High Court of Malawi - 2019

222 judgments
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Results. 222 judgments found.

222 judgments
April 2019
Summary judgment granted where defendants' contributory‑negligence plea was a bare, unverified holding defence.
  • Civil procedure — Summary judgment (Order 12 r.23 CPR) — Sham/holding defence — Pleading requirements (Order 7 r.1, r.7 CPR) — Contributory negligence — Need for factual particulars, verification and list of documents.
30 April 2019
30 April 2019
30 April 2019
30 April 2019
30 April 2019
30 April 2019
Appeal against dismissal for failing to secure a failed train dismissed; disciplinary process found fair and lawful.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — validity of reason — failure to secure failed train with sprags; Procedural fairness — right to be heard and impartial disciplinary panel; Labour Relations Act s65 — appeals on question of law; Internal appeal — effect on procedural defects; Justice and equity under Employment Act.
29 April 2019
Whether circumstantial evidence and retracted caution statements can sustain a murder conviction absent a body.
  • Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence and confessions — Admissibility and weight of retracted caution statements (s.176 CP&EC) — Conviction without recovery of body — Common intention (ss.21–22 Penal Code).
26 April 2019
25 April 2019
24 April 2019
Court taxed party-and-party costs after reducing excessive time, allowed mediation costs, fixed hourly rate at K25,000, and taxed total K4,498,556.50.
  • Costs taxation — principles of reasonable and proportionate costs; hourly rates for counsel; recoverability of mediation costs; care and conduct allowance; instruction fees; limits on messenger/filing at counsel rates.
23 April 2019
18 April 2019
15 April 2019
15 April 2019
12 April 2019
11 April 2019
Court reversed acceptance of a presidential nomination due to lack of party authorization and improper countersignature.
  • Electoral law — nomination irregularity at nomination stage — justiciability of intra-party disputes — onus of proof under Political Parties Act s.37 — authority of party office-bearer to countersign nomination papers.
11 April 2019
The applicant was awarded compensation for unfair dismissal, severance pay, and damages for defamatory slander by the respondent.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — assessment under s63(4),(5) Employment Act 2000; employer blameworthiness and employee contribution; calculation of compensation and severance pay
  • Defamation — slander actionable per se where criminal conduct (theft) is imputed; assessment of general damages, comparable awards and inflation considerations
10 April 2019
Applicant failed to show sufficient reason to extend time to file a client’s own bill of costs.
  • Civil Procedure — Extension of time — Order 31 r.12 CPR — "sufficient reason" for delay — discretion exercised in interests of justice — inadequate affidavit — taxation of client’s own bill of costs — prejudice to administration of justice.
9 April 2019
Decree nisi granted for cruelty; custody to petitioner, maintenance, compensation and costs awarded; matrimonial house claim dismissed.
  • Divorce — Applicable law for pre-Act marriages — pre-2015 marriages governed by prior law; Jurisdiction — domicile; Grounds — adultery condoned; cruelty established by one act and pattern of conduct; Custody — best interests of children; Maintenance order; Compensation; Matrimonial house claim inapplicable to civil marriage; Costs awarded to petitioner.
9 April 2019
9 April 2019
8 April 2019
5 April 2019
Court refused late-stage live broadcasting request, balancing press freedom against accused’s right to a fair trial and court discretion.
  • Broadcasting court proceedings — audiovisual and audio coverage — balancing freedom of expression/press with accused’s right to fair trial — open justice — judicial discretion and safeguards — late-stage applications risk prejudice to accused.
3 April 2019
2 April 2019
The applicant proved on the balance of probabilities that the insured driver's negligent overtaking caused a fatal accident, making the respondent insurer liable.
  • Motor-vehicle accident — negligence — duty of care of driver — admissibility and probative value of police accident reports — insurer liability for negligence of insured driver.
1 April 2019
March 2019
Assessment of personal injury damages awarding differing sums for pain, suffering, disfigurement and special damages.
  • Personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering, loss of amenities and disfigurement — use of comparable awards as guide — special damages awarded — insurer allowed but did not prove policy exhaustion.
29 March 2019
29 March 2019
Unauthorized commercial use of plaintiffs' family image violated privacy; damages and costs awarded, but no dignity violation.
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27 March 2019
A village headman lacks statutory authority to administer customary land; the Traditional Authority must determine occupancy after consultation.
  • Land law — Customary land administration — Land Act s.26 — Chiefs Act — distinction between Chief and Village Headman — authority to authorize occupation of customary land — requirement of consultation and due process.
27 March 2019
26 March 2019
Application to stay dismissal for want of prosecution was improperly grounded under Orders 12 and 21 and was dismissed with costs.
  • Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — stay of ruling — Order 12 rule 55(1) (setting aside dismissal by agreement or on appeal) — Order 21 (appeals from subordinate courts) — High Court lacks jurisdiction to set aside dismissal on the basis advanced where appeal remedy lies with appellate court.
26 March 2019
26 March 2019
Claim for revised invoice rates upheld; defendant justified in deducting re‑fumigation costs; compound interest awarded; collection indemnity denied.
  • Civil procedure — court divisions and jurisdiction; contract formation and variation by conduct; estoppel to deny agreed revised prices; warranty of beetle‑free fumigation; lawful deduction for re‑fumigation costs; award of compound interest; collection costs not recoverable after litigation.
26 March 2019
Letters of administration granted; estate must be administered and distributed under section 17, giving spouse and children equal shares.
  • Probate — Letters of administration — Intestacy distribution under section 17 — Equal shares for spouse and children — District authority guidance on administration.
25 March 2019
Assessment of damages for serious road‑traffic injuries: awards for pain and suffering, lost earnings and loss of earning capacity.
  • Personal injury — assessment of damages — non‑pecuniary damages (pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement); pecuniary loss — past lost earnings; loss of earning capacity — multiplicand/multiplier approach; special damages — lost goods and cash; costs for reports.
25 March 2019
Judicial review allowed where university promotion decisions and a journal 'whitelist' raise public-law, ultra vires and procedural-fairness issues.
  • Administrative law — judicial review — amenability of employment-related decisions to judicial review where public-body decision-making, ultra vires action, or procedural fairness is in issue; limitation — three months from final administrative decision.
25 March 2019
A default judgment entitles claimants to pursue distribution; defendants must seek restoration to challenge it, not strike out the summons.
  • Probate — distribution summons — attempt to strike out under inherent jurisdiction — default judgment binding unless set aside — non-attendance at mediation — restoration of defence under Order 13 rule 6(2).
22 March 2019
22 March 2019
Claimant awarded K10,296,436.64 for wrongful death—life expectancy, dependency and funeral expenses.
  • Personal injury — Wrongful death — Assessment of damages: loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency (multiplicand and multiplier); funeral expenses — proof and award without detailed receipts; reliance on comparable awards and WHO life-expectancy statistics.
19 March 2019
Court awarded K5,500,000 general damages and K4,000 special damages for severe elbow and chest injuries; insurer’s liability capped at K5,000,000.
  • Personal injury — Assessment of damages — fractured olecranon and elbow dislocation, chest and pelvic contusions — general damages for pain and loss of amenities — proof and award of special damages — reliance on comparable authorities and inflation — insurer’s contractual policy limit caps liability.
18 March 2019
Court ruled there was a case to answer under section 254(1); accused must enter defence.
  • Criminal procedure — Case to answer — Section 254(1) — Prima facie test — When to rule no case to answer — Requirement to give reasons for no-case rulings (ss.139–140).
18 March 2019
16 March 2019
Permission for judicial review set aside where claimant lacked an arguable case and had unexhausted alternative remedies.
  • Administrative law — judicial review permission — requirement of an arguable case and exhaustion of alternative remedies; Tax law — scholarship/bursary exemption requires ministerial approval; procedural — setting aside permission and costs.
15 March 2019
The appellant's defilement conviction was upheld on credible child, maternal and medical evidence; sentence reduced from 11 to 8 years.
  • Criminal law — Defilement of child under 16 — Child’s unsworn evidence and circumstantial corroboration; admissibility of medical reports — compliance with s180(3) — oral evidence of medical officer; sentencing — youth and first offender mitigation; appellate reduction of sentence.
14 March 2019
14 March 2019
14 March 2019
11 March 2019
11 March 2019
Sole credible eyewitness proved driver negligence; insurer's non-reporting defence did not defeat the plaintiff's claim.
  • Motor vehicle accident — Insurer liability — Proof of negligence on balance of probabilities — Sole eyewitness credibility — Failure to report accident to insurer not dispositive of claimant's entitlement.
11 March 2019