Results.
75 judgments found.
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| December 2024 |
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Whether a stay pending appeal should be granted where employer alleges appeal merits but cites financial incapacity.
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Labour law — stay of execution pending appeal — criteria for granting stay (prima facie merits, nugatory appeal, prejudice) — unfair dismissal — retrenchment — consultation — ultra vires ministerial action — financial incapacity not determinative.
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23 December 2024 |
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A defendant who refers a constitutional challenge becomes the claimant; the Attorney General remains a neutral constitutional advisor.
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Constitutional law — Constitutional referrals — Whether Attorney General should be claimant where lower court certifies referral — Role of AG as neutral custodian of the Constitution
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Civil procedure — Order 19 CPR — Commencement and citation of constitutional proceedings — Party who moves the court should be claimant
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Constitutional law — Burden of proof — Presumption of constitutionality and onus on party challenging legislation
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17 December 2024 |
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Unexplained division of matrimonial property set aside and remitted for rehearing due to lack of reasons and analysis.
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Matrimonial property distribution — duty to give reasons — assessment of contributions and parties' intentions — improper delegation to Registrar — remittal for rehearing.
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17 December 2024 |
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Court granted a conditional stay pending appeal but required the respondent to pay 50% of each decretal award immediately.
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Industrial/Employment law — stay of execution pending appeal — onus on party seeking suspension — necessity for cogent evidence of impecuniosity or risk of appeal being rendered nugatory — balancing justice between parties — conditional stay by requiring substantial interim payments.
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3 December 2024 |
| November 2024 |
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Whether seized foreign currency should be forfeited where a businessperson hid funds and used a fake receipt, outweighing mitigating circumstances.
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Exchange control — Regulation 36(1) discretionary forfeiture of foreign currency — judicial exercise of discretion — aggravating factors (large sum, concealment, forged receipt, business person) v. mitigating factors (first offender, plea, alleged hardship) — precedents: Kamanga; Zheng Yan; Henry Kopa; Ashraf Bdallal El Ali — requirement to hear accused in opposition to forfeiture.
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20 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Interpleader claim dismissed where claimant failed to follow Sheriff Act procedure and did not prove ownership of seized goods.
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Interpleader relief; section 11(a)(iii) Courts Act; Order 29 CPR scope; section 20 Sheriff’s Act (Sheriff interpleader summons); burden to prove ownership of goods seized in execution.
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25 October 2024 |
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Application to file supplementary skeleton arguments deferred to the full bench; copies to be supplied by deadline or dismissed.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory application for leave to file supplementary skeleton arguments — judicial discretion — timing and service of filings — appropriateness of single-member determination where appeal listed before full bench — procedural directions and automatic dismissal for non-compliance.
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24 October 2024 |
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The applicant (Attorney General) lacks standing to be joined where government shareholding is held through a separate corporate entity.
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Joinder of parties — Order 6 r 7 CPR — person "affected by a proceeding"; Company law — separate legal personality (Salomon) and shareholder standing; Contractual clauses — exclusive jurisdiction vs arbitration clause; Civil Procedure Rules — overriding objective and active case management; Judicial conduct — recusal of judge.
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22 October 2024 |
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Failure to consult senior employees before retrenchment amounted to unfair dismissal and an unfair labour practice.
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Employment law — retrenchment for operational requirements — duty to consult employees — fair and equitable procedure under s.61(2) Employment Act and s.31 Constitution — consultant-led functional review — adequacy of consultation; legitimate expectation from proposed contract change; severance versus gratuity/pension entitlements; interest on wrongfully withheld severance.
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22 October 2024 |
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Insurer subrogation succeeds where driver of BR 398 failed to give way, entitling recovery of MK15,390,000 plus interest and costs.
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Road traffic negligence — duty to give way at junction; proof by photographs and damage pattern; insurer’s right of subrogation to sue in insured’s name; discretion to admit late documents under frontloading rules; award of compound interest and costs.
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18 October 2024 |
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The court ceased jurisdiction after referral to arbitration and declined to entertain further applications.
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Arbitration law — Referral to arbitration cedes court jurisdiction — Court obliged to honour arbitration agreement; inability to hear matters once jurisdiction ceded; procedural delay attributable to counsel’s failure to appoint arbitrator.
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16 October 2024 |
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Registrar rejects originating summons as procedurally defective, abusive, and brought by a claimant lacking standing.
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9 October 2024 |
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High Court found a substantive customary marriage despite statutory publication lapses and re‑ordered equitable distribution, directing executive action on MDFRA implementation.
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Family law — customary marriage formalities under MDFRA (ss.26–29) — effect of non‑compliance — recognition of marriage by substance and conduct; distribution of matrimonial property — principles of fairness, equitable/shared ownership and proof; jurisdiction of magistrate courts in customary divorce matters; state obligation to operationalize MDFRA registration regime.
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4 October 2024 |
| September 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused where triable disputes exist about authority, acknowledgment of assignment, and alleged fraud.
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Civil procedure — Summary judgment (Order 12 r.23–27 CPR 2017) — Assignment of proceeds as security — Agency and authority to bind third parties — Alleged fraud/inducement — Existence of triable factual disputes.
