Margwe Erro and 2 Others versus Moshi Bahalulu; Civil Appeal No 111 of 2014: Court of Appeal of Tanzania at Arusha (Unreported).
- Civil Procedure
- Issues -the court decided a matter on an issue that had been raised Suo motu in the course of composing a judgment – Effect.
- Administrative Law
- Right to be heard –violation of right to be heard – Effect
- Natural justice –Application of the principle in Tanzania.
Held :-
(i) When a court raises and decides an issue Suo Motu, it denies the parties right to be heard as the parties cannot address the court.
(ii) A denial of right to be heard in any proceeding vitiates the whole judgment and decree of the Court.
(iii) In Tanzania natural justice is not merely a principle of common law; it has become a fundamental constitutional right. Article 13(6)(a) includes the right to be heard amongst the attributes of equality before the law.
(iv) The right to be heard before adverse action is taken against such party has been stated and emphasized by the courts in numerous decisions. The right is so basic that a decision which is arrived at in violation of it will be nullified, even if the same decision would have been reached had the party been heard, because the violation is considered to be a breach of natural justice.