Order 37 FCT (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025
Order 37 of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 is about Transfers and Consolidation. It contains the following rules:
I – Transfers
- (1) The Chief Judge may, in exercise of powers conferred on
him under any enactment, order the transfer of any action
or matter from a lower Court to the High Court.
(2) Upon receipt of the order, the Registrar of the lower
Court shall immediately transmit the file to the High Court. - (1) On receipt of the case file, the Registrar shall notify the
party who applied for the transfer or where the transfer
was not made on the application of any party, the claimant,
to attend at the registry and pay the fees for filing the
documents. Such payments shall be without prejudice to
the question of how the costs shall ultimately be borne.
(2) Such notification shall be effected by serving a notice
personally on the party concerned, or where an address for
service has been given by such party, at that address.
- (1) Upon payment of the prescribed fees, the Registrar shall
within 7 days:
(a) File the documents received from the lower
Court;
(b) Make an entry of the filing in the Cause Book; and
(c) Transmit the document to the Chief Judge or any other Judge appointed by the Chief Judge.
(2) The Registrar shall then give notice to the parties to attend in person or by counsel before a named Judge on the day and at the time specified in the notice. The fees for the service of this notice shall be borne in the first instance by the party who has paid the fees for filing as provided by Rule 2 of this Order.
- (1) The Chief Judge or such other Judge appointed by him
shall, not later than 14 days after receiving the documents
referred to in Rule 3 of this order:
(a) Hear the parties or their legal practitioners;
(b) Take cognizance of the documents; and;
(c) Give directions for the trial or hearing of the
action or matter.
(2) Directions given under this Rule may include directions for the filing and service of pleadings. - (1) If the claimant fails to attend in compliance with a notice
given under sub-rule 2 of Rule 3 of this order, the Court
shall record his default and may, suo motu or on
application, dismiss the action or matter. Upon an
application by a defendant to dismiss the action or matter
the Court may either dismiss the action or matter or make
such other orders on such terms as he deems just.
(2) If a defendant fails to attend in compliance with a notice
given under sub-rule 2 of Rule 3, the claimant may apply to
enter judgment with costs or obtain the order prayed for in
the transferred proceedings against that defendant(s).
- In the preceding rules of this Order, the references to the
claimant and the defendant shall in relation to proceedings
commenced otherwise than by writ, be construed as
references to the applicant and the respondent.
II – Consolidation
- (1) The Court may on application consolidate several
actions pending before it where it appears that the issues
are the same in all the actions, and can therefore be
properly tried and determined at the same time.
(2) Where actions are pending before different Judges, a
party desiring consolidation shall first apply to the Chief
Judge for transfer of the matter to the Court before whom
one or more of the matters are pending.
(3)(1) An Order to consolidate may be made where two or
more actions are pending between:
(a) The same claimant and the same defendant;
(b) The same claimant and different defendants;
(c) Different claimants and the same defendant, or
(d) Different claimants and different defendants;
(2) Where the claimant brings action against
different defendants, they will not be consolidated
without the consent of all parties unless the issues to
be tried are identical.
(4) Where an order for consolidation has been made, it shall
be drawn up at the expense of the party or parties who
applied for consolidation and shall be recorded in the
Cause Book.
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