Automated Summary
Key Facts
The applicant, Kadiatu Jalloh, sought a certiorari to quash a January 31, 1986 High Court order allowing the National Insurance Company Limited to take possession of No. 14 Walpole Street, the matrimonial home of the applicant and three other wives of the late Alhaji Abubakar Jalloh. The Supreme Court refused the application, determining that certiorari cannot be issued to quash judgments of inferior courts of civil jurisdiction, as per legal precedents.
Issues
The central legal question was whether the Supreme Court could issue an Order of Certiorari to quash judgments rendered by inferior courts of civil jurisdiction. The court ruled that certiorari does not lie to quash such judgments, citing legal precedents and constitutional provisions.
Holdings
The application for leave to issue an Order of Certiorari was refused by the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, as certiorari does not lie to quash judgments of inferior courts of civil jurisdiction. This determination is based on legal precedent (Halsbury's Laws of England 3rd Ed. Vol IX at page 130) and the case of LAWES v HUTCHINSON (1835) 3 DOWL 506 at pp. 508, which confirm that certiorari is not applicable to judgments of inferior civil courts.
Remedies
The application for leave to issue an Order of Certiorari was refused by the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone.
Legal Principles
- The court held that an order of certiorari cannot be issued to quash judgments of inferior courts of civil jurisdiction, citing Halsbury's Laws of England and the case of LAWES v HUTCHINSON (1835). Certiorari is limited to proceedings of inferior courts of record or quasi-judicial bodies, not final judgments in civil courts.
- The ruling references that certiorari may apply where there is a breach of natural justice, but this case specifically addressed jurisdictional limitations rather than procedural fairness issues.
Precedent Name
- Halsbury's Laws of England 3rd Ed. Vol IX
- LAWES v HUTCHINSON
Cited Statute
Constitution of Sierra Leone 1978
Judge Name
- The Hon. Mr. Justice S. Beccles Davies
- The Hon. Mr. Justice C.A. Harding
- The Hon. Mrs. Justice A.V.A. Awunor-Tenner
Passage Text
- The answer to that question is No. (See Halsbury's Laws of England 3rd Ed. Vol IX at page 130.) Where it is stated that certiorari does not lie to quash the judgments of inferior courts of civil jurisdiction. See also LAWES v HUTCHINSON (1835) 3 DOWL 506 at pp. 508.
- It will issue to quash a determination for want or excess of jurisdiction, error on the face of the record, breach of the rules of natural justice, or where the determination was procured by fraud, collusion or perjury.