Alphonso Campbell & 2 Others v S (SC CR APP 4 of 1982) [1983] SLSC 23 (4 July 1983)

ooRAMs : The Honourable Mr, Justice E, Livesey Luke,C.J. + Presiding . The Honourable Mr, Justice C.A. Harding = 5.8.0,

The Honourable Mrs Justice A.V.A. Awunor-Renner - 5.8.0.

The Honourable Mr, Justice S, Becoles Davies = J8«C+

The Honourable Mr, Justice M.S, Turay = Tike SO, Or. App. No, 4/82

Alphonso Campbe11 .

Alimany Kamara (Alias Thaimu) :

And The State = Respondent C.V..M, Campbel}, Beq., - for the Appellants A.K.A. Barber, Bsq., - for the State RULING DELIVERED ON MONDAY WMH JULY, 19824,

Lavesey Luke, CJ ; _

‘he 2nd Appellant was convicted before the High Court sitting in Freetown on 8th May, 1981 of the offence of Robbery eontrary to section 23(2) of the Larceny Act 1916 and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, He appealed to the Court of Appeal against his conviction and sentence. On'9th June, 1982 the court of Appeal delivered Judgnent inter alia substituting «

: ng against the 2nd Appellant in Sara a eo diemissed the appeal against sentence, Subsequently, -

Ne, €.VsMe Campbeli, Solicitor acting for the 2nd Appellant gave a iotice of Appeai to the Supreme Court dated 310¢ July, 1982 . agagpat the judgment of the Court of Appeat. ween

nen the appeal cene up for hearing on 7th June, 1983, this geygt cntied upon Hey C.VaMs Cambbei2, Counsel for the 2nd appeiiant, to satiety ue that the appeal of the 2nd Appellant wen, given within the presorited times

: Magee

Ppeal to the Supreme Court, Rule 74(1) provides a2 follows:- "7¥(1) Whore the State or any person Avsires to appeal to the Supreme Court in a Criminal cause or matter he shall Give notice of a criminal appeal or notice of an application for special Leave to appeal yithin one month of the decision of the Court of Appeal or within . tea days of the refusal of leave by the Court of Appeal as the case may be." (Zmphasis mine).

Mr, Campbell accepted in the course of his argument that emonth" in rule 74(1) moans "calendar month," Indeed rate t of the Rules defines month as “calendar month," But Hr» Campveld submitted that one month in the context of rule 74(1) means one gr the twelve unequal parts (months) into which a calendar Year ds divided, for example the months of January February, April and so on. In other words, according + Mr, Campbell, a month vovna from the faret to ene Inst cay of the month, Se socording ve nam, af a deoteion 42 given on the 2nd of @ monthy tine tor appeating would not start fo Fun until the first day of the vectoving wonth, wre Berber on the ouner hand submasted that tor tne purpose of computing @ “entender nenth’, the period sxpires on the ante of the succeeding ROME immediately preceding the date on which the decison was GLveRs

f vee ne, Onmpbeit'e negroes: amcunta to as sates nether «

i a coteton wae given on the faret oF the 1ast GBy of a partioular i tenth, tine for e1vine ® Notice of Appeal would not start to run Fo nea the saree day of the Ferzewine month, So an aggrieved cep woune nwo more oF 2088 time to give his Notice of Appeal hs

~ M200, ts 5

i idied depending 00 vhethor the decision vas gay, decision vas eiven earty in the non vg ne ihr ontaien, the somrensecn on unvarranted advantages Bea amas suagcniee contended for by Mr, Campbell ES, ee feiss te Featment of appellants, would i 6 Notices of Appeal indefinite and } would result in absurdity, fh 7 think that the words of the sub-rule are quite plain and f, Saambigous, The rule says that the notice shall be given "within iy ene month of the decision of the Court of Appeal." I interprete ‘ene month “of the decision" as meaning one month from the date of }. the dectoion, In other words it means one calendar month from | the date of the decision. There ie nothing in the sub-rule to E indicate or even suggest that “within one month of the decision" [means within one calendar month from the first day of the + gucceeding month, I think that it 4e well settled that when the period - prescribed for doing an act or taking a precedural step is a calendar month running from any arbitrary date, the period expires with the day in the succeeding month inmediately preced= ing the day corresponding to the date upon which the period starts, An arbitrary date in this context would mean the date on which a decision 4s given by a Court, So if a decision is given on the 2nd of the month, the one month within which to tive Notice of Appeal would expire on the 1st of the succeeding month, Similarly, if a decision is given on the 15th of the month, the one month within which to give Notice of Appeal would expire on the 1sth of the succeeding months and 0 on and so forth. But the position 4a differemt 1f the period starts at the end of a enlendar month vnich contains mere days than the succeeding month. In that case the period weuld expire at the end of the ausceeding month, So 4f for example the -. .- decision is given on the Bist of March, the period of one month . IB eves

[would expire on the 30th of sorta, Sintieray, a¢ ene accustom 4 given on the 319% of January, the pera, Ys ode * expire on 28th Pobruary, or in the cus od of one month wou!

| agth February, 300 tale, Lava 3ra & inna d. Vol. 37 para. 143 | pp. 83-84... E Ae @ general rule, the computa se eaec eu mavene ic oe computation of time 1s the same or Criminal, Seo Radeliffe v Bartholomey (1892) 1 q.p, 161, ‘So af a prisoner is sentenced to ene month's imprisonment on the 17th of the month, his term 4 would expire on the 16th of the succeeding month. Thus it was : held in Migotti v, Co1viii (1879) 4 C.P,D, 233 that a person sentenced to imprisonment for the space of one calendar month is entitled to be discharged on the day in the succeeding month q immediately preceding the day corresponding to that from which q his sentence takes effect, Brett L.J. stated the position succinctly at p. 238 thus: "I am of the opinion ‘that the term a calendar month is a Legal and technical __ term, and that vo are bound to interpret Ate legal and teéhnical meaning, The . meaning of the phrase de that, in computing time by calendar months, the. time must be : F reckoned by looking at the calendar and not by counting dayes ana that one calendar : - gontnte tmpriionaént is’ Eovbe calculated f trom tne day of imprisonment to the day numerically correspondisig to that day in... the following month lese one.”

And Cotton EeSe added inter alia af pps 238-239%~

br sjeecee it de not ® question of measurement

ql i time, but of the technical meaning of

4 the word “calendar month," Prisoners cannot

A aways be imprisoned during one particular

: Mee

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