Results.
43 judgments found.
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| December 1997 |
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Multiple burglaries by a young first offender warrant modest premium on sentences; an 8-year term was substituted with 4 years.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary — Multiple offences in quick succession — Sentencing premium for multiplicity — Effect of guilty plea, youth and first-offender status — Substitution of manifestly excessive sentence
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31 December 1997 |
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Court reduced a manifestly excessive five-year sentence for minor motel theft to immediate release.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Manifestly excessive sentence — Theft by a lodger — First offenders — Low-value property — Reduction to time served
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16 December 1997 |
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Court reduced an excessive eight-year sentence for the defendant’s cultivation of 7kg of Indian hemp to two years' hard labour.
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Dangerous Drugs Act — cultivation of Indian hemp — sentencing — quantity 7 kg — applicability of possession sentencing guidelines (Republic v
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Wilson) — manifestly excessive sentence reduced
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12 December 1997 |
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Court reduced burglary sentence, holding post-offence escape isn't a prior conviction and uncharged injuries cannot justify harsher sentencing.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary starting point (six years) — Previous conviction — escape from custody not a prior offence if committed after the principal offence — Sentencing: limits on using uncharged offences (injuries) as basis for harsher sentence
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11 December 1997 |
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A three-year sentence for stealing a recovered bicycle was manifestly excessive and reduced to eighteen months' imprisonment.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Theft of bicycle — Manifestly excessive sentence — Relevance of recovery, condition of property and third-party loss — Guideline sentence: ~18 months with hard labour (Regina v Paulo)
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10 December 1997 |
| November 1997 |
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A two-year sentence for simple theft was manifestly excessive; immediate release ordered given guilty plea, recovery and time served.
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Criminal law — Theft — Sentencing — Manifestly excessive sentence — Guilty plea and first offender mitigation — Recovery of property — Suspension vs short custodial term
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17 November 1997 |
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The defendant’s burglary sentence was increased, stressing burglary’s gravity and the duty to consider totality of sentences.
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Criminal law — Burglary — Sentencing principles — Benchmarked starting point (six years) — Recovery of stolen property not significantly mitigating — Duty to consider prior sentences and totality — Concurrent vs consecutive sentences
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16 November 1997 |
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Voting without registration certificates is an irregularity, but proved instances did not justify annulling the by-election.
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Electoral law — voting procedure — production of voter registration certificate — irregularity; statutory duties of Electoral Commission to investigate (s.113); annulment discretionary — materiality of irregularities to result (s.114, s.118).
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13 November 1997 |
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Failure to give reasons rendered an eighteen‑month sentence for theft of K1,300 manifestly excessive; defendant released.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Theft by servant — Need for reasons for sentence — Review of manifestly excessive sentence — Effect of guilty plea and time served
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12 November 1997 |
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A guilty plea bars appeal on conviction; a two-year term for theft of one small beast was manifestly excessive and set aside.
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Criminal law — Theft of cattle — sentencing — manifestly excessive sentence for theft of single small beast; guilty plea entitles accused to substantial reduction; appeal against conviction incompetent after guilty plea (s348 CPE Code)
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6 November 1997 |
| October 1997 |
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Court increased housebreaking sentence to three years, stressing burglary's seriousness and a six-year sentencing starting point.
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Criminal law — Burglary/housebreaking — Sentencing principles — Six-year starting point — Mitigating factors: youth, first offender, guilty plea — Concurrent sentences
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27 October 1997 |
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An employer who procures police to arrest employees without charge is liable for false imprisonment and defamation.
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False imprisonment — employer-instigated arrest — police acting as agent of employer — lack of reasonable and probable cause; Defamation — publication by conduct — parading employees in handcuffs; Liability where no charge laid.
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24 October 1997 |
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Plaintiff recovers hire charges where vehicle owner performed hire illegally under s59, but plaintiff lacked knowledge or participation.
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Road Traffic Act s59 — mandatory third‑party insurance; illegality — ex turpi causa non oritur actio; distinction between illegality in formation and in performance; knowledge and participation required to bar recovery.
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16 October 1997 |
| September 1997 |
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Court held Speaker must base a floor‑crossing declaration on verifiable evidence and that ministerial appointment vacated the MP’s seat by law.
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Constitutional law — judicial review of Speaker’s declaration — section 65(1) ‘precedent fact’ — evidentiary requirement; parliamentary privilege not a bar to constitutional review; floor‑crossing; Cabinet membership as public office; vacancy by operation of law (s63(1)(e), s51(2)(e))
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30 September 1997 |
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Assessment of damages for serious personal injuries including disfigurement, future surgery and reduced earning capacity.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering, loss of amenities; disfigurement — award alongside but distinct from pain and suffering; future medical expenses and travel for overseas plastic surgery; prospective loss of earning capacity where substantial likelihood of impairment exists; acceptance of foreign medical quotation as evidence of costs
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18 September 1997 |
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17 September 1997 |
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Court granted injunction and trespass judgment on summons but declined declaratory relief pending enquiry.
