Results.
15 judgments found.
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| February 2022 |
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The claimant succeeded in libel where false, malicious imputations defeated fair-comment and privilege defences; apologies and damages ordered.
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Defamation (libel) — public interest reporting — fair comment and qualified privilege — malice defeats privilege — justification (truth) and burden of proof — remedies: apology, damages, costs.
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28 February 2022 |
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Rehearing allowed limited to cross‑examination where defaulting defendant showed promptness, good reason, and reasonable prospects.
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Civil procedure — rehearing of judgment entered in absence — Order 16 r 7 — promptness, good reason (law‑firm software failure), reasonable prospects — sealing and citation defects not fatal.
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25 February 2022 |
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A bare/general denial contrary to CPR Order 7 warrants striking out the defence and judgment for the claimant.
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Civil Procedure Rules 2017 — Order 7 Rules 6 & 7 — pleading requirements; general/bare denial; strike out of defence; holding defences; amendment of statement of case; interlocutory procedure; duty to exhibit amended pleadings and file skeleton arguments.
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24 February 2022 |
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Sworn statements containing legal argument and opinion may be expunged; expert evidence requires prior court permission.
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Civil procedure — Admissibility of affidavits — Order 18 r6: affidavits must contain facts deponable from personal knowledge, not legal argument or opinion — Expert evidence — Order 17 r19: court permission required to call expert evidence; must identify issue requiring expert — Points of law — Order 16 r6(2): where facts agreed, court may decide questions of law — Striking defective affidavits; nullity where admissible and inadmissible material interwoven.
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18 February 2022 |
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An order that terminates prosecution and sets accused at liberty constitutes a final, appealable order under section 346.
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Criminal procedure — Appealability of subordinate court rulings — Meaning of "order" in s.346 — Distinction between interlocutory and final orders — Stay/entrapment orders and release of accused as final and appealable — High Court review jurisdiction in criminal matters.
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17 February 2022 |
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Assessment awarded K6,313,282.84 for fire losses; negligence is not a separate head of damage; police inventory and quotations accepted.
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Civil damages — assessment after default judgment — admissibility of police report and market quotations for special damages — negligence not a distinct head of damage — restitutionary approach with uplift for delay.
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16 February 2022 |
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Application to amend notice of appeal and stay enforcement is premature until the appeal record is settled; interim non-enforcement ordered.
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Civil procedure — Appeals — Entry of appeal; Order 111 rules 10, 11 and 19 — Record of appeal must be settled and filed before Supreme Court is seized — Applications to amend notice of appeal or stay enforcement premature until appeal entered — Interim restraint on enforcement pending record settlement — Costs each party to bear.
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15 February 2022 |
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Administrator General appointed; Letters of Administration revoked; audit and restitution ordered after veil lifted and fraudulent asset disposals found.
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Probate and intestacy — scope of estate — distinguishing personal assets from company assets — lifting corporate veil where company used to defeat inheritance rights — revocation of Letters of Administration obtained by material misrepresentation — appointment of Administrator General — audit and restitution orders — protection of minor dependants.
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15 February 2022 |
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Claimant proved a likely forged transfer to a subsequently-created trust; court ordered rectification restoring original joint ownership.
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Registered Land Act — registration vests leasehold title; transfer by instrument — requirement of prescribed form and witnessing; alleged forgery of transfer — proof on balance of probabilities; transfer to trust created after transfer — invalid; rectification of register for fraudulently obtained registration.
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14 February 2022 |
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Landlord's failure to remove prior occupiers constituted breach; frustration, insurance and arbitration defenses rejected.
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Contract law — valid written contracts for traffic management — landlord's duty to provide access and remove prior occupiers — frustration by third party; foreseeability and prior knowledge — insurance clause and arbitration clause do not absolve landlord from liability for fundamental breach — damages for loss of contract performance.
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10 February 2022 |
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A prior summary judgment on liability does not automatically bind new claimants; each must litigate negligence on the merits.
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Civil procedure — summary judgment — res judicata — effect of prior judgment on separate claimants — consent order as compromise on damages — negligence claims from quarry blasting.
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10 February 2022 |
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Whether section 9’s Preliminary Inquiry follows CP&EC Part VIII, witness presence, authentication, and reconciling treaty obligations.
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Extradition — Preliminary Inquiry under section 9 Extradition Act — Part VIII CP&EC applies mutatis mutandis; extradition character: criminal; witness presence — physical preferred but virtual allowed in appropriate cases; evidence taken before foreign competent court under Evidence by Commissions Act effective; authentication governed by section 13 Extradition Act; treaty obligations (pacta sunt servanda) to be respected when possible.
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8 February 2022 |
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Preliminary inquiries under the Extradition Act follow Part VIII CP & EC; witnesses’ physical presence is preferred but may be dispensed with under defined procedures.
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Extradition law — section 9 Preliminary Inquiry construed as Part VIII CP & EC preliminaries; extradition committal is criminal in nature; Criminal Division has jurisdiction to review committals; witness presence preferred but not absolute—virtual testimony or foreign court examination permissible; authentication governed by section 13 of the Extradition Act and Evidence by Commissions Act.
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8 February 2022 |
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An application to reopen a final 2016 disciplinary disbarment was rejected: the High Court had jurisdiction, gave adequate notice, and was functus officio.
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Legal practitioners — Disciplinary jurisdiction of High Court under s.21 Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act — Reasonable opportunity to be heard via national publication and Malawi Law Society involvement — Functus officio and finality of judgments — Abuse of process in reopening final disciplinary orders.
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8 February 2022 |
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High Court may review subordinate court decisions, including interlocutory rulings, to protect fair trial rights after late disclosure.
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Constitutional and statutory review — High Court supervisory jurisdiction over subordinate courts — Sections 25–28 Courts Act and sections 360–363 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — party-initiated and interlocutory review — adjournment and fair trial rights following late disclosure.
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8 February 2022 |