Results.
4,023 judgments found.
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| May 2026 |
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Application to set aside default judgment dismissed for unexplained delay, lack of meritorious defence and counsel misconduct.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Setting aside — Requirements under Order 12 Rule 21 CPR 2017 — Reasonable cause, meritorious defence, explanation of delay, interest of justice
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Professional misconduct — Misleading court and unauthorised removal/replacement of court file documents — Abuse of process and adverse effect on relief
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8 May 2026 |
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Whether a blanket prohibition on Indian Hemp possession without a religious exemption unjustifiably limits the applicant's freedom of religion.
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Constitutional law
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— Freedom of religion — Prohibition on sacramental cannabis possession — Justifiable limitation under s44 of the Constitution
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— Equality — Facially neutral drug prohibition — Not discrimination where law applies generally
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Human rights — Human dignity — Criminalisation of religious drug possession — Does not necessarily negate essential content of dignity right
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8 May 2026 |
| April 2026 |
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Court dismissed challenge: NGO lacked standing and pension and written‑particulars exemptions were constitutional.
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Constitutional law — Standing — Public interest/representative standing — Organisations must establish a direct or sufficient interest to litigate on behalf of others
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Labour and social security — Pension exemptions — Ministerial power to exempt classes from mandatory occupational pension — Reasonableness, proportionality and non‑discrimination; Pension Act s11; Constitution ss13, 20, 30, 31
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Employment law — Written particulars of employment — Threshold of five employees — Constitutionality and permissible limitation; Employment Act s27(4)
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16 April 2026 |
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15 April 2026 |
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8 April 2026 |
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Statutory procedures must be followed to challenge freezing/restriction orders; defective CPR filings are rejected.
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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)
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2 April 2026 |
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Court substituted imprisonment with compensation to secure the convict’s parental responsibility and child welfare.
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Criminal law — Sexual offences — Sexual intercourse with person under 18 — Consent immaterial under section 138(1) Penal Code
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Criminal procedure — Sentencing and disposal — Compensation and discharge as alternative to imprisonment under section 32 Penal Code and section 337(1)(c)(i) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code
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Family law — Civil remedies — Victim’s right to pursue maintenance under section 96 Marriage Divorce and Family Relations Act
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1 April 2026 |
| March 2026 |
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31 March 2026 |
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26 March 2026 |
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26 March 2026 |
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25 March 2026 |
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19 March 2026 |
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Amendment seeking to apply collection-costs rules enacted after proceedings commenced cannot be allowed as retrospective.
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Civil procedure
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— Amendment of pleadings — Application of new subsidiary legislation to pending proceedings — Retrospective operation and General Interpretation Act s 14(1)(a)
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— Costs — Recoverability of statutory collection costs under Legal Education and Legal Practitioners (Remuneration) Rules 2025 — Non-retrospective application where proceedings commenced prior to enactment
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18 March 2026 |
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18 March 2026 |
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12 March 2026 |
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10 March 2026 |
| February 2026 |
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18 February 2026 |
| January 2026 |
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Airline's refusal to carry a disabled child without lawful or reasonable justification amounted to discrimination and violated dignity.
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Disability discrimination in air carriage; reasonable accommodation and medical clearance; Chicago Convention Annex 9; right to equality and dignity; general (not punitive) damages awarded.
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23 January 2026 |
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Regulator lawfully conducted inquiry and later disciplinary hearing; ad hoc committee and concurrent criminal proceedings were permissible.
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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.
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22 January 2026 |
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21 January 2026 |
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Withdrawal of a bail application does not terminate criminal proceedings; the court may grant release and issue case-management directions to protect liberty.
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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.
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20 January 2026 |
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14 January 2026 |
| December 2025 |
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Defective affidavits and insufficient evidence meant petitioner failed to prove electoral irregularities; election confirmed.
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Election law — electoral petition — admissibility and credibility of affidavits (name, signature and jurat date discrepancies) — failure to cross-examine deponent — burden and standard of proof in election petitions — MEC’s investigatory duties, jurisdiction and remedial powers — allegations of handouts, intimidation, purchase of voter slips, and ballot handling.
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3 December 2025 |
| November 2025 |
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Claimant proved agreement for Malawi Kwacha equivalent compensation referenced to US$25,000; quoting foreign currency as reference not illegal.
