Euro Bank Limited v Dr Julius Gikonyo Kiano
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed you cannot strike out an appeal against a court ruling just because no certified decree exists.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether an appeal against a ruling of the High Court, where no decree has been drawn and the suit remains pending for trial, must be struck out for want of a certified copy of the decree
Key legal issues
#Whether the absence of a certified copy of the decree justifies striking out an appeal against a ruling
It does not; the appeal being against a ruling rather than a decree, the requirement of a certified decree does not apply.
The respondent moved to strike out the appeal because it lacked a certified copy of the decree. The court held that the appeal was directed at the High Court's ruling of 29 April 1998, not at any decree, and that the underlying suit remained pending for trial. Accordingly, no decree existed to be certified and the application lacked merit.
Legal principles established
#- An appeal against an interlocutory ruling of the High Court, in a suit still pending trial, is not an appeal against a decree and cannot be struck out for want of a certified copy of the decree.
Court orders
#- 1.The respondent's notice of motion seeking to strike out the appeal is dismissed with costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
- H.C.C.C. No. 501 of 1998
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appeal against a ruling of the High Court (no specific constitutional or statutory provision stated in the judgment)
Relief refused
#Striking out of the appeal for want of a certified copy of the decree
The appeal is against a ruling, not a decree, and the suit is still pending for trial in the superior court
Costs
The application is dismissed with costs (costs of the application to the respondent).
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
But this appeal is not against any decree. It is against the ruling of the superior court dated 29th April, 1998.
In fact the suit is still pending for trial in the superior court. There is no merit in this application. It is hereby dismissed with costs.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Euro Bank Limited v Dr Julius Gikonyo Kiano", Case Analysis (1998). Civil Appeal No. 125 of 1998. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/1998/273/eng@1998-10-21
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.