High Court of Malawi - 2021 March

17 judgments

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17 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
March 2021
30 March 2021
High Court dismissed strike-out application as incompetent because it relied on Supreme Court of Appeal rules.
Civil procedure – Order I r18 Supreme Court of Appeal Rules – concurrent jurisdiction; competence of applications; High Court Civil Procedure Rules; inherent jurisdiction to entertain preliminary objections; striking out notice of appeal.
30 March 2021
Lower court’s sale-and-share order set aside for failure to determine contributions, values and proportions; retrial ordered.
Family law – Dissolution of customary marriage – Distribution of matrimonial property – Need for separate ancillary hearing to determine values, contributions and intentions before ordering sale and division – Appellate power to set aside and order retrial (Courts Act s.22).
24 March 2021
Fourteen-year pre-trial detention breaches constitutional limits; court ordered release and held compensation is a civil claim.
Constitutional and criminal procedure law — unlawful prolonged pre-trial detention — section 42 rights and section 161G/H custody time-limits — remedy of immediate release — compensation for unlawful detention is a civil remedy — prison service duty to detect undocumented custody.
22 March 2021
Court found respondent negligent for speeding; police report insufficient to prove mechanical fault, damages to be assessed.
Delict — Motor vehicle negligence — duty of care and reasonable driving standard; proof of mechanical defect — need for expert evidence; admissibility and weight of police report as hearsay.
17 March 2021
Application to stay execution denied; surviving spouse entitled to retain matrimonial home absent special circumstances.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Matrimonial property — Surviving spouse’s entitlement to matrimonial home — Requirement to show special circumstances and prospect of success on appeal — Mere suspicion of sale insufficient as evidence
16 March 2021
Consent order did not create a binding sale at MK800,000; respondent must re-offer, claimant to accept within 30 days.
Property law – sale of government-owned house – whether internal valuations and correspondence create enforceable offer; consent order as 'no objection' rather than binding sale contract; re-offer and lapse of offer; rental arrears and equitable relief.
15 March 2021
12 March 2021
Court awarded K3,000,000 for proven pain, disfigurement and loss of amenities; special damages not proved.
Personal injury — assessment of general damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities and disfigurement; proof required for special damages; use of precedents and currency devaluation in fixing quantum.
9 March 2021
State liability for failure to investigate police-perpetrated sexual violence and assessment of compensation to the applicants.
Constitutional and human-rights law — State duty to investigate sexual violence — Failure of police to investigate rape and sexual assault — Violations of right to dignity, equality and protection from torture — Assessment of constitutional damages under s.46(4) — Civil standard of proof — Aggravating factor where perpetrators are state agents — Special protection and enhanced awards for minors.
9 March 2021
Police failure to investigate mass sexual assaults violated applicants' dignity, equality and access to justice; compensation awarded.
Police duty to investigate; sexual violence and rape by state agents; violation of dignity, equality and prohibition of torture; access to justice; restitution intergrum and compensation for human rights breaches; assessment of damages for minors and persons with disabilities; civil standard of proof.
9 March 2021
Applicants awarded compensation for police-perpetrated sexual violence and the Police Service's failure to investigate.
Constitutional and police duty to investigate sexual violence; violations of dignity, equality and prohibition of torture; damages for human-rights breaches; restitution integrum; state due-diligence obligation.
9 March 2021
Assessment of damages for cyclist’s injuries: K4,000,000 awarded; special damages rejected for lack of proof.
Assessment of damages – personal injury from road accident – awards for pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement, and loss of earnings – insufficiency of evidence for multiplicand/multiplier application and for special damages.
4 March 2021
Assessment of damages after liability: awards for pain, amenities, disfigurement; nominal earning award; special damages denied.
Assessment of damages – personal injury: awards for pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement; proof required for loss of earnings and special damages; use of comparable awards and adjustment for currency/inflation.
4 March 2021
Assessment of damages after a road accident: awards for pain, loss of amenities and disfigurement; special damages denied for lack of proof.
Personal injury – assessment of damages – road traffic accident – multiple fractures and facial injury – quantum for pain and suffering, loss of amenities, and disfigurement; Special damages – requirement of specific pleading and proof; Use of comparative awards and adjustment for currency value.
4 March 2021
Assessment of damages for personal injury: K3.4m awarded; special damages denied for lack of proof.
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4 March 2021
Claimant awarded K7,000,000 general damages for personal injuries; special damages refused for lack of proof.
Personal injury — assessment of damages — general damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities and disfigurement — quantum — special damages require proof — medical report (25% incapacity) — costs.
1 March 2021