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Contract — agreement to pay Malawi Kwacha equivalent of foreign currency — reference currency permissible; Civil procedure — burden and standard of proof on balance of probabilities; Evidence — adverse inference from failure to call material witnesses; Exchange control — quoting or indexing to foreign currency does not per se constitute illegality.
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26 November 2025 |
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Whether the applicant is entitled to continue an interlocutory injunction despite a one-day late filing and alleged non-disclosure and stamping issues.
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Interlocutory injunctions — Order 10 Rule 27 (CPR 2017) — American Cyanamid principles — serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; preservation of status quo — CPR Order 2 cure of irregularity — duty of full and frank disclosure for ex parte relief — equity and unclean hands — effect of unstamped agreements where party treats contract as operative.
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21 November 2025 |
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The applicant’s application to set aside a default judgment succeeded due to non-service and an arguable defence.
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Civil procedure — Setting aside default judgment — Non-service of originating process — Delay in bringing application — Prospects of defence — Prejudice — Vacatur of interlocutory injunction.
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20 November 2025 |
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Section 100 petition confined to Commission‑decided complaints; one unsigned result sheet found but did not affect election, petition dismissed.
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Election law — Section 100 appeal limited to matters decided by the Commission; scope of election petitions; irregularity defined as non‑compliance with the Act; presiding officer’s signature mandatory on result sheets; criminal electoral offences (handouts, unlawful campaigning) are for criminal process and require conviction before affecting election outcome; burden of proof on petitioner on balance of probabilities.
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11 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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Appeal allowed: finding of constructive dismissal reversed; compensation assessment principles clarified and arbitrary 30% boost disallowed.
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Employment law — constructive dismissal — demotion and transfers; conditional loan as possible victimisation; timing and delay in claiming constructive dismissal; compensation assessment under Employment Act s.63(4) and minima in s.63(5); mitigation of loss; courts may not 'boost' awards for inflation—use prevailing wage instead.
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2 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Application dismissed for being commenced in the wrong procedural form; election challenges require petition or Form 86A originations.
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Election procedure — Mode of commencement — Petition under PPLGEA or judicial review by originating motion (Form 86A); CPR cannot add modes; procedural irregularity fatal.
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10 September 2025 |
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Failure of the Returning Officer to notify a nomination defect rendered the exclusion unlawful despite incorrect fee paid at presentation.
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Election law — nomination fees — age qualification for youth candidates determined at time of presentation — Returning Officer’s duty to notify defects before close of nominations (s.39(2)–(3)) — failure to notify defeats internal remedies (s.99) — judicial review permissible where no communicated decision.
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9 September 2025 |
| August 2025 |
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Court abridged time and set an expedited timetable to hear a review of a candidate's exclusion under Section 42(2) before the election.
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Electoral law — judicial review of electoral commission decision — exclusion of candidate — urgency — abridgement of time under civil procedure rules — operation of Section 42(2) of the Elections Act.
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29 August 2025 |
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Claimant lacked a cognisable right and sufficient interest to seek judicial review of the appointment; application dismissed and costs awarded.
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Judicial review — permission stage — Order 19 rule 20 requirements — must show a right, interest or legitimate expectation affected and sufficient locus standi; speculative future grievances non-justiciable; interlocutory injunction falls away where permission denied; costs follow the event.
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20 August 2025 |
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18 August 2025 |
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18 August 2025 |
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11 August 2025 |
| July 2025 |
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Bail pending appeal denied: no exceptional circumstances, appeal unlikely to succeed, substantial sentence remains unserved.
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Criminal procedure — Bail pending appeal (s.359) — Discretionary relief only in exceptional, special or unusual circumstances — Factors include likelihood of success and risk of serving substantive sentence — Likelihood alone rarely sufficient.
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28 July 2025 |
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Criminal defamation provision struck down as an unconstitutional, disproportionate limit on freedom of expression.
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Constitutional law — Freedom of expression — Criminal defamation — Section 200 Penal Code — Overbreadth, vagueness and chilling effect — Section 44 limitation test — Civil remedies as less restrictive means — Attorney General’s neutral role in constitutional referrals.
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17 July 2025 |
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Whether criminal defamation (section 200) unjustifiably limits freedom of expression and must be struck down.
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Criminal defamation — Freedom of expression (section 35) — Limitation test (section 44(1),(2)) — Proportionality and necessity — Civil remedies as less restrictive means — Chilling effect — Decriminalisation consistent with regional and international jurisprudence — Attorney General’s impartial role in constitutional referrals.
