Doctrine of Approbation and Repprobation in Uganda

The maxim of ‘approbate and reprobate’ reflects the principle whereby a person cannot both approve and reject an instrument, often more commonly described as blowing hot and cold. 

Watch the doctrine summarized here

The doctrine of approbate and reprobate in common parlance can be understood to signify the proverb that ‘you can’t eat your cake and have it too!’. It traces its roots to laws of Scotland and is essentially a principle of equity. It is further based on the rule of estoppel. .Further,the principle of approbate and reprobate is based on the maxim “allegans contraria non est audiendus”, which means that when one utters statements contradictory to one another the same shall not be heard.

In Scots Law

The Scottish doctrine of approbation and reprobation provides that a person cannot both assert his rights acquired from part of a document and reject the rest of the document at the same time. In practice, the application of the doctrine has traditionally been limited to the area of wills, trusts and succession. For example, in Bruce's Judicial Factor v Lord Advocate [1969] S.C. 296, the heirs to a will faced the difficulty of attempting to argue the invalidity of the revocation clause of the will without approbating the rest of the deed.  Although the case was decided based on other considerations, Lord Justice-Clerk (Grant) did refer to the doctrine in such a way as to suggest its application to be apt in that case (where he notes that he did not see how the reclaimers could “surmount the hurdle of approbate and reprobate”).

To understand the Ugandan perspective of the doctrine and it's application in Uganda, click the link below;

Watch the summary of the doctrine explained here

Ahimbisibwe Innocent Benjamin

(Africa Multi-Award winning Lawyer)