The Right to Appeal Against a Decision Made on an Interlocutory Application: The Immediate Aftermath of the 2010 Amendments

Abstract

One of the main reasons for amending the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322, 2007 Rev Ed) in 2010 was to introduce a calibrated approach towards interlocutory appeals to the Court of Appeal. The amended s 34 and the newly introduced Fourth and Fifth Scheds were interpreted for the first time in two recent Court of Appeal decisions, providing much needed guidance on the general approach towards statutory interpretation, as well as specific direction in terms of interpreting the term “order” in para (i) of the Fourth Sched and para (e) of the Fifth Sched, and the term “interlocutory application” in para (e) of the Fifth Sched. However, some important questions remain to be answered, such as those relating to the meaning of the purposive approach, the framework to determine what are “interlocutory orders” and “interlocutory applications,” the relationship between the relevant provisions in the Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2006 Rev Ed) relating to leave to appeal and the primary legislation, as well as the extent of possible future legislative change.