Review
Case No. 8/2001 CC773/2000

IN THE
HIGH COURT OF LESOTHO

In the
matter of:

ABSA BANK
LIMITED APPLICANT

and

MOOROSI
EZEKIEL LATELA RESPONDENT

Review
Order No. 1/2001 In the Maseru District

ORDER ON
REVIEW

On 6th
February, 2001 the Registrar of the High Court placed the file in
this matter before me for attention. I have read through the papers
in the file.

It
appears that the applicant herein filed, with the Clerk of the Court
for the Maseru Magistrate Court, a notice of motion in which the
court was moved ex-parte for the order framed in the following terms:

1. 
   Recognising the Judgment of the Magistrate's Court of Bloemfontein
   dated 27th October 1999 in the matter between the above litigants

   
   

2

under case number 37241/99;

2. Ordering
   costs against the respondent on an attorney and client scale;

   
   

3. Ordering
   the respondent to pay the costs of suit granted in favour of
   plaintiff in case 37241/99 above in the sum of M986.18;

   
   

4. Granting
   applicant such further and/or alternative relief as the above
   Honourable Court may deem fit."

   
   

The
application was moved before Chobokoane, the Magistrate, who, on 14th
August 2000, decided:-

"I reluctantly grant the order in this matter in the light of
the fact that there is no authority at hand which allows recognition
of foreign judgments in the Magistrate's Court, unlike in the High
Court where it has been provided for in the Rules.

Under the circumstances the matter will be sent to the High Court for
review."

I must
say I find the decision of the Magistrate, in this case, rather
puzzling. He was aware that only the High Court and NOT the
Magistrate Court, had the jurisdiction to grant orders for the
recognition of foreign judgments. Notwithstanding his awareness, the
Magistrate proceeded to grant the orders. In my judgment, a logical
thing for the Magistrate to have done, in the circumstances, was to
dismiss the application and accordingly refuse to grant the orders.
However, contrary to his awareness and logic the Magistrate
deliberately did quite the opposite.

3

It must
be emphasised that a Magistrate Court is a creature of statute and,
as such, cannot do things for which it is not authorised by the
statute. In deciding as he did, to grant the orders, which the
statute had not empowered his Court to grant, the Magistrate clearly
acted ultra vires and, therefore, irregularly.

In the
result, the orders which the Magistrate irregularly decided to grant,
on 14th August 2000, ought to be set aside. It is accordingly
ordered, on review. As the application was moved ex-parte and in all
probabilities the respondent incurred no costs, I make no order as to
costs.

B.K.
MOLAI

JUDGE

16th
February, 2001

CC: The
Magistrate - Maseru All Magistrates