such place as the Registrar of the Court shall notify the parties.

(1) If, on the day of hearing and at any adjournment of the case, the Appellant does not appear, the appeal shall be struck out and the decision of the lower Court shall be affirmed, unless the Court thinks fit, for sufficient cause, to order otherwise.

(2) If in any such case the Respondent appears, the judgment shall be with costs of the appeal against the Appellant, unless the Court expressly orders otherwise; but if the Respondent does not appear, the costs of appeal shall be at the discretion of the Court.

If, on the day of hearing and at any adjournment of the case, the Appellant appears, the Court shall, whether the Respondent appears or not, proceed to the hearing or further hearing and determination of the appeal, and shall give judgment according to the merits of the case without regard to any imperfection or defect of form.

Provided that if it appears or is proved to the Court that the Appellant has not complied with the requirements precedent to the hearing of an appeal hereinbefore contained, the Court shall dismiss the appeal and affirm the decision of the lower Court, with or without costs of appeal against the Appellant.

At the hearing of the appeal, it shall not be competent for the Appellant to go into any grounds of appeal other than those set out in the notice of appeal:

(1) The Respondent may give notice that the Respondent intends, at the hearing of the appeal, to ask the court to affirm the judgment of the lower Court on grounds other than those stated by the lower Court.

(2) The notice shall be accompanied by a clear statement of the grounds on which the Respondent intends to ask the Court to affirm the judgment of the lower Court.

(3) Such notice and grounds shall be filed in Court within 14 days of service on the Respondent of the notice of appeal, and shall be served on the Appellant or the Appellant’s Legal Practitioner.

(1) The Respondent may file grounds of appeal against any part of the judgment of the lower Court.

(2) Such grounds shall be filed by the Respondent within 14 days of service on the Respondent of the Appellant’s notice of appeal, and shall be served on the Appellant or the Appellant’s Legal Practitioner before the hearing of the appeal.

(1) No objection on account of any defect in the form of setting out any ground of appeal shall be allowed, unless the Court is of the opinion that the ground of appeal is so imperfectly or incorrectly stated as to be insufficient to enable the Respondent to enquire into the subject matter thereof or to prepare for the hearing of the appeal.

On any appeal from a decision of a lower Court, no objection shall be taken or allowed to any proceeding in such Court for any defect or error which might have been amended by that Court, or to any complaint, summons, warrant, or other process to or of such Court for any alleged defect therein in substance or in form, or for any variance between any complaint or summons and the evidence adduced in support thereof in such Court.

Provided, however, that if any error, defect or variance mentioned in this Rule appears to the Court at the hearing of any appeal to be such that the Appellant has been thereby deceived or misled, it shall be lawful for the Court either to refer the case back to the lower Court with direction to re-hear and determine the case or to reverse the decision appealed from, or to make such other order for disposing of the case as justice may require.

No objection shall be taken or allowed, in any appeal, to any notice of appeal which is in writing or to any recognizance entered into under this Order for the due prosecution of such appeal for any alleged error or defect therein: but if any such error or defect appears to the Court to be such that the Respondent has been thereby deceived or misled, it shall be lawful for the Court to amend the same on such terms as the Court may deem just.

The Court may, in any case where it may consider it necessary that evidence should be adduced, either:-

(a) order such evidence to be adduced before the Court on some day to be fixed in that behalf; or

(b) refer the case back to the lower Court to take such evidence, and may in such case either direct the lower Court to adjudicate afresh after taking such evidence and subject to such directions in law, if any, as the Court may think fit to give, or direct the lower Court, after taking such evidence, to report specific findings of fact for the information of the Court, and on any such reference the case shall, so far as may be practicable and necessary, be dealt with as if it were being heard in the first instance.

(1) When additional evidence is to be taken by the lower Court and specific findings of fact reported, it shall certify such evidence to the Court which shall thereupon proceed to dispose of the appeal.

(2) The Appellant or the Appellant’s Legal Practitioner shall be present when the additional evidence is being taken.

(3) Evidence taken in pursuance of Rule 16 of this Order shall be taken as if it were evidence taken at the trial before the lower Court.

(4) When forwarding to the Court any additional evidence taken by a lower Court in pursuance of Rule 16 of this Order, the lower Court may express its opinion on the demeanour of the witnesses and of the value of their evidence and may also, if it is the same lower Court against whose decision the appeal has been made, state whether or not it would have come to a different decision had the additional evidence been brought forward at the trial.

