Order 46 FCT (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025

Order 46 of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 is about Appeals from District/ Magistrate Courts. It contains the following rules:

1. Except for interlocutory appeals which shall be brought
   within 15 days, every appeal shall be brought by notice of
   appeal lodged in the Appeals Registry within 30 days of the
   decision appealed from and served on all other parties affected by the appeal.

2. (1) The notice of appeal shall set out in full the reference
   number of the proceedings in which the decision
   complained of was given, the names of the parties, the date
   of the decision and the grounds of appeal.
   (2) Where the appellant complains only of a part of the
   decision, the notice of appeal shall specify the part
   complained of; otherwise the appeal shall be taken to be
   against the decision as a whole.
   (3) The notice of appeal shall give an address within the
   Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where the lower Court
   appealed from is situated, to which notices may be sent for
   the appellant by registered post.
   (4) The notice of appeal shall be in Form 38, as in the
   Appendix and may be varied to suit the circumstances of
   the case but no variation of substance shall be made.

3. (1) A Registrar of the lower Court shall, within 3 months of
   decision appealed from, prepare as many certified copies
   of the proceedings required for the consideration of the
   appeal as there are parties on record.
   (2) Except where the fees for preparing the certified copies
   are remitted, a deposit decided on by the Registrar as likely
   to cover the fees, shall be made by the appellant before the
   preparation of the copies.
4. (1) A Registrar of the lower Court shall within 7 days of
   preparing the certified copies send them to the Registrar
   (appeals) of the High Court as the record of appeal, and the
   appeal shall be deemed to have been entered.
   (2) The Registrar (appeals) shall within 7 days of receipt of
   the records of appeal forward it to the parties.
5. The Registrar (appeals) shall send to each party a notice of
   the date, time and the venue fixed for the hearing of the
   Appeal.

6. The time prescribed in Rule 1, may be enlarged at any time
   by the Court on such terms as it may deem fit, after notice is
   given to the respondent by the appellant of his application
   for enlargement of time.
7. Where the time available to the appellant for the taking of
   any step has expired before such step has been taken or
   completed, the respondent may, on notice to the appellant,
   apply to the Court to strike out the appeal, and the Court
   may strike out, or enlarge the time for sufficient reason
   shown.

8. All appeals from lower Courts may be heard by one or
   more Judges of the Court.
9. Unless the Court gives leave to the contrary:
   (a) All appeals from Courts below shall be heard and
   determined on briefs of argument filed and
   exchanged between the parties;
   (b) The appellant shall file an appellant’s brief within 21
   days of the receipt of the records of appeal from the
   Court;
   (c) The respondent shall file and serve a respondent’s
   brief within 14 days of service on him of the
   appellant’s brief;
   (d) The appellant may file a reply brief which shall deal
   with any new issue raised in the respondent’s brief,
   within 7 days of the receipt of the respondent’s brief.
   (e) Every brief shall clearly identify the issues distilled
   from the grounds of appeal on the basis of which
   parties desire the Court to determine the appeal;
   (f) Any issue which is not covered by any ground of
   appeal shall not be considered by the Court in its
   judgment.

10. A Court may direct a departure from these Rules in respect
    of compilation of records from the lower Court upon the
    application of any party to an appeal.

11. (1) Where on the day of hearing or at an appointed day of
    the case, the appellant does not appear, the appeal may be
    struck out, unless the Court deems fit, for sufficient cause
    to order otherwise.
    (2) Where a respondent appears, the judgment shall be
    with costs of the appeal against the appellant, unless the
    Court expressly orders, but if the respondent does not
    appear, the costs of the appeal shall be at the discretion of
    the Court.
12. Where on the day of hearing and at any appointed day of
    the case, the appellant appears, the Court shall, whether
    the respondent appears or not, proceed to the hearing or
    further hearing and determination of the appeal and shall
    give judgment according to the merits of the case but if it
    appears or is proved to the Court that the appellant has not
    complied with the requirements precedent to the hearing
    of an appeal, the Court may dismiss the appeal with or
    without costs of appeal against the appellant.

