ORDER 4
SERVICE
OF PROCESS
Time and
Manner of Service
1.
(l) A
writ or document intended for service shall
be served on a party within the time and in
the manner specified by these Rules or
directed by the Court.
(2) Subject
to sub-rule 7 where service of a notice,
summons, order, or other document is
required, the service may be made by a
bailiff or other officer of the Court at a
reasonable time on any day.
(3) In
furtherance of subrule (2), a person
authorised by the Court shall be deemed to
be an officer of the Court.
(4) A
bailiff who serves a document shall, at the
request of the party served, explain to the
party the contents of the document.
(5) Unless
the Court considers it just and expedient to
direct otherwise, service shall be personal
with the document to be served being
delivered to the person to be served.
(6) Service
of a document is completely effected if a
duplicate or an attested copy of the
document is delivered without the exhibition
of the original.
(7) Service
may be made out of a particular jurisdiction
without permission from the Court.
(8) Service
shall not be made on weekends and public
holidays unless otherwise directed by the
Court.
Service
on particular persons
2.
(1)
Where a partner of a firm is sued in the
name of the firm, the writ or other document
intended for service shall be sufficently
served
(a)
either on anyone or more of the
partners, or
(b)
on any
person at the principal place of business of
the firm within the jurisdiction, who has at
the time of the service the control or
management of the business.
(2) Where provision is not made by any other
enactment for the service of a document on a
body corporate, service is effected by
serving the document on the chairperson,
president, or other head of the body, or on
the managing director, secretary, treasurer
or other similar officer ·of that corporate
body.
(3) Service
of a document on a stool or skin is effected
by serving the document on
(a)
the occupant
of that stool or skin or on the secretary,
clerk or linguist of that stool or skin, or
(b)
the regent
or caretaker of that stool or skin if the
stool or skin is vacant .
(4) Service
of a document on a family is effected by
serving the document on
(a)
the head of
the family, or
(b)
any member
of the family who is, or is acting as the
caretaker of any property of that family or
(c)
on any
person who is a principal member of the
family.
(5) Service
of a document on a person who is in prison
or detention is effected by serving the
document
(a)
through the
person who is or appears to be in charge of
the prison or place of detention, or
(b)
where access
cannot be readily had to the person in
charge, through any warder, guard or similar
officer of that prison or place of
detention.
(6) Service
of a writ or any other document intended for
service on
(a) a Minister of State in that
Minister's official capacity, or
(b) a Ministry or government department
is effected
by serving the writ, process, or other
document on the administrative head of the
Ministry or the Department.
Service
of documents on persons with disability
3.
(1) In a
cause or matter where a document is required
to be served personally on a person with
disability, the document is duly served, if
served on
(a)
the father, mother or guardian of the person
with disability, or (b) the person
with whom the person with disability resides
or under whose care the person with
disability is.
(2) DespIte
subrule (1) the Court may determine that a
document to be served on a person wIth
disability is duly served if served on that
person.
(3) Where
the person to be served is employed by the
Republic, the Court, may transmit a
duplicate of the document to be served to
the head of the department in which that
person is employed, and the head shall cause
the document to be served on that person.
Process
Book
4.
(1) There shall be in every Court, a Process
Book in which details of service and
non-service shall be entered.
(2) An
affidaVIt of service as set out in Form 3
in the First Schedule, which is
duly deposed to by the person who effects
the service is on production, prima
facie evidence of service.
Substituted service
5.
Where it
appears to the Court either after or without
an attempt at personal service that for any
reason personal service cannot be
conveniently effected, the Court may order
that service be effected
(a)
by delivery
of the document to an adult resident at the
usual or last known place of abode or
business of the person to be served, or
(b)
by delivery
of the document to a person who is an agent
of the person to be served, or to some other
person, if it is proved that there is
reasonable probability that the document
will, through that agent or other person,
come to the knowledge of the person to be
served, or
(c)
in any other
manner that the Court directs.
Proof of
Service
6.
(1) Where the bailiff or other officer of
the Court charged with the service of a writ
or other document, on any person is unable
to effect service because
(a)
the person
to be served refuses to accept service, or
(b)
the bailiff
or other officer of the Court is prevented
by the violence or threats of that person,
or any other person in concert with him,
from personally serving the writ or
document,
it is
sufficient to inform the person to be served
of the nature of the writ or document, and
to leave the writ or document as near to
that person as practicable.
