Jurisdiction

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2015

Principle established: A High Court judge may err in law by ordering the transfer of a matter pending in a District Appeals Court to the High Court without proper statutory authority.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2015

Principle established: The misapplication of statutory provisions regarding the transfer of cases between different levels of the court system constitutes a ground for setting aside a judicial order.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2024

Principle established: Applications for enlargement of time must generally be made in the High Court first; the Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction to hear such applications unless they were first refused below.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2024

Principle established: Whether a decision striking out a writ for lack of jurisdiction is interlocutory or final determines the procedure for seeking leave to appeal.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2024

Principle established: A court may grant leave to appeal against a decision striking out consolidated writs if it determines the decision was interlocutory rather than final.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1963

Principle established: A magistrate cannot refuse to commit an accused for trial without considering the whole of the evidence, and any person may lay an information for a public offence absent limiting statutory provisions.

Kenya · 2024

Principle established: The Supreme Court may consider applications for the adoption of a consent between parties, though repeated failed applications may indicate a failure to resolve the underlying dispute.

Kenya · 2025

Principle established: The Chief Justice, as head of the Judiciary, has the authority to issue administrative circulars regarding the waiver or exemption of court fees for State organs and agencies.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: The court has jurisdiction to grant a divorce decree on the cross-petition of a non-domiciled husband where the wife has resided within the jurisdiction for three years prior to filing.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: A magistrate acquiring jurisdiction to try an indictable charge summarily under section 18 of the Summary Conviction Offences Act must show on the record consideration of circumstances and expediency.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: To acquire summary jurisdiction under section 18 of the Summary Conviction Offences Act without a preliminary inquiry, the record must reflect that the magistrate considered it expedient having regard to the circumstances.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: An election petition must be filed within the strict statutory time limits, and jurisdictional objections regarding the timing of the filing should be determined before proceeding to other applications.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1962

Principle established: A magistrate cannot review or vary a final judgment once determined, and liberty to apply cannot be used to substantive vary rights decided in a final order.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1962

Principle established: A magistrate has no power to review or substantively alter a final decision after the case has been determined, and should not insert 'liberty to apply' to vary finalized liability.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2018

Principle established: The court considered whether an application for stay of execution of a magistrate's judgment could be entertained when the underlying judgment was not currently on appeal.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2018

Principle established: The court considered whether an application for stay of execution of a magistrate's judgment could be entertained when the underlying judgment was not currently on appeal.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2018

Principle established: The court may summon respondents to assist with discovery in aid of execution to enforce a previously delivered judgment.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1950-56

Principle established: Failure to comply with a fundamental statutory condition precedent to an appeal deprives the court of jurisdiction, rendering the proceedings a nullity which may be set aside ex debito justitiae.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: A person arrested for an offence and brought before a magistrate's court may lawfully be tried on a charge for a different offence.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1965

Principle established: A person arrested for one offence may lawfully be tried before a magistrate's court upon a charge for a different offence.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1973

Principle established: Under the Workmen's Compensation Act, magistrates' courts have jurisdiction to entertain claims of any amount, but the court's power to award compensation is strictly limited to the statutory maximum.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: Magistrates' courts have jurisdiction to hear workmen's compensation claims of any size, but their statutory power to award compensation is restricted to the prescribed monetary limit.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2014

Principle established: In appeals involving questions of customary law, the High Court (Local Appeals Division) must sit with the aid of two assessors as required by the Local Courts Act.

Malawi · 2024

Principle established: Once a matter is referred to arbitration pursuant to an agreement, the court cedes jurisdiction and cannot continue to exercise authority over the dispute.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: The court addressed preliminary objections regarding whether an appeal from a decision striking out an election petition was interlocutory or final and the necessity of obtaining leave to appeal.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: An appeal lies to the Court of Appeal from an ex parte judgment of the Supreme Court, as the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to review or set aside its own ex parte orders.

Kenya · 2026

Principle established: The Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction is limited to matters involving the interpretation or application of the Constitution, and mere invocation of constitutional provisions does not automatically confer such jurisdiction.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2026

Principle established: Contentious probate issues should generally not be determined by an originating notice of motion, and an order for certiorari requires proper verification of the underlying warrant or conviction.

Malawi · 2026

Principle established: A single judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal may exercise powers to grant or discharge a stay of execution pending the determination of an appeal.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1960

Principle established: A superior court judge has summary jurisdiction to convict and fine for contempt of court committed in facie curiae without following ordinary criminal procedure or hearing formal evidence.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1959

Principle established: A deputy judge lacks statutory jurisdiction to make disciplinary orders against a legal practitioner where such authority is not conferred by the Supreme Court Ordinance.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1957-60

Principle established: A district commissioner has absolute statutory jurisdiction under the Protectorate Ordinance to determine land disputes, unaffected by the general jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1957

Principle established: A district commissioner's statutory authority to decide land disputes in the Protectorate is absolute and independent of urgency or the Supreme Court's concurrent jurisdiction.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1973

Principle established: A court cannot enforce a previous judgment upon an application by motion, but it possesses inherent jurisdiction to correct clerical errors and accidental omissions in its own records at any time.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: A defendant who enters a conditional appearance does not waive the right to challenge jurisdiction merely by failing to initiate proceedings to set aside the writ.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2015

Principle established: An appeal against an interlocutory judgment requires leave of the court; failure to obtain such leave renders the appeal a nullity for lack of jurisdiction.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2015

Principle established: The Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal from an interlocutory order if the appellant failed to seek and obtain the necessary leave from the High Court.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: A statutory power to amend a charge does not permit the substitution of an entirely new and different charge, and a trial upon such a substituted charge is a nullity.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1961

Principle established: The general criminal jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance is not limited or restricted by the statutory wording of a committal form.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2026

Principle established: The Supreme Court may exercise its supervisory jurisdiction through an order of certiorari to quash High Court orders that are made without jurisdiction or in violation of procedural rules.