13. The Court, may allow an amendment of the notice of
    appeal upon such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.
14. (1) A respondent may give notice that he intends at the
    hearing to ask the Court to affirm the judgment of the lower
    Court on grounds other than those stated by that Court.
    (2) The notice shall be accompanied by a clear statement of
    the grounds on which the respondent intends to ask the
    Court to affirm the judgment of the lower Court.
    (3) Such notice and grounds shall be filed in Court within
    14 days of service on the respondent of the notice and
    grounds of appeal, and shall be served on the appellant or
    his legal practitioner.
15. (1) A respondent may file grounds of appeal against any
    part of the judgment of the lower Court.
    (2) The grounds shall be filed by the respondent within 14
    days of service on him of the appellant’s notice and grounds of appeal, and shall be served on the appellant or his legal practitioner before the hearing.

16. (1) No objection on account of any defect in the form of
    stating any ground of appeal shall be allowed, unless the
    Court is of the opinion that the ground of appeal is so
    imperfectly or incorrectly stated such that it is insufficient
    to enable the respondent to enquire into the subject-matter
    or to prepare for the hearing.
    (2) Where a Court is of the opinion that an objection to any
    ground of appeal ought to prevail, it may, allow the ground
    of appeal to be amended upon such terms and conditions
    as it may deem just.

17. (1) On an appeal from a decision of a lower Court, no
    objection shall be taken or allowed to any proceeding in
    such Court for a defect or error which might have been
    amended by that Court, or to any complaints, summons,
    warrant, or other process to or of such Court for any alleged
    defect in substance or in form, or for any variance between
    any complaint or summons and the evidence adduced in
    support in such Court.
    (2) Where an error, defect, or variance mentioned in this
    Rule appears to the Court at the hearing of any appeal to be
    such that the appellant has been thereby deceived or
    misled, it shall be lawful for the Court either to refer the
    case back to the lower Court with directions to re-hear and
    determine it or to reverse the decision appealed from, or to
    make such other order for disposal of the case as justice
    may require.

18. No objection shall be taken or allowed, on an appeal, to a
    notice of appeal which is in writing or to any recognizance
    entered into under this Order for the due prosecution of the
    appeal for any alleged error or defect, but if the error or
    defect appears to the Court to be such that the respondent
    on the appeal has been thereby deceived or misled, it shall
    be lawful for the Court to amend it, and, if it is expedient to do so, also to adjourn the further hearing of the appeal, the amendment and the adjournment, if any, being made on such terms as the Court may deem just.

19. A Court may, where it considers it necessary that evidence
    should be adduced, either:
    (a) order such evidence to be adduced before the Court
    on a day to be fixed; or
    (b) refer the case back to the lower Court to take such
    evidence, and may in such case either direct the lower Court to adjudicate afresh after taking such evidence and subject to such directions in law, as the Court may deem fit to give after taking such evidence, to report specific findings of fact for the information of the Court, and on any such reference
    the case shall, so far as may be practicable and necessary, be dealt with as if it were being heard in the first instance.

20. (1) Where additional evidence is to be taken by a lower
    Court and specific findings of fact reported, it shall certify
    the evidence to the Court which shall then proceed to
    dispose of the appeal.
    (2) The appellant or his legal practitioner shall be present
    when the additional evidence is taken.
    (3) Evidence taken in pursuance of rule 18 of this Order
    shall be taken as if it were taken at the trial before the lower
    Court.
    (4) When forwarding to a Court any additional evidence
    taken by a lower Court in pursuance of Rule 20, the lower
    Court may express its evidence and may also, if it is the
    same Court against whose decision the appeal has been
    made, state whether or not it would have come to a
    different decision had the additional evidence been
    brought forward at the trial.

21. The fees in the First Schedule shall be chargeable in civil
    appeals except where they would have to be paid by a Government officer acting in his official capacity or where the lower Court or the Court waives or remits the fees on the ground of the poverty of the person chargeable where it appears that there are substantial grounds of appeal.

