Results.
13 judgments found.
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| March 2001 |
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Court discharged the regulator as party, finding the first defendant’s attempted joinder an abuse of process and ordered costs.
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Civil procedure — Joinder of parties; Abuse of process — reintroduction of matter previously dismissed; Administrative/regulatory law — necessity of regulator’s presence in declaratory proceedings concerning interconnection agreements; Declaratory relief versus appeal or fresh proceedings; Costs for interlocutory applications.
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29 March 2001 |
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Applicants failed to prove prima facie legality of their sit-in; injunction to protect negotiations was dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Order 29 r.1 — interim injunction; industrial action — legality of sit-in/strike; burden to establish prima facie right; injunctions not to compel negotiations; distinct causes of action vs. grafting new matter onto pending judicial review.
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28 March 2001 |
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Company cannot directly claim under directors’ and officers’ policy; insureds’ liabilities must be established and s.163 bars contractual indemnity to directors.
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Insurance — Directors’ and Officers’ policy — Insureds are directors/officers not the company; insured’s right to indemnity arises only after legal liability established — Companies Act s.163 prohibits contractual indemnity of directors for negligence; clause attempting to exclude statute void — Order 14A requires no dispute of material facts; inadmissible hearsay affidavit cannot found avoidance under Order 14A
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27 March 2001 |
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The respondent must pay full statutory severance for entire service; long-service awards do not offset statutory severance.
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Employment law — Severance allowance — Section 35(1) Employment Act 2000 — Long Service Awards not a substitute for statutory severance — Right to fair labour practices (s.31) — Interest for delayed statutory payment.
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23 March 2001 |
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Conviction for rape confirmed; sentence increased from five to seven years due to aggravating conduct.
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Criminal law — Rape — Confirmation of conviction — Sentence review and enhancement — Aggravating factors: threats, multiple perpetrators, and coaching/coercion warrant increased sentence
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22 March 2001 |
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Private employer may terminate on contractual notice; constitutional administrative-law protections (Section 43) do not apply to private employment termination.
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Employment law — Termination of employment by private employer — Contractual notice — Validity of Acting Chairman’s approval — Non-application of constitutional administrative-law protections (Section 43) to private master-servant terminations — Damages for loss of legitimate expectations.
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20 March 2001 |
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Prison officers convicted of manslaughter received 18-year terms; line-of-duty killing aggravated, remorse and family circumstances insufficient mitigation.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentencing principles — Abuse of position of trust by prison officers as aggravating factor — Post-conviction remorse has limited mitigating value — Family responsibilities generally not substantial mitigation — Credit for time on remand and first offender status may reduce sentence
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19 March 2001 |
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A six-year sentence for theft of two cattle was reduced as manifestly excessive to about one year.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Theft of cattle — Statutory maximum reserved for worst instances — Manifestly excessive sentence — Reduction on review
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17 March 2001 |
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14 March 2001 |
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Appeal allowed where trial court misapplied evidence law and failed to consider self-defence; conviction quashed.
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Criminal law — evaluation of credibility and contradiction in evidence; single witness evidence; duty to consider possible defences (self-defence/defence of another); burden on prosecution to disprove raised defences beyond reasonable doubt; appellate review of factual findings.
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13 March 2001 |
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Insufficiently authenticated audiovisual evidence and lack of notice defeat a committal for contempt and magistrates lack power to gag the public.
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Contempt of court — requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt; mens rea/knowledge and opportunity to know; restriction/gagging orders — limits of magistrates' jurisdiction; admissibility and authentication of video/tape evidence; hearsay in committal proceedings; balancing sub judice rule with freedom of expression
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11 March 2001 |
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A five-year housebreaking sentence was manifestly excessive and reduced to three years due to guilty plea and mitigating factors.
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Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — starting point six years (Republic v Chizumila) — guilty plea may reduce sentence up to one-third — young first-time offender who pleads guilty generally warrants about three years absent aggravation — manifestly excessive sentence corrected on review
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8 March 2001 |
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Gaps in circumstantial evidence and inadmissible hearsay/co-accused statements require quashing of conviction.
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Criminal law — circumstantial evidence — must exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence; hearsay inadmissible to prove truth; co-accused confessions not evidence against other accused unless adopted; confrontation denials insufficient to convict
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8 March 2001 |