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17 July 2025 |
| April 2025 |
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Judicial review of the DPP’s prosecutorial decisions is exceptional; applicants must first exhaust parliamentary and criminal remedies.
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Prosecutorial discretion — Judicial review leave — Selective prosecution alleged — Requirement to exhaust parliamentary oversight (Legal Affairs Committee) — Exceptional circumstances threshold (dishonesty/mala fides) — Prematurity and abuse of civil process to challenge criminal proceedings.
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28 April 2025 |
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Accrued annual leave cannot be forfeited; employer must pay untaken earned leave on termination.
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Employment law — Annual leave — Employer’s duty to grant leave; employee’s duty to take leave — No statutory forfeiture of accrued earned leave — Contractual clauses purporting to forfeit accrued leave void — Entitlement to payment for accrued untaken leave on termination (sections 44 and 45, Employment Act).
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25 April 2025 |
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The employer's appeal against compensation for the respondent's constructive dismissal was dismissed; s63 discretion upheld.
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Employment law — Unfair/constructive dismissal — Assessment of compensation — Sections 63(4) and 63(5) Employment Act — Immediate loss and future loss — Pleading standards in Industrial Relations Court — Statutory severance allowance (s35).
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4 April 2025 |
| March 2025 |
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Court awards K70,000,000 to the applicant for negligent medical treatment causing genital mutilation, including exemplary damages.
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16 March 2025 |
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Whether a public officer failed to declare a close associate’s interest and whether foreign intelligence evidence was admissible.
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Criminal law — s25D(2)(a) Corrupt Practices Act — failure to declare interest — scope of ‘interest’ and ‘close associate’ — interplay with PPDA Act; admissibility of foreign intelligence/evidence obtained under an MOU; case‑to‑answer test under s313 CP&EC.
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4 March 2025 |
| February 2025 |
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Ex parte freezing injunction vacated after applicant suppressed material related‑party and forensic‑audit facts.
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Civil procedure — freezing injunctions — Order 10 r.11, r.12(2)(b) CPR — requirements: good and arguable case, assets likely to form part of judgment, risk of dissipation — equitable relief requires full and frank disclosure — clean hands doctrine — proportionality of freezing orders — relevance of forensic audit and related-party conflicts.
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7 February 2025 |
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Court orders pending appeal to determine custody and proposed relocation, stays parallel proceedings, prioritizing the child’s best interests.
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Family law — Child custody and access — Proposed relocation of child abroad (Portugal) — Jurisdiction to dissolve marriage — Best interests of the child (Constitution s.23) — Stay of parallel proceedings — Recusal: reasonable apprehension of bias test — Review vs appeal.
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3 February 2025 |
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Failure to serve the mandatory pre‑suit notice and the time‑barred nature of the dispute rendered the applicants’ claim and motion a nullity.
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Civil procedure — pre‑suit notice mandatory under Civil Procedure (Suits By and Against Government) Act s4 — non‑compliance renders action a nullity; administrative law — challenges to Ministerial implementation of statutory pension scheme are matters for judicial review; limitation — three‑month rule for judicial review; declaratory relief cannot circumvent pre‑suit notice requirement.
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3 February 2025 |
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Exit agreement signed under economic duress: dismissal unfair; applicant entitled to compensation and remedy hearing.
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Employment law — Unfair dismissal — Mutual release/exit agreement vitiated by economic duress; procedural fairness in disciplinary process; employer’s burden to prove valid reason for dismissal; compensation remedy.
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3 February 2025 |
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Dismissals for operational requirements without consultation were unfair; applicants entitled to compensation.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — operational requirements/retrenchment — statutory consultation requirement — justice and equity (s.61 Employment Act) — funding contingency clause — contractual notice period — compensation assessment.
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3 February 2025 |
| January 2025 |
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Ex parte permission for judicial review discharged for abuse of process and suppression of prior related proceedings.
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Administrative law — Judicial review — Ex parte permission — Duty of frank and full disclosure — Suppression of prior related proceedings — Abuse of court process via multiplicity of actions — Discharge of permission and interlocutory injunction — Discretionary extension of time (functus officio).
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31 January 2025 |
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High Court reviewed and set aside subordinate custody order, awarding primary custody to the breastfeeding mother and ordering medical and social assessments.
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Family law — Custody — Best interests of the child — Infant breastfeeding as paramount consideration — High Court supervisory review under Section 26 Courts Act — Quashing subordinate court custody order — Orders for medical and social welfare assessments.
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22 January 2025 |