22. Allowances may be made to witnesses in accordance with
    the provisions of the Schedule.

23. (1) On an application made for stay of execution under any
    enactment establishing the lower Court, the lower Court or
    the Court may impose one or more of the following
    conditions:

(a) That the appellant shall deposit a sum fixed by the
Court not exceeding the amount of the money or
the value of the property affected by the decision or
judgment appealed from, or give security to the
satisfaction of the Court for the said sum;
(b) That the appellant shall deposit a sum equal to the
amount of the costs allowed against him or give
security to the satisfaction of the Court for the said
sum;
(c) that the appellant shall, where the decision or
judgment appealed from relates to possession of
land or houses, give security to the satisfaction of
the Court for the performance of the decision or
judgment in the event of the appeal being
dismissed;
(d) That the appellant’s property shall be attached
pending the making of a deposit or the giving of
security, including a deposit or security for
expenses incidental to the seizure and attachment;

(2) An Order made on an application shall limit the time
(not being more than 30 days) for the performance of the conditions imposed, and direct that in default of the performance within the time so limited execution may issue or proceed.
(3) An application for stay of execution under the
enactment establishing the lower Court may be made at any time after lodgment of the notice of appeal and shall in the first instance be made to the lower Court; but where execution has been ordered by the lower Court the application shall not be made to the lower Court but to the Court.
(4) An application for stay of execution shall be on notice.
(5) Where an appellant proposes to give security instead of making a deposit, the application shall state the nature of the security and the name of the surety proposed.
(6) A party dissatisfied with an order made by the lower Court may apply to the Court by motion on notice for a review of the order, and the Court may then make such order as it deems fit.
(7) An appeal shall not operate as a stay of execution.

24. A Court may make such Order as to the payment of costs by
    or to the appellant as it may consider just and the Order
    may be made also in any case where an appeal has not been
    entered or prosecuted.
25. (1) A Court may, in special circumstances, on an
    application on notice supported by an affidavit, order the
    appellant to deposit such sum or give such security as may
    deem fit for respondent’s costs of appeal including the costs
    incidental to the application.
    (2) The order shall limit the time (not exceeding 30 days)
    within which the deposit or security shall be made, and
    may direct that in default of its being made or given within
    the time so limited the appeal shall without further order
    stand dismissed.
    (3) Where an appeal is dismissed, the respondent shall be
    entitled to all reasonable costs occasioned by the appeal
    and the amount of such costs may
    be stated in the order in anticipation or may be assessed at
    any time by the Court of its own motion or on application
    made ex-parte or on notice, as the Court may deem fit.
    (4) Subject to the discretion of the Court to grant costs
    where it deems proper on an application made under sub rule (1), costs shall not be granted to the applicant except where the net proceeds of execution levied on the appellant’s goods are sufficient to satisfy the amount payable under the judgment or decision appealed from.

26. (1) Where a case is decided on appeal the Court shall certify
    its judgment or order to the lower Court in which the
    decision appealed against was pronounced.
    (2) The lower Court to which the Court certifies its
    judgment or order shall then make such orders as are
    conformable to the judgment or order of the Court, and if
    necessary, the records shall be amended accordingly.
27. After the pronouncement of the judgment of the Court, the
    lower Court from which the appeal came shall have the
    same jurisdiction and power to enforce, any decision which
    may have been affirmed, modified, amended, or
    substituted by the Court or any judgment which may have
    been pronounced by the Court, in the same manner in all
    respects as if such decision or judgment had been
    pronounced by itself.

28. Any order given or made by the Court may be enforced by
    the Court or by the lower Courts as may be most expedient.
29. A Court may, if it deems fit, enlarge any period of time
    prescribed by this Order.
30. In this Order-
    “appeals” include appeals from Magistrate Courts
    “the lower Court” means District Court and
    Magistrate Court
    “Judgement” includes an Order or a Ruling.

[/membership]