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Court of AppealStruck OutCivil Appeal No. 252 of 2000

Njeri Kimani & another v Joseph Njoroge Murigi & 2 others [2001] KECA 301 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
28 June 2001
JGJ.E. GicheruALA.A. LakhaEOE. O'Kubasu
173 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal struck out an appeal because the ruling being challenged had no date on it — a fatal paperwork error.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a brief ruling of the Court of Appeal at Nairobi (Gicheru, Lakha and O'Kubasu, JJ.A.) in Civil Appeal No. 252 of 2000, an appeal by Njeri Kimani and Simon Kinyanjui Kimani against a ruling and order of the High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Commercial Courts, Hewett J) dated 19th July 2000 in H.C.C.C. No. 819 of 2000, in which Joseph Njoroge Murigi, John Mukirae Kinungi and Pioneer Building Society Ltd. (in liquidation) were respondents. The court identified a single, fatal procedural defect: the ruling sought to be appealed against was not dated. That omission placed the ruling in breach of Order XX rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which requires judgments and rulings to be dated. The court held that this omission rendered the appeal incompetent and, without hearing any substantive argument, struck the appeal out. Notably, although the appeal failed, the court declined to award costs against the appellants, instead making no order as to costs, so each party bears its own costs. The ruling is a short procedural decision of general application: it binds lower courts and litigants to the proposition that an undated ruling cannot found a competent appeal. No authorities were cited, no separate judicial opinions were expressed, and the bench was unanimous.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether an appeal against an undated ruling is competent

Key legal issues

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01

Competence of an appeal against an undated ruling

Holding

The appeal was struck out as incompetent because the ruling appealed against bore no date.

Reasoning

The court held that the absence of a date on the ruling appealed from contravened Order XX rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules. That procedural breach rendered the appeal incompetent, and the only proper course was to strike out the appeal. The court made no order as to costs, indicating no substantive adjudication of the underlying dispute occurred.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • A ruling or order that is not dated is in breach of Order XX rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and an appeal founded on such an undated ruling is incompetent and liable to be struck out.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The appeal is struck out
  2. 2.No order as to costs

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

JG
majority
AL
majority
EO
majority
On appeal from
High Court of Kenya at Nairobi (Milimani Commercial Courts)
H.C.C.C. No. 819 of 2000
Jurisdiction invoked
Appeal against a ruling and order of the High Court under the Civil Procedure Rules (Order XLI rule 1(2) requirement for a dated ruling; Order XX rule 3 cited as to dating of judgments/rulings)

Relief refused

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Leave to prosecute the appeal / hearing of the appeal

The ruling appealed against was undated, in breach of Order XX rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, rendering the appeal incompetent

p. 2

Costs

No order as to costs - each party to bear their own costs

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

As the ruling sought to appeal against is not dated, it is in breach of Order XX rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules. This omission renders the appeal incompetent.
p. 2competence of appeal - undated ruling
Accordingly, the appeal is struck out but with no order as to costs.
p. 2final orders - striking out and costs

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The judgment does not state the provision under which the appeal was lodged; jurisdictional basis is inferred from the cited Civil Procedure Rules and the appeal header.

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (1)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Njeri Kimani & another v Joseph Njoroge Murigi & 2 others [2001] KECA 301 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2001). Civil Appeal No. 252 of 2000. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2001/301/eng@2001-06-28

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.