The Court says what it orders, but the piece of paper that carries the order into the world is the sealed, entered order. Getting it is a Registry step that the successful party has to drive.
The seal
(1) The Supreme Court shall have a seal of the Court for the sealing of all writs and other instruments and documents issued out of the Court and requiring to be sealed. (2) In addition, the Supreme Court shall, for the purposes of authentication, have a seal or stamp with which any summons, office copy, certificate, report or other document requiring authentication may be sealed or stamped.
Section 40 gives the Registrar the duties assigned by the Rules and any order of the Court, and the seal is applied by the Registrar or a deputy. Two seals are in use: the Court seal on orders and writs, and the authentication stamp on office copies and certificates, which is what appears on a “sealed copy” supplied to a party.
Pronouncement, minute and entry
An order passes through three stages. It is pronounced when the Court states it in open court; that is when time runs for an Order 11 Rule 32 application or a Rule 25 application. It is minuted when a written form of it is prepared, in practice by the successful party’s lawyer from the transcript or the Judges’ notes. It is entered when the Registrar accepts the minute as accurate, signs it and seals it, and it goes on the file. The Rules do not prescribe a general form of order; through Order 2 Rule 1(h) the National Court’s Form 52, the general form of minute of order, is used with the Supreme Court heading.
| Situation | Who drafts | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Judgment or order after a contested hearing | The successful party, checked against the reasons; the other side is shown the draft | Practice under O 2 r 1(h) |
| Order for costs | Entered under Order 12 Division 9 before taxation can proceed | O 12 rr 9–10 |
| Order on a Registrar’s referral for summary determination where parties are unrepresented | The Registrar drafts, enters and forwards sealed copies | O 13 r 16(2)(e) |
| Dismissal of an appeal | Registrar forwards a sealed copy and any judgment to the National Court | O 13 r 16(2)(f) |
| Consent order | The parties, signed by both lawyers, endorsed by the Judge or Court | See consent orders |
| Interim order by the Duty Judge | The applicant, from the draft order filed under O 13 r 14(6)(e) | O 13 r 14 |
The steps
Type the order exactly as pronounced, including the date, the coram and the file number. Send it to the other side for agreement as to form. Lodge it at the Registry with a request for entry and for two sealed copies. The Registry checks it against the Associate’s note of the orders. If the Judges gave written reasons, the formal order is usually set out at the end of them, and the Registry will hold the minute to that wording. Collect the sealed copies and serve one on each party. Where the order is a stay or an injunction, serve it personally on the person bound, because Order 14 of the National Court Rules, which applies to contempt through Order 2 Rule 1(g), requires the order to have been served before disobedience is punished.
Why the sealed copy matters
An Order 10 appeal must annex a copy of the order appealed from certified by the Judge’s Associate or the Registrar under Order 10 Rule 3(b)(ii), and an application under Order 11 Rule 25 proceeds as if it were an Order 10 appeal. An application for leave to review an election petition decision must annex the judgment and order under Order 5 Rule 11. A stay obtained from the Duty Judge is shown to the Sheriff or the bank as a sealed order. A costs order cannot be taxed until entered. And on the appeal being decided, the National Court will not lift a stay, or enforce a varied judgment, without the sealed order of the Supreme Court. Section 16 of the Act, which allows the Court to affirm, reverse, modify or substitute the judgment below, takes effect through that document.
Costs orders
An order for costs must be entered before a bill of costs is lodged for taxation, and the Registrar taxes costs under Division 10 on the order as entered.
See how Supreme Court costs are taxed and enforcing a costs order.
If the sealed order is wrong
An order entered in terms that do not match what was pronounced can be corrected by the Registrar on the parties’ agreement, or by the Court under the slip rule on an application within 21 days under Order 11 Rule 32, which requires leave. An order that correctly records what was pronounced but which a party says was wrongly made is a different matter: there is no appeal from the Supreme Court. See whether the Supreme Court can correct its own judgment and what you can do after the appeal is decided.
Sources
- Supreme Court Act (Chapter 37) — ss 16, 38, 40
- Supreme Court Rules 2012 — O 2 r 1; O 5 r 11; O 10 r 3; O 11 rr 25, 32; O 12 Divisions 9–10; O 13 rr 14, 16
- National Court Rules 1983 — O 12 r 18, Form 52; O 14
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Supreme Court Rules 2012 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.