Order 11 FCT (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025

Order 11 of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 is about Appearance. It contains the following rules:

1. (1) Subject to the provisions of the Sheriff and Civil Process
   Act, a defendant served with an originating process shall,
   within twenty-one (21) days, file in the registry as many
   copies of the completed and signed memorandum of
   appearance for service on the other parties.
   (2) The Registrar shall, on receipt of the memorandum of
   appearance, make an entry and stamp the copy with the
   seal showing the date he received it and return the sealed
   copy to the person making the appearance.
   (3) A defendant entering appearance shall within the time
   prescribed in sub-rule (1) above, serve a sealed copy of the
   memorandum of appearance on a claimant’s legal
   practitioner or on the claimant if he sues in person and on
   any other defendants. The memorandum shall in addition
   to any other endorsement required by these rules include
   the defendant’s email address and telephone number.

2. (1) A defendant appearing in person shall state in the
   memorandum of appearance an address for service within
   FCT.
   (2) Where a defendant appears by a legal practitioner, the
   legal practitioner shall state in the memorandum of
   appearance his place of business, an address for service
   within FCT, his telephone(s) and email address and where
   any such legal practitioner is only the agent of another legal
   practitioner, he shall also state the name and place of
   business of the principal legal practitioner.

3. The Registrar shall not accept any memorandum of
   appearance which does not contain an address for service.
   If any such address is illusory, fictitious or misleading, the appearance may be set aside by the Court on the application of a claimant or other parties.

4. If two or more defendants in the same action appear
   through the same legal practitioner the memorandum of
   appearance shall include the names of all the defendants
   appearing.

5. If a defendant files an appearance after the time prescribed
   in the originating process, he shall be bound by the
   provisions of Order 49 Rule 10 or any amount that the Chief
   Judge may determine from time to time for each day of
   default.

6. In probate matters any person not named in the originating
   process may intervene and appear in the matter on filing an
   affidavit showing his interest in the estate of the deceased.

7. Any person not named as a defendant in an originating
   process for recovery of land may with leave of the Court
   appear and defend, on filing an affidavit showing that he is
   in possession of the land either by himself or through his
   tenant.

8. Any person appearing to defend an action for the recovery
   of land as a landlord, in respect of property of which he is in
   possession only through his tenant, shall state in his
   memorandum of appearance that he appears as landlord.

9. A person under legal disability shall enter an appearance
   by his guardian.

10. In this order the word “Tenant” includes a sub-tenant or
    any person occupying any premises whether on payment
    of rent or otherwise.

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