Stephen Vincent Jobling v Firearms Licensing Board
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that appeals can be amended freely unless done in bad faith or causing prejudice that money cannot fix.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the applicant should be granted extension of time to file and serve written submissions
- 2.Whether the applicant should be granted leave to amend the Memorandum of Appeal
Key legal issues
#Leave to amend a memorandum of appeal
Leave granted; the intended amendment (on the doctrine of exhaustion) met the requisite considerations for amendment.
The court restated the settled principles: amendments should be freely allowed if made in good faith, timeously, and where any prejudice can be compensated by costs. The power is discretionary but must be exercised judiciously. The applicant's amendment sought to properly bring out the key ground of appeal, and no prejudice or bad faith was shown by the respondent, who did not oppose.
Extension of time to file submissions
Extension granted, with the amended memorandum and submissions to be filed and served within 14 days.
The applicant explained the delay: the court had directed filing of submissions within 30 days, but his advocate advised amendment of the memorandum of appeal first. The court found the prayer merited in the interests of justice, and no reply or opposition was filed by the respondent despite service.
Legal principles established
#- An application to amend a pleading (including a memorandum of appeal) should be allowed unless made in bad faith or unless it would cause prejudice not compensable by costs.
- A memorandum of appeal is amenable to amendment subject to the interests of justice.
Court orders
#- 1.Leave granted to file an amended memorandum of appeal in terms of the draft annexed to the application and extension of time to file submissions
- 2.The amended memorandum of appeal and the submissions to be filed and served within 14 days from the date of the order
- 3.Costs in the cause
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- High Court at Nairobi
- Nairobi High Court Miscellaneous Application Number 202 of 2019
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent/appellate jurisdiction under the Court of Appeal Rules, 2022 (rule 46(1)) in the pending Civil Appeal No. E037 of 2021
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.
Accordingly, I allow the applicant’s application dated March 9, 2022 and order as follows:
That the applicant be and is hereby granted leave to file an amended memorandum of appeal in terms of the draft memorandum of appeal annexed to the application and extension of time to file submissions.
That the amended memorandum of appeal and the submissions shall be filed and served within 14 days from the date of this order.
Costs in the cause.
The primary principle appears to be that an amendment will be allowed in order to obtain a proper ventilation of the dispute between the parties, to determine the real issues between them, so that justice may be done.
Issues in the judgment
#Case name in cited authority appears to contain a typographical error ('Count Government of Nairobi').
Typographical errors in the judgment, e.g. 'prayer to for extension of time'.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Stephen Vincent Jobling v Firearms Licensing Board", Case Analysis (2022). Civil Application E69 of 2022. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2022/1170/eng@2022-10-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.