Judgments

Civil procedure – Commencement of action – Summons (Specially Endorsed) vs "Statement of Case"; Statutory procedure – Financial Crimes Act and Corrupt Practices Act — remedies for freezing directives and restriction notices; Interlocutory applications – notice and signature requirements; Registry jurisdiction (Lilongwe v Blantyre)

Employment law – unfair dismissal – procedural fairness: right to know particulars and evidence – substantive fairness: need for documentary proof in stock/reconciliation disputes – burden on employer to justify dismissal

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Limitation law – section 4(1)(a) Limitation Act – contractual causes accrue at breach; continuing-breach doctrine not recognised in Malawian Limitation Act; period of six years applies to contract claims; pleadings – requirement of clarity and particularity in IRC proceedings; strike-out or amendment remedies available

Labour law – redundancy and operational requirements – duty to consult – fairness and equity in retrenchments – evidential burden on employer to show consultation and objective selection criteria – entitlement to compensation under s63(1)(c)

Employment law – fixed-term contract – termination by effluxion of time – tacit renewal; withholding of terminal benefits – Employment Act ss 52 & 56 – permissible deductions limited to restitution for property damaged by employee; procedural fairness and adequacy of disciplinary findings; criminal acquittal corroborating civil/disciplinary insufficiency

Employment law – Constructive dismissal – resignation shortly after filing grievances; burden on employee to prove repudiatory conduct; timing of resignation; pension under-remittance due to former accountant's fraud and employer remediation; discrimination requires comparator evidence; late-raised PPE and loan-deduction complaints cannot ground constructive dismissal

Labour law — interim relief — restoration of discharged urgent interim order — delay and lack of urgency; non-appearance of respondent and unadopted opposing papers; prejudice and security considerations at State Residences; case management — pre-hearing conference; possible disposal on point of law

Ombudsman jurisdiction – anonymous complaints and whistle‑blower protection (s12A); maladministration in public recruitment; statutory interpretation of qualifications (s6(5) Corrupt Practices Act); separation of powers and administrative oversight.

Judicial review — amenability of executive actions; administrative justice — s43 right to lawful and procedurally fair administrative action and reasons; ultra vires and Wednesbury unreasonableness — Public Service Act (s10) deployment requirements; separation of powers — High Court jurisdiction under s108(2); duty of candour in judicial review.

Employment dispute — arbitration clause — enforceability despite contract expiry — requirement to exhaust internal (church) remedies including Synod/General Assembly — court lacks jurisdiction to grant reinstatement as urgent interim relief

Medical disciplinary proceedings — statutory requirement to record proceedings and reasons (s48(5) Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act) — incomplete/inconsistent record — adequacy of minutes vs verbatim record — appellate review limited by deficient record — referral for fresh inquiry — issues of informed consent, negligence and gross incompetence considered but not determined on merits.

Commercial law – arbitration clause – stay of proceedings – section 6(1) Arbitration Act – jurisdiction after Supreme Court of Appeal order – anti-suit injunction – forum shopping – competence of procedural application under CPR 2017.

Arbitration — Stay of proceedings under s.6 Arbitration Act — Arbitration clause in escrow agreement — Clause expressly excluding escrow agent — Interpretation of exclusion clause — Readiness and willingness to arbitrate required as evidentiary burden.

Disability discrimination in air carriage; reasonable accommodation and medical clearance; Chicago Convention Annex 9; right to equality and dignity; general (not punitive) damages awarded.

Administrative law — statutory interpretation of regulatory disciplinary powers — sections 17, 36 and 37 read together; delegation to committees and use of ad hoc panels permissible; distinction between inquiry and disciplinary hearing; concurrent criminal and disciplinary proceedings not per se unreasonable.

Constitutional rights — personal liberty and 48-hour rule — withdrawal of bail application — effect on ongoing criminal proceedings — habeas corpus as appropriate remedy — court's discretion to grant reliefs mero motu; case management and disclosure obligations.