High Court of Malawi - 2007 June

12 judgments
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Results. 12 judgments found.

12 judgments
June 2007
Carrier and depot held liable as bailees for lost goods; plaintiff partly contributorily negligent and damages apportioned 70/20/10.
  • Bailment and sub-bailment — carrier liability for servants' dishonesty — duty of reasonable care — onus on bailee to prove absence of negligence — exclusion clause requires prior notice — contributory negligence in contractual bailment — apportionment of damages and costs.
27 June 2007
Carrier and depot found liable as bailees for lost goods; exclusion notice not effective; plaintiff partly contributorily negligent.
  • Bailment and sub‑bailment — carrier and depot operator liability for loss or theft — incorporation of exclusion clause; contributory negligence; assessment and apportionment of damages.
27 June 2007
Court reduced a manifestly excessive five‑year sentence for grievous harm to 18 months, finding the facts warranted a lesser offence.
  • Criminal law — Sentence — Manifestly excessive sentence reduced on appeal — Wrongful charging: causing grievous harm (s238) where facts merited assault occasioning actual bodily harm (s254) — Relevant mitigation: youth, first offender, trivial circumstances.
25 June 2007
Court set aside maximum fine imposed without inquiry into appellant's ability to pay; ordered reassessment after means examined.
  • Sentencing — Fine imposed without inquiry into means — Excessive sentence — Statutory maximum fine under National Parks and Wildlife Act s110(b) — Guilty plea and first offender — Default imprisonment.
20 June 2007
Retrospective termination without notice breached contracts; plaintiffs awarded notice pay and contractual gratuity, no leave or costs awarded.
  • Employment law — breach of contract — retrospective termination without notice — payment in lieu of statutory notice — contractual gratuity — assessment of damages — absence of evidence of leave — Industrial Relations Court jurisdiction — no costs awarded.
18 June 2007
Court upholds anti‑defection clause as constitutional; independents unaffected; ministerial appointment alone not automatic floor‑crossing.
  • Constitutional law — anti‑defection (section 65(1)) — judicial review jurisdiction — Chapter IV rights and permissible limitations under section 44 — meaning and application of 'crossing the floor' — ministerial appointment and constructive resignation.
14 June 2007
Service by post to an incorrect address while the defendant was abroad was invalid; default judgment set aside.
  • Civil procedure — Service by post (O.10 r.1(2)(a)) — valid only if defendant within jurisdiction and sent to usual/last known address; misaddressed writ and defendant abroad render service invalid — default judgment set aside; execution unlawful; reimbursement of sheriff fees; defence to be filed within 14 days.
6 June 2007
Service by post to a wrong address while the defendant was abroad rendered the default judgment irregular and set aside.
  • Civil procedure — Service by post (O.10 r.1(2)(a) R.S.C.) — validity requires defendant to be within jurisdiction and use of plaintiff's "last known address" — improperly addressed/posting while defendant abroad renders service invalid — default judgment set aside ex debito justitiae — execution unlawful, sheriff fees repayable.
6 June 2007
Conviction for indecent assault upheld though charged with defilement; sentence reduced to time served.
  • Criminal law — Defilement charge reduced to indecent assault under s155(3) Criminal Procedure & Evidence Code — sufficiency and credibility of complainant’s evidence — sentencing discretion and appellate reduction to time served.
6 June 2007
Application to stay custody order pending appeal dismissed to avoid disrupting children's residence and risking harm.
  • Family law — Stay of execution — Custody and change of residence pending appeal — Welfare of children paramount — Practice (Order 59) to avoid relocating children unless appeal strong or stay exposes children to danger — Balancing interests of successful litigant and applicant.
5 June 2007
Convictions quashed: co-accused’s confession inadmissible against another and circumstantial evidence insufficient to support guilt.
  • Criminal law — Confession — Admissibility of one accused’s confession against a co-accused — s.176(2) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code; Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — sufficiency and safety of inference of guilt; Appeal — quashing unsafe convictions; return of seized property.
4 June 2007
Identification parade evidence upheld; appeal against conviction and ten-year sentence for violent armed robbery dismissed.
  • Criminal law — Armed robbery — Identification parade evidence and credibility — Whether stage-managed identification undermines conviction — Sentencing: appropriateness of ten-year term where robbery involved violence, bodily injury and property damage.
4 June 2007