Court Rules

/rules/service-summons1. In this Order:

“the Act” means the Registration of Title Act, 1964.

“the Land Registry Office” means the central office established by the Registration of Title Act 1964, section 7.

2. Save as otherwise provided in this Order, any application or appeal to the Court under the Act and any other application to the Court for an order or direction relating to the registration of the ownership of any land or charge on a register maintained under the Act, may be instituted by an originating notice of motion and shall be heard by such Judge as the President of the High Court may from time to time assign to hear the same.

3. An originating notice of motion, and affidavits used in the proceedings thereunder, shall be headed:

“THE HIGH COURT

LAND REGISTRY”

and shall be entitled in the matter of the Act and section (if any) under or in pursuance of which the proceedings are brought and in the matter of the folio of the register in which is registered the title of the lands to which the proceedings relate, and shall state the name of the registered owner.  Where the title is not registered, the notice of motion and affidavits shall be entitled in the matter of an application for first registration, with the number thereof, and shall state the name of the applicant.

4. Every person who is or may be affected by the relief claimed shall be named as respondent in the originating notice of motion, save where the identity or whereabouts of such person is unknown to the applicant or appellant.

5. An originating notice of motion shall state the relief claimed and the grounds of the application or of the appeal (as the case may be), and shall refer to the affidavit or affidavits (if any) intended to be used in support thereof.

6. The evidence upon the hearing of an application or appeal shall be by affidavit except in so far as the Court may direct oral evidence to be given.

7. An originating notice of motion shall be filed in the Land Registry Office not less than seven days prior to the date named therein for the hearing thereof; and any affidavit intended to be used in support thereof shall be filed in the Land Registry Office at the same time, unless otherwise directed by the Court.  The Registrar of Titles may abridge the time for filing any originating notice of motion or affidavit.  Rule 1 and rules 4 to 20 of Order 40, in so far as applicable, shall apply to such affidavits.  Subject thereto, Order 52, in so far as applicable, shall apply to proceedings under the Act or in pursuance of this Order.

8. An originating notice of motion shall be served on the respondent by sending a copy thereof to him by registered post six clear days at least before the hearing thereof, or where the respondent is resident outside the jurisdiction, such longer time before the hearing as the Registrar of Titles may direct; and there shall be sent therewith a copy of each affidavit intended to be used in support thereof.  Service thereof shall also be effected in like manner on such other persons (if any) as the Registrar of Titles may, not later than seven days before the hearing thereof, provided that the Court may in any case direct personal or other service to be effected.

9. Where an infant is respondent, the provisions of Order 9, rule 5, shall as far as applicable apply to service on him; provided that where a person has been appointed by the Court to represent such infant, service shall be effected on such person and shall be deemed good service on the infant.

10.^[2] Where a relevant person (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015) is a respondent, the provisions of Order 15, rule 17 shall, as far as applicable, apply to service on him.

11. The Court may dispense with service of an originating notice of motion or other document on any person, or direct that any person, who has not been served, shall be served or be named as respondent in the proceedings.

12. Where there are numerous persons having the same interest in the proceedings, the Court may appoint one or more of such persons, being a respondent or respondents, to represent the remainder of such persons.

13. Every order made in proceedings under the Act or in pursuance of this Order shall be issued out of the Land Registry Office.  Every execution order for enforcing the same shall be issued by the Central Office.

14.^[1] Procedure by special summons shall be adopted in the case of an application to the Court, under the Registration of Title Act 1964, section 62(7), by an owner of a charge created before 1 December 2009 for possession of registered land, and the foregoing rules of this Order shall not apply to such proceedings.