Azahar Mohamed JC:

On 12 December 2003 the learned judicial commissioner struck out the plaintiff's suit pursuant to the powers conferred by O. 34 of the Rules of the High Court 1980 (the RHC) for non-compliance with the directions given by him on 19 September 2003 at the pre-trial case management conference with solicitors for the parties. For that reason, on 26 December 2003 the plaintiff took out this summons-in-chambers in encl. 39 to reinstate its writ and statement of claim.

On the appointed date of the hearing of the summons on 8 October 2004, it was agreed that I should first determine the following issue: whether the proper course of action to be taken by the plaintiff is by way of an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the order of 12 December 2003 or by an application by way of summons-in-chambers to reinstate the writ and statement of claim. It was the argument of learned counsel for the plaintiff that the proper mode in which the plaintiff should pursue this matter was by way of summons-in-chambers as in encl. 39. It was also argued that the suit was struck out on a technical ground and not on its merits. Further, learned counsel urged me to exercise my disc