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England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions >> Ahmed v Habib Bank Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 1270 (31 July 2001) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2001/1270.html Cite as: [2001] CP Rep 111, [2001] EWCA Civ 1270, [2002] 1 LLR 444, [2002] 1 Lloyd's Rep 444 |
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COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM MR JUSTICE CARNWATH
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL Tuesday 31st July, 2001 |
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B e f o r e :
SIR MARTIN NOURSE
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MIAN AFTAB AHMED |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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HABIB BANK LIMITED |
Respondent |
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Smith Bernal Reporting Limited, 190 Fleet Street
London EC4A 2AG
Tel No: 020 7421 4040, Fax No: 020 7831 8838
Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
Mr Alastair R MacGregor QC & Mr James M Turner (instructed by Lane & Partners for the Respondent)
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
LORD JUSTICE MUMMERY:
The Recognised Court Point
(i) that the judgment is not a judgment to which this Part of this Act applies;...."
" (a) The Supreme Court of Pakistan and all High Courts.(b) All District Courts.
(c) All other Courts whose civil jurisdiction is subject to no pecuniary limit provided that the Judgment sought to be registered under the Act is sealed with a seal showing that the jurisdiction of the Court is subject to no pecuniary limit."
"DECREE
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH AT KARACHI.
(ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION)"
".....In my view, it is not part of my function under the 1933 Act to go behind what purports to be a judgment of the High Court, assuming it to be genuine (which is not in doubt in this case). I see nothing in the Act or the 1958 Order which entitles me, sitting as an English court, to do other than take the judgment as I find it. It is undoubtedly a judgment of the High Court of Sindh, under its own name. Whether it had jurisdiction to issue it in that form, as a matter of Pakistani law, was a matter to be litigated, if at all, in the Pakistan courts. The English court has no power to set it aside or amend it. That approach is reinforced by the general policy of the Act."
"....there is nothing in Pakistani law which makes it inappropriate (in the context of the 1933 Act) to treat the judgment as what it purports to be, that is a judgment of the High Court of Sindh."
"SUIT UNDER SECTION 6 OF THE BANKING TRIBUNALS ORDINANCE 1984 FOR RECOVERY OF Rs:502,221,229.33."
"Banking Court " means-
(i) in respect of a case in which the outstanding amount of claim based on a loan or finance does not exceed thirty million rupees or the trial of offences under this Act, the Court established under section 4; and
(ii) in respect of any other case, the High Court."
"Nothing contained in this section shall apply to a High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction under the Act."
"...The jurisdiction conferred on the High Court under the [1979] Ordinance is special jurisdiction and while exercising such jurisdiction the High Court bears the fictional character of Special Court as defined in the Ordinance."
"...This court [the High Court of Sindh], therefore,while hearing matters under [the 1997 Act] does not act as High Court in exercise of its original civil jurisdiction but as a Special Court set up under the said Act..."
" ...acts as a Banking Court and not as the High Court."
The Fraud Point
"....acted deliberately or recklessly, wholly contrary to the agreement made with the defendant..."
The Factual Background
Guarantee 8 March 1990
The 1991 Guarantees
(a) that these guarantee and control documents were filled in by the Bank contrary to the intentions of Mr Ahmed; and(b) that either those filling in the documents, or those subsequently relying on them , on behalf of the Bank, did so dishonestly or recklessly."
"To justify a finding of fraud against the Bank's employees would require a strong case that they had acted deliberately or recklessly, wholly contrary to the agreement made with the defendant. That in my view has not been established. I accept that there are apparent discrepancies between some of the documents and the precise dates inserted into the documents have not been fully explained. However those who filled in the forms could reasonably conclude that the substance of the arrangement between Mr Habib and the defendant was fulfilled. Even if that arrangement had not been formally approved by the Bank's executive, the defendant had had the benefit of it. He may have anticipated being able to use part of the Rs 225m as working capital,but that was not an essential element of the arrangement as noted by Mr Habib."
Registration or Enforcement in Part
"If, on an application for the registration of a judgment, it appears to the registering court that the judgment is in respect of different matters and that some, but not all, of the provisions of the judgment are such that if those provisions had been contained in separate judgments, those judgments could properly have been registered, the judgment may be registered in respect of the provisions aforesaid but not in respect of any other provisions contained therein."
The Result
SIR MARTIN NOURSE: