Results.
287 judgments found.
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| June 2017 |
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Court granted interlocutory injunction restraining church from excommunicating clergy pending trial.
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Civil Procedure — Interlocutory Injunction — Preservation of status quo pending trial — Application of American Cyanamid principles
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Ecclesiastical Law — Church Governance — Validity of conference and authority to convene — Effect on resolutions including excommunication
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Administrative Law/Natural Justice — Right to fair hearing — Whether clergy were afforded opportunity to be heard before excommunication
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12 June 2017 |
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Appeal against sentence in trafficking convictions; court corrected misrecorded charges and adjusted concurrent custodial terms.
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Criminal law — Trafficking in persons — Proper statutory charge (sections 14, 15, 16(1)(c)) — Sentencing discretion — manifestly excessive test — substitution/correction of charges where victim’s age or mental capacity misrecorded.
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12 June 2017 |
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Applicant's challenge to a chief's appointment dismissed because only the President may appoint chiefs; respondents were wrong parties.
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Administrative law — judicial review — proper parties; Attorney General not a proper respondent in judicial review unless office privy to challenged decision; Chiefs Act s.4 — appointment/recognition of chiefs vested in the President; action dismissed for being directed at wrong parties; interim stay discharged.
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9 June 2017 |
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Customary land sales are unenforceable; respondent’s inheritance upheld and the appellant’s appeal dismissed with costs.
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Customary land — communal ownership and administration by chiefs — alleged sale of customary land unenforceable; burden and credibility of evidence in land disputes; limitation defence misconceived.
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8 June 2017 |
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Application for judicial recusal dismissed: alleged bias grounded in procedural disputes and improper attempts to add parties was unreasonable.
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Recusal — apprehension of bias — test of the reasonable and fair‑minded observer; procedural complaints do not alone establish bias; adding parties requires proper application; recourse is by appeal, not judicial disqualification.
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8 June 2017 |
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8 June 2017 |
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7 June 2017 |
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Assessment of dismissal compensation involving factual issues requires a quorate IRC; a Chairperson sitting alone renders the decision a nullity.
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Labour law — Industrial Relations Court — quorum requirement (s.67 Labour Relations Act) — assessment of compensation involves questions of fact and law — Chairperson sitting alone incompetent — decision nullity; jurisdiction — acquiescence does not confer jurisdiction.
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7 June 2017 |
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Failure to explain plea consequences and statutory defilement defence to unrepresented accused rendered the trial unfair; accused discharged absolutely.
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Criminal procedure — recording of guilty plea — proviso to s.251(2) (ascertainment of understanding and consequences) — failure renders plea defective; Criminal law — defilement — statutory defence of reasonable belief as to age — duty to inform unrepresented accused; Remedy — conviction quashed/sentence set aside and discharge under s.337(1)(b) where mitigating circumstances exist.
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7 June 2017 |
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7 June 2017 |
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Accused convicted of murder for acting in joint enterprise; provocation and self‑defence rejected.
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Criminal Law
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Murder — Joint enterprise and liability for fatal acts committed in concert — Application of s.209 and s.22 Penal Code
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Mens Rea — Malice aforethought by use of dangerous weapons — Section 212 Penal Code
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Defences — Provocation and self‑defence assessed; provocation insufficient to reduce to manslaughter (ss.213–214)
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7 June 2017 |
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Court allowed deterrent custody for unlawful possession/sale of prescription medicines but reduced sentence and imposed a fine.
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Criminal Law — Sentencing — Deterrent custodial sentences for first offenders in cases of unlawful possession and sale of prescription medicines — Application of ss339–340 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — Pharmacy, Medicine and Poisons Regulations Reg.35(1)/s65(1)
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6 June 2017 |
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5 June 2017 |
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Leave granted for judicial review of customs seizure due to disputed vehicle identity and unpaid duty.
