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Citation
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Judgment date
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| September 2001 |
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Petitioner proved cruelty; court granted decree nisi, custody and costs, urging reform of divorce and customary family law.
Family law – Divorce – Cruelty as matrimonial offence – Habitual drunkenness and violence causing miscarriage – Decree nisi granted; Custody to petitioner; Costs awarded to petitioner; Comparative note on Divorce Reform Act 1969; Concern about systemic delays and need for legal reform.
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30 September 2001 |
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Conviction for indecent assault of a child under 14 is unsafe without corroboration; conflicting medical reports created reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Evidence of child complainant under 14 requires corroboration – Medical evidence as corroboration – Conflicting medical reports render conviction unsafe.
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28 September 2001 |
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Misplaced trial record and uncertain appeal date do not amount to exceptional circumstances to grant bail pending appeal after conviction.
Criminal procedure — Bail pending appeal (post-conviction) — Exceptional circumstances required — Mislaid trial record does not alone justify bail — Convict deemed guilty until conviction quashed — Duty of registry to preserve records.
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26 September 2001 |
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An acquitted public servant was awarded damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution and recovery of withheld salary.
False imprisonment – short detention with ill-treatment – damages assessed; Malicious prosecution – acquittal entitles plaintiff to damages; Employment law – withheld salary after acquittal cannot lawfully be forfeited; Remedies – award of wages withheld plus costs where defendant defaulted.
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25 September 2001 |
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Power of sale valid after three months; private treaty sales lawful if in good faith; irregularities yield damages only.
Registered Land Act – demand notice and default (s68) – power of sale after three months (ss60(2),68(2)) – sale by private treaty valid if in good faith (s71) – Registrar approval not strictly fatal – remedy for irregularity is damages (s71(3)).
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20 September 2001 |
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Conviction for conspiracy quashed where court improperly relied on co-accused confessions and failed to prove a single agreement.
Criminal law – Conspiracy – Admissibility and weight of confessions under s176 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code – Confessions admissible only against maker unless adopted – Statements to police not in furtherance of conspiracy (res gestae) – Confessions obtained by duress/torture inadmissible or to be given no weight – Burden to prove single agreement among accused.
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19 September 2001 |
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Interim injunction granted to restrain defendant’s occupation of disputed land; widow-signed sale document deemed invalid under Statute of Frauds.
Land law – interim injunction – trespass and occupation – beneficiary’s locus standi to sue – Statute of Frauds 1677 – validity of purported sale document signed by widow – balance of convenience and irreparable harm.
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18 September 2001 |
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Confessions are only admissible against their maker; insufficient evidence of a single agreement, so conspiracy conviction quashed.
Criminal law — Conspiracy: requirement of agreement (express or implied) — Confession law (s176 Criminal Procedure & Evidence Code) — Confessions admissible only against maker unless adopted — Statements to police not in furtherance of conspiracy — Evidence obtained by duress/torture must be given no weight — Constitutional protections against compelled confessions and torture.
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18 September 2001 |