Stassen Exports Limited v. Brooke Bond (Ceylon) Limited and Another – sllr 1990 volume 2 page 063

In the case between Stassen Exports Ltd. and Brooke Bond (Ceylon) Ltd., the court addressed whether section 182(3) of the Code of Intellectual Property Act requires an applicant to obtain leave to appeal from a District Court judgment, or whether such a judgment grants a right of appeal as of course. The determination clarified that “rules” in this context should be interpreted narrowly to mean subordinate rules of court, rather than general procedural law, thereby upholding an appellant’s unfettered right of appeal from a final judgment without the need to seek leave. The decision relied on statutory interpretation principles and legislative history, reaffirming the established principle that rights of appeal from final judgments should not be curtailed unless expressly provided by statut