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Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Leave to Apply — Arguable case threshold at leave stage
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Revenue Law — Customs Seizure — Identity of seized vehicle and payment of duties — Seizure pending payment of customs duty
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5 June 2017 |
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Part payment without documentary proof of full settlement constitutes admission; failure to prove settlement warrants judgment on admission.
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Civil procedure — Judgment on admission (Order 29) — Part payment as admission of liability — Burden to prove full and final settlement — Evidentiary requirement for settlement documentation.
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1 June 2017 |
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Interim injunction granted to restrain alleged unlawful transfer of village headship pending customary succession dispute.
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Injunctions — Interim relief to preserve status quo — Disputes over customary leadership succession — Chewa customary authority and lineage claims — Role of affidavit evidence in interlocutory relief.
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1 June 2017 |
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Registrar erred by deciding disputed factual issues under Order 14; appeal allowed and ruling set aside with costs.
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Civil procedure — Appeal from Registrar — Order 14 RSC — Improper summary disposal of disputed factual issues — Rescission of sale — Local authority powers (s.35 Local Government Act) — Contractual privity — Remittal for full hearing.
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1 June 2017 |
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Appellate court upheld lower court's credibility finding in a customary land dispute and dismissed the appeal with costs.
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Customary land — communal ownership — chiefs’ power to authorize use under Land Act ss.25–26 — limits of chiefs’ authority — allocation vs individual title; civil proof on balance of probabilities; credibility findings on customary land disputes; relationship between Traditional Authority determinations and court jurisdiction.
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1 June 2017 |
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1 June 2017 |
| May 2017 |
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Applicant failed to prove adultery but proved cruelty; decree nisi of divorce granted on cruelty.
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Family law — applicable statute — pre-2015 marriage governed by Divorce Act; Divorce — grounds — adultery (burden and proof; circumstantial inference; condonation); Cruelty — definition, evidence and standard; Decree nisi granted for cruelty; Jurisdiction — domicile and non-collusion.
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31 May 2017 |
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Driver’s excessive speed at a zebra crossing caused the plaintiff’s injuries; insurer liable subject to statutory limit; special damages unproven.
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Motor vehicle negligence — duty of care to pedestrians — excessive speed at zebra crossing — eyewitness evidence accepted — causation of fractures — special damages require strict proof — insurer liability limited by Section 148 Road Traffic Act — costs to successful party.
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30 May 2017 |
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Court struck out defendant's general-denial defence as an abuse of process for lacking a bona fide triable issue.
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Civil procedure — Striking out defence — General denial — Abuse of process — Triable issue — Affidavit evidence to contradict documents — Assessment of damages versus substantive triable issue.
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30 May 2017 |
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Employer liable for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution where it procured police action; defamation claim not proved.
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Tort — False imprisonment — Employer’s instigation of police action; Malicious prosecution — elements: prosecution by defendant, favorable termination, lack of reasonable/probable cause, malice; Defamation — requirement to plead and prove specific defamatory words or conduct; Failure to call key witnesses and produce documents adverse inference.
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29 May 2017 |
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Originating summons and declaratory relief cannot be used to pursue contested factual claims for damages and conversion.
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Civil procedure — Originating summons — Inappropriate where substantial disputes of fact exist; Declaratory judgment — limited, discretionary remedy; cannot be used to obtain executory consequential relief (damages) in contested factual matters; Consequential relief must correspond to action capable of executory relief.
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26 May 2017 |
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Section 148 CP&EC permits only summary restitution of property in the offender’s possession; money‑laundering recovery was time‑barred.
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Criminal Procedure — Restitution under section 148 CP&EC — Scope limited to offences in specified Penal Code chapters and to property in offender’s possession at apprehension
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Money Laundering — Confiscation and pecuniary penalties — Statutory time limits for applications; delay bars recovery under the Money Laundering Act
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Penal Code — Section 29 — Commutation of payments to imprisonment — Inapplicable where no restitution order is made
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25 May 2017 |
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Section 148 CP&EC allows only summary restitution of property in a convict’s possession; it cannot replace time‑barred Money Laundering Act recovery.