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Civil procedure — judgment on summons (Order 19 r.7) — discretion to refuse default judgment; registrar's lack of jurisdiction to grant injunctions; declaratory relief usually requires enquiry; injunction and damages for trespass granted
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17 September 1997 |
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Measure of damages for a destroyed vehicle is its market/replacement value; separate loss-of-earnings generally disallowed.
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Damages — Total destruction of chattel — Restitutio in integrum — Market/replacement value as going concern — Evidence where no market exists (owner’s knowledge, market witnesses, depreciation, profits) — Overlap between market value and loss of earnings
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16 September 1997 |
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Assessment of damages for serious personal injury: special damages, pain and suffering, and future loss of earning capacity.
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Damages — assessment after default judgment; personal injury — pain and suffering and loss of amenities; special damages — recoverability; future loss of earning capacity despite no present earnings loss
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16 September 1997 |
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State liable for police-inflicted injuries; damages awarded for future domestic help and pain and suffering totaling K52,258.
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State liability for police violence — personal injury — heads of damages: pecuniary (future domestic assistance), pain and suffering, loss of amenities — annuity approach to future care — no award for loss of earnings absent employment evidence
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16 September 1997 |
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An accommodation drawer of dishonoured cheques is liable to a holder for value; summary judgment granted.
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Summary judgment (Order 14) — Bills of Exchange Act s28 — accommodation party liability — holder for value — holder's knowledge immaterial — no requirement to sue principal first — notice of dishonour sufficiency
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15 September 1997 |
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Default judgment conceded liability; oral proof of lost earnings sufficed and plaintiff awarded K31,500 special and K30,000 general damages.
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Tort — inducement of breach of contract; damages — special and general damages; proof of earnings by oral evidence; effect of default judgment (liability conceded); mitigation burden on defendant; exemplary damages against government (oppressive conduct)
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14 September 1997 |
| August 1997 |
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Court held magistrate's burglary and theft sentences unduly lenient and increased them on review.
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Criminal law — Sentencing review — burglary and theft — conviction supported by confession — sentencing principles: nature of offence, offender’s circumstances, victim impact, public interest — post‑Chizumila higher starting point for burglary but scalable for mitigation
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25 August 1997 |
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Plaintiff awarded K75,000 for 36 days' unlawful imprisonment; no punitive damages; defendants to pay costs.
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Tort — False/unlawful imprisonment; assessment of general damages for detention; impact of currency devaluation on quantum; absence of evidence for punitive/aggravated damages; alternative pleading and absence of defence affecting apportionment of liability.
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14 August 1997 |
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Strike-out on Limitation Act grounds denied where neither party filed evidence on whether the claim was time-barred.
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13 August 1997 |
| July 1997 |
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Sentencers must give reasons; simple burglary on these facts merits three years' imprisonment with hard labour, concurrent with other sentences.
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Criminal law — Burglary sentencing — Sentencing discretion — Duty to give reasons — Review of sentence — Simple burglary: three years' imprisonment with hard labour — Sentences concurrent
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30 July 1997 |
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A three-year sentence for theft by servant involving K8,300 was excessive and reduced to one year’s imprisonment with hard labour.
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Criminal law — Theft by servant — Sentencing — Manifestly excessive sentence — Breach of trust and multiple thefts as aggravating factors — Plea of guilty and amount involved as mitigating factors — Sentencing guidelines applied
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30 July 1997 |
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Appeal allowed: first offender improperly given immediate custodial sentence without statutory reasons or consideration of non‑custodial options.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Section 340 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — First offender — Requirement to consider non‑custodial alternatives and set out reasons — Failure to give reasons and impose immediate custody where inappropriate — Appeal allowed
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23 July 1997 |
| June 1997 |
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Review court increased the theft sentence to the appropriate guideline and reduced an excessive six-year burglary sentence to four years.
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Sentencing
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— Burglary: six-year starting point; mitigation (guilty plea, youth, first offender) reduces toward three years; concerted criminality increases sentence
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— Theft of bicycle: six months inadequate; aggravated theft guideline appropriate at eighteen months' imprisonment with hard labour
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25 June 1997 |
| May 1997 |
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Trespass destroyed a partly built house; damages set at increased rebuilding cost (K115,806) plus K10,000 aggravated damages, interest to run at 1% above lending rate.
