High Court of Malawi - 2001 August

9 judgments
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Results. 9 judgments found.

9 judgments
August 2001
Adjourning a contempt hearing to another day deprives the court of summary jurisdiction, rendering any subsequent conviction a nullity.
  • Contempt of court — Summary jurisdiction lost by adjournment — Requirement to warn potential contemnor before summary charge — Need for formal charge sheet and avoidance of duplicity — Procedural defects render conviction a nullity — Sections 113 Penal Code; Sections 353(2)(a)(i) and 362 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code.
31 August 2001
High Court lacks first-instance jurisdiction over Employment Act labour disputes; such claims belong in the Industrial Relations Court.
  • Employment law — jurisdiction — High Court's unlimited original jurisdiction (s108) does not displace the Industrial Relations Court's primary procedural role for employment disputes; severance pay — forum — defective commencement — dismissal, not transfer
30 August 2001
Five-month imprisonment for breach-of-peace offence was unlawful; court ordered immediate release.
  • Criminal law — Sentence review — Section 181 Penal Code (conduct likely to cause breach of the peace) — statutory maximum custody three months — “fine and imprisonment” read disjunctively — failure to consider fine, community service, and Sections 339–340 alternatives — review court substituted sentence for immediate release
30 August 2001
The applicant's illness and alleged alibi do not constitute exceptional circumstances to grant bail in a murder charge.
  • Criminal procedure — Bail in capital offences — Exceptional circumstances required; illness not exceptional unless terminal or detention-induced; alibi or weak prosecution case insufficient; bail applications must not become mini-trials
29 August 2001
An interlocutory injunction preventing an employer recovering company property was discharged as damages were an adequate remedy after termination.
  • Interlocutory injunctions — American Cyanamid principles — adequacy of damages as remedy — ex parte applications and nondisclosure/misrepresentation — employer’s right to recover company property after employment termination — publication of notice that employee no longer occupies post.
24 August 2001
Order 14 summary disposal refused because the disputed cause of the accident was a factual issue requiring a full trial.
  • Civil procedure — Order 14 summary disposal — question of law v. fact; Workers Compensation Act s.4(2)(b) — negligence, deliberate self-injury, serious and willful misconduct; requirement of evidence for exclusions under compensation statute.
23 August 2001
Ex parte interlocutory injunction discharged where applicant deliberately suppressed material facts and misled the court.
  • Civil procedure — Ex parte interlocutory injunction — Duty of full and frank disclosure — Suppression of material facts — Order obtained by misrepresentation discharged.
22 August 2001
Sheriff’s fees (poundage) are due once goods are seized; the party who caused execution is liable even if no sale occurs.
  • Sheriff’s fees/poundage — entitlement upon seizure of goods — execution levied but no sale — Courts Act Schedule; Sheriffs Act; local precedents (Maunde; Sheriff v Press Produce) — Re Ludmore distinguished — liability of party initiating execution — court power to order payment of Sheriff’s costs when setting aside execution.
17 August 2001
Hearing set aside because plaintiff failed to provide for acknowledgment of service and allowed insufficient time after postal service.
  • Civil procedure — Originating Summons (Order 7 r.2, Form 10) — requirement to provide for acknowledgment of service and to serve acknowledgment form — postal service deemed effective after seven days — premature hearing where defendant not given full time to acknowledge service — power to set aside hearing and direct amendment
9 August 2001