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Criminal Law
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Restitution — Application of section 148 CP&EC to restitution of property in convict’s possession at arrest
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Asset Recovery — Time limits and procedural requirements for confiscation and pecuniary orders under the Money Laundering Act
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25 May 2017 |
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A stay pending appeal requires proof of a valid, served notice of appeal; absence of such proof defeats the stay.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — requirement to file and serve notice of appeal under Order XXXIII r.1(3)(4) — failure to exhibit notice defeats stay; Subordinate courts — jurisdictional monetary limit under s.39 Courts Act; Procedural form — interplay between ex parte and inter partes summons; Service and affidavit proof.
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24 May 2017 |
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Stay of execution pending appeal refused for lack of special circumstances and failure to prove respondents’ inability to repay.
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Stay of execution pending appeal — applicant must show special circumstances; burden on applicant to prove respondents’ inability to repay; prospects of success on appeal not determinative; appeal does not automatically operate as a stay; protection of successful litigant’s fruits of litigation.
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23 May 2017 |
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Court clarified that a retrial ordered "within three months" requires commencement, not completion, within that period.
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Criminal procedure — retrial ordered "within three months" — interpretation of temporal orders — requirement to commence retrial versus to conclude retrial — custody and release implications.
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23 May 2017 |
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Court stayed an IRC costs order pending appeal because applicant showed prospects of success and risk of a nugatory appeal.
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Stay of execution pending appeal; costs orders by Industrial Relations Court; Labour Relations Act s.72(1)&(2); prospects of success; risk of rendering appeal nugatory; impecuniosity of successful litigant.
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22 May 2017 |
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Mixed labour and defamation claims must be split: unfair-termination matters to the Industrial Relations Court, defamation retained in the High Court.
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Labour law — jurisdiction — Industrial Relations Court original jurisdiction — mixed claims — defamation for High Court — transfer of unfair dismissal claim.
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22 May 2017 |
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Court vacated an interim injunction over land, finding a triable issue but favouring defendant’s possession and ordering no disposal pending trial.
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Land law — interim injunctions — triable issue requirement — adequacy of damages (land unique) — balance of convenience — possession and evidence of sale — injunction vacated pending trial.
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22 May 2017 |
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Court assessed and awarded MK2,900,000 for general damages; refused unproved special damages.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages; general damages (pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement); special damages require strict proof; use of comparative awards and adjustment for currency devaluation; court inspection of injuries.
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22 May 2017 |
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Interim injunction discharged for non‑disclosure of DSSA expiry; dispute is commercial and must be transferred to the Commercial Division.
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Commercial law — Dealer Sales and Service Agreement — Ex parte interlocutory injunction — Suppression of material facts — R. v. Kensington Income Tax Commissioners principle — Discharge of injunction — Courts Act: definition of "commercial matter" — Transfer to Commercial Division under s.6A
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22 May 2017 |
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22 May 2017 |
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Interlocutory injunction continued to protect asserted use-and-occupation rights in customary land pending resolution of disputed authority and jurisdiction.
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Customary land — rights to use and occupy (distinct from registered title) — interlocutory injunction — adequacy of damages — balance of convenience — authority of seller and jurisdiction of chief to witness customary land transaction.
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22 May 2017 |
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Insurer liable under s.148 for death caused by negligent driving; solicitor removal requires compliance with Order 67 RSC.
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Motor vehicle accidents — Driver's duty of care and excessive speed — Negligence causing death — Insurer's statutory liability under section 148 Road Traffic Act — Assessment of damages for loss of dependency and expectation of life — Change/removal of solicitor on record; Order 67 RSC compliance.
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22 May 2017 |
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Applicant detained since 2015 for homicide granted bail pending trial subject to strict surety, reporting, and travel conditions.