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Property law — Trespass — Measure of damages for destruction of building — Replacement cost and timing where rebuilding costs rise; consequential loss and avoidance of double recovery; recoverability of interest on mortgage advances; aggravated damages for improper State action
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22 May 1997 |
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Theft conviction set aside where respondent’s apparent claim of right and lack of proven dishonesty rendered the conviction unsafe.
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Criminal law — Theft — elements of theft under s.271 (fraudulently and without claim of right) — Claim of right negating theft — Dishonesty test in R v Ghost (objective standard then defendant’s appreciation) — Conviction unsafe where mental element not proved
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7 May 1997 |
| April 1997 |
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A 12‑month sentence for stealing one goat was manifestly excessive; guilty plea and first‑offender status warrant immediate release.
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Sentencing — Theft of cattle (goat) — Manifestly excessive sentence — General versus specific deterrence — First offender and guilty plea — Appropriate starting point six months imprisonment with hard labour
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23 April 1997 |
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A six-month sentence for ordinary burglary was manifestly inadequate; the accused's sentence increased to three years.
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Criminal law — Burglary — Sentencing — Manifestly inadequate sentence — Chizumila’s Case: six-year starting point; ordinary burglary about three years — youth and guilty plea limited mitigation — concurrent sentences
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23 April 1997 |
| March 1997 |
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Sentencing discretion must be reasoned; burglary is serious and, on review, a three-year term with hard labour was imposed.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Sentencer must give reasons — Sentencing discretion reviewable — Burglary/housebreaking serious; starting point six years with hard labour — Mitigating and aggravating factors to adjust sentence — Enhancement on review to three years
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31 March 1997 |
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Conviction based on weak nighttime identification and inadmissible hearsay was unsafe; prosecution must disprove an alibi.
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Criminal law — alibi — prosecution must disprove alibi; Evidence — hearsay from co‑accused inadmissible to prove guilt; Identification — Turnbull warnings and parade evidence necessary where identification is central; Visual identification at night — caution required
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26 March 1997 |
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Equivocal plea required charge amendment under s151; magistrate rightly withheld discharge; original sentence was excessive and reduced.
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Criminal procedure — equivocal plea — duty to amend charge under section 151 — withholding consent to discharge under section 81 — conviction under section 311 — sentencing on withdrawn/lesser included offence unlawful — manifestly excessive sentence reduced
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16 March 1997 |
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Daytime breaking and entering is housebreaking, not burglary; conviction amended and sentence confirmed.
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Criminal law — Burglary is a nocturnal offence; daytime breaking and entering constitutes housebreaking; amendment of charge in confirmation proceedings to regularise offence
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15 March 1997 |
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Appellate court reduced an excessive two-year sentence for minor unlawful wounding, emphasizing consideration of mitigation for unrepresented accused.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Obligation to consider mitigating factors for unrepresented accused; Unlawful wounding — severity of injury and guilty plea relevant to sentence; Excessive sentence reduced
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13 March 1997 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction set aside because the trial court failed to consider the accused's denial and corroborative exculpatory evidence.
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Criminal law — Cheating using specimen banknote; evidential treatment of accused’s caution statements and denials; admissibility and weight of self-serving statements; reasonable doubt; appellate intervention where trial court fails to consider exculpatory evidence
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13 March 1997 |
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A three-year sentence for theft was manifestly excessive; reduced to 12 months where property was recovered and defendant pleaded guilty.
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Criminal law — Theft — Sentence — Manifestly excessive sentence — Plea of guilty and recovery of stolen property as mitigating factors — Duty of trial court to give reasons for sentence — Substitution of sentence on review
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13 March 1997 |
| February 1997 |
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Assisting to load goods hours after a robbery without knowledge of the theft does not constitute aiding and abetting.
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Criminal law — Robbery — Aiding and abetting — Knowledge requirement; presence at scene not determinative — Johnson v Youden applied; Sentencing — manifestly excessive — guilty plea and cooperation as mitigation
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27 February 1997 |
| January 1997 |
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Appeal dismissed: self-defence rejected and provocation unavailable to reduce grievous bodily harm; sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Self-defence — Necessity and proportionality — Revenge versus defence; Provocation — Not a defence to grievous bodily harm, only mitigation for sentence; Sentence review — Severity of injuries and incapacitation justify substantial custodial term
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30 January 1997 |
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Assessment and apportionment of damages for assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution between party and State.
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Torts — false imprisonment; assault and battery; malicious prosecution; vicarious liability of the State; apportionment of liability between independent tortfeasors; requirement to plead special damages for loss of employment/business.
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8 January 1997 |