Subject to the provisions of Order 66 Rule 2 of these Rules, the fees in the 1st Schedule to these Rules shall be chargeable in civil appeals, save where the lower Court or the Court waives or remits the same on the ground of the poverty of the person chargeable therewith where it appears that there are substantial grounds of appeal.

(1) On application being made for stay of execution under any enactment establishing the lower Court, the lower Court or the Court may impose one or more of the following conditions:-

(a) that the Appellant shall deposit a sum fixed by the Court not exceeding the amount of the money or the value of the property affected by the decision or judgement appealed from, or give security to the satisfaction of the Court for the said sum;

(b) that the Appellant shall deposit a sum equal to the amount of the costs allowed against the Appellant or give security to the satisfaction of the Court for the said sum;

(c) that the Appellant shall, where the decision or judgement appealed from relates to possession of land or houses, give security to the satisfaction of the Court for the performance of the decision or judgment in the event of the appeal being dismissed;

(d) that the Appellant’s property shall be seized and attached pending the making of a deposit or the giving of security as aforesaid including a deposit or security for the expenses incidental to the seizure and attachment.

(2) Any order made on any such application shall limit the time, not being more than thirty days, for the performance of the conditions imposed, and direct that in default of such performance within the time so limited execution may issue or proceed.

(3) An application for stay of execution under the enactment establishing the lower Court may be made at any time after filing the notice of appeal, and shall, in the first instance, be made to the lower Court.

(4) The application may be made ex-parte but the Court may direct notice thereof to be given to the other party to the appeal. Where an order is made ex-parte, the Registrar of the Court shall notify the other party of the order made.

(5) Where the Appellant proposes to give security instead of making a deposit, the application shall state the nature of the security and the name of the surety proposed, if any.

(6) Any party dissatisfied with an order made by the lower Court may apply to the Court by motion on notice for a review of the order, and the Court may thereupon make such an order as may seem just.

(7) An appeal shall not operate as a stay of execution under the decision or judgment appealed from, except so far as the lower Court or the Court may order.

The Court may make such order as to the payment of costs by or to the Appellant as it may deem to be just, and such order may be made also in any case where an appeal has not been entered or prosecuted.

(1) The Court may, in special circumstances, upon an application by motion on notice, order the Appellant to deposit such sum or give such security as may seem fit for the Respondent’s costs of appeal including the costs incidental to the application.

(2) The order shall limit the time, not exceeding 30 days, within which the deposit or security shall be made or given and may direct that in default of its being made

(3) Where an appeal so stands dismissed, the Respondent shall be entitled to all reasonable costs occasioned by the appeal and the amount of such costs may be stated in the order in anticipation or may be assessed at any time by the Court of its own motion or upon an application made ex-parte or by motion on notice as the court may deem fit.

(4) Where an appeal so stands dismissed, the Appellant shall take no further step or proceeding therein save by leave of the Court for reinstatement of the appeal, which may be granted on such terms, if any, as may seem just upon an application by motion on notice made within 30 days of such dismissal, but not otherwise.

(5) Without prejudice to the discretion of the Court to grant costs where it seems proper on an application made under sub-rule (1) of this Rule, costs shall not normally be granted to the Applicant save where the net proceeds of execution levied on the Applicant’s goods are insufficient to satisfy the amount payable under the judgement or decision appealed from.

(1) When a case is decided on appeal, the Court shall certify its judgement or order to the lower Court in which the decision appealed against was pronounced.

(2) The lower Court to which the Court certifies its judgement or order shall thereupon make such orders as are in conformity with the judgement or order of the Court and, if necessary, the records shall be amended in accordance therewith.

After the pronouncement of the judgment of the Court, the lower Court from which the appeal came shall have the same jurisdiction and power to enforce, and shall enforce, any decision which may have been affirmed, modified, amended, or substituted by the Court or any judgment which may have been pronounced by the Court, in the same manner in all respects as if such decision or judgment had been pronounced by the lower Court.

Any order given or made by the Court may be enforced by the Court or by the lower Court as may be most expedient.

The Court may, if it deems fit, enlarge any period of time prescribed by this Order.

In this Order:-

“the lower Court” means the Court whose judgement is appealed against, and includes a District Court, Sharia Court, Customary Court.

“judgement” includes an Order or a Ruling.