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Criminal procedure — Bail pending trial — Long remand without trial — State not opposing bail — Imposition of strict conditions including cash deposit, bonded sureties, periodic police reporting, travel restrictions and surrender of travel documents.
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19 May 2017 |
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Assessment awarded MK1,271,120 for loss of expectation of life and dependency; special damages denied for lack of proof.
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Damages assessment — loss of expectation of life and loss of dependency; multiplicand-and-multiplier method; effect of currency devaluation on conventional awards; strict proof required for special damages; apportionment among dependants.
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19 May 2017 |
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Default judgment set aside for lack of service; interested party joined and defendant’s name corrected; merits to be heard urgently.
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Land dispute — Default judgment — Relief from default (O19 r9; O13 r9) — Service of process — Joinder of interested third party — Correction of party name — Merits hearing urgent.
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18 May 2017 |
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Whether pre‑MRA civil service tenure transfers to MRA and correct calculation of severance, notice and redundancy entitlements.
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Employment law — transfer vs secondment under statutory authority (s.27 MRA Act) — severance allowance vs contractual redundancy benefits — characterization of "ex gratia" payments — mitigation of loss — just and equitable compensation under s.63 Employment Act — adjustment for inflation/devaluation — exemplary damages and interest.
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18 May 2017 |
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Court granted interlocutory injunction restraining respondent from executing suspensions pending trial on alleged breach of right to education.
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Civil Procedure — Interim Relief — Interlocutory injunction — Preservation of status quo pending trial
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Constitutional Law — Right to Education — Suspension/Expulsion — Alleged breach and natural justice considerations
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16 May 2017 |
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Applicant failed to show a triable issue and used improper originating summons procedure; judicial review required and injunction vacated.
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Administrative law — accreditation decisions — minimum standards versus scoring; confidentiality of evaluation criteria; interim injunction test — no triable issue where improvement plan unimplemented; procedural law — judicial review required for public law challenges (O'Reilly v Mackman exception inapplicable).
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16 May 2017 |
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Pictorial caption implying corruption held defamatory; applicants awarded damages and costs.
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Defamation — publication and reference — pictorial juxtaposition with caption — imputation of dishonesty/corruption — sting v. antidote — damages and costs.
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16 May 2017 |
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Whether adverse possession under the Limitation Act can extinguish customary land rights; court affirms need to prove customary-law doctrine and upholds factual findings.
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Property law — Customary land — Adverse possession — Limitation Act s6 not applicable to customary land which vests in the President (Land Act s25); proof required of any equivalent customary-law doctrine (Courts Act s64) — Appellate review of factual credibility and site visit.
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16 May 2017 |
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Assessment of fatal-accident damages: loss of expectation of life and pecuniary dependency using statutory minimum wage proxy.
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Damages assessment — fatal road accident — loss of expectation of life — loss of dependency — use of statutory minimum wage as proxy for earnings — multiplier of four — dependants’ share approximately two-thirds.
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12 May 2017 |
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Court refused immediate strike-out for non-compliance, ordering filing of witness statements by deadline or else defence struck out.
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Civil procedure — Failure to comply with order for directions — Order 2 RSC (cure of irregularities) — Inherent jurisdiction — Strike-out of defence — Final opportunity to comply with procedural orders.
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12 May 2017 |
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Failure of counsel to diarise a hearing does not excuse non-attendance; clients are bound by their lawyer's omissions.
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Civil procedure — Restoration of struck-out actions — Non-attendance on set hearing date — Failure to diarise not a sufficient reason for restoration — Client bound by acts/omissions of counsel — Order 35 r.1 RSC; Practice Note 35/3/1.
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12 May 2017 |
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Court refused to convert judicial review to writ proceedings and ordered inter partes leave hearing to proceed.
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Judicial review — Conversion to action — Order 53 r9(5) — Appropriate only where relief unsuitable for judicial review — Leave to apply for judicial review — Disputed facts, discovery and cross‑examination considerations — Wednesbury unreasonableness.
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12 May 2017 |
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11 May 2017 |