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23 September 2024 |
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Court refused to forfeit a bonded motor vehicle for late passport surrender, applying substantial justice and not punishing counsel‑caused delay.
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Bail conditions — bonded property — forfeiture for non‑compliance; substantial justice over technicality; liability for counsel’s procedural failures; exercise of judicial leniency.
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17 September 2024 |
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Emails revised the payment schedule but did not waive the contract expiry; repossession under Clause 14.2 was lawful and claimant's claim dismissed.
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Contract — Hire-purchase — Variation and waiver of payment terms by conduct and correspondence — Waiver by estoppel vs election — Repossession under contractual clause after default — Requirement to plead alleged breach/fraud and prove loss.
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13 September 2024 |
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Interlocutory injunction perpetuated where dispute exists whether respondent exceeded power of sale and damages would be inadequate.
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Interlocutory injunctions — American Cyanamid principles — serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages — perishable and depreciating business assets; power of sale under power of attorney; preservation of status quo; defendant’s retention as party despite transfer/registration.
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5 September 2024 |
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Court refused to dismiss for want of prosecution and ordered mediation, citing court-attributable delay.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — court’s inherent jurisdiction — undue delay partly caused by court’s failure to fix mediation date — order for mediation instead of dismissal; no order as to costs.
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3 September 2024 |
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Whether to discharge an interlocutory injunction and summarily dismiss a bank’s power-of-sale claim amid disputed loan figures and unregistered charges.
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Interlocutory injunctions — American Cyanamid test — serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; balance of convenience. Power of sale — Registered Land Act — requirement to register subsequent charges; effect of failure to register. Equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds. Duty to provide full statement of account and reconciliation. Summary disposal — no arguable case threshold
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3 September 2024 |
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Claimant in rent arrears; landlord’s seizure (distress) and sealing lawful; claimant’s tort and excess‑distress claims fail.
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Landlord and tenant — rent arrears — distress for rent — right to distrain by landlord or authorised officers without warrant — sealing of premises and re‑entry under lease — excess distress and damage — force majeure (COVID‑19) not available absent clause — false imprisonment and defamation not proved — counterclaim barred while distress subsists.
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3 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Registrar’s refusal to issue admission petitions was a judicial act; appeal, not judicial review, was the appropriate remedy.
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Judicial review — Registrar's refusal to issue court documents — issuance as a judicial function requiring application of judicial mind — decisions of Registrar exercising judicial functions not amenable to judicial review — alternative remedy by appeal — exhaustion of remedies.
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12 August 2024 |
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Permission for judicial review refused because the Assistant Registrar’s act was judicial and appeal, not review, was the appropriate remedy.
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Judicial review — Registrar’s functions — Issuance/rejection of court processes as judicial acts — Amenability to judicial review vs appeal — Alternative remedy (appeal) required before review — Natural justice and ultra vires challenge to admission-to-bar decision.
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12 August 2024 |
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Permission to seek judicial review denied because the Registrar acted in a judicial capacity and an appeal, not review, was the appropriate remedy.
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Administrative law — judicial review — registrar’s issuance of court processes is a judicial function; decisions by a registrar exercising judicial power are not amenable to judicial review but to appeal; judicial review is a remedy of last resort where alternative remedies exist.
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12 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
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Claims of negligence and defamation against auditors over a confidential forensic report dismissed; no duty owed to the claimant.
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Auditor liability — duty of care limited to commissioning client; negligent misstatement — proximity and foreseeability; defamation — necessity of adoption and publication; confidentiality and court-ordered disclosure; compliance with ISRS 4400.
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31 July 2024 |
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Applicants detained beyond the 90-day pretrial limit for murder; court found detention unlawful and ordered conditional release on bail.
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Constitutional right to challenge detention (s42) — pre-trial custody limit for murder (s161G CP & EC) — power to grant bail after expiry of custody time limit (s161I CP & EC) — unlawful detention — release on bail with conditions.
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29 July 2024 |
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Removal of a village headman without being heard breached natural justice and was quashed.
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Administrative law — Judicial review — Procedural fairness and natural justice; section 43 Constitution (administrative justice); Chiefs Act s.9 — appointment/removal of village headmen; interpretation of administrative circular; Wednesbury unreasonableness; remedy — certiorari and costs.
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26 July 2024 |
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Convictions upheld; enhanced sentences set aside because the appellant was not given notice or a hearing before enhancement.
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Criminal law — Defilement and child trafficking — Convictions upheld; Sentence enhancement — appellate increase set aside for failure to afford audi alteram partem — Right to be heard before adverse sentencing order — Late filing of skeleton arguments allowed as exception — State nonattendance at apex court criticized.
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23 July 2024 |
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Consent judgment ordering defendants to pay claimant, third party to refund failed forward-exchange proceeds, and State to ensure funding.
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Civil procedure — Consent judgment — Settlement enforcement; Commercial/contract law — refund for total failure of consideration under modified forward exchange contract; Escrow/escrow-account directions — joint control, restricted release and priority of disbursement; State involvement — direction to ensure funding to satisfy judgment.
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22 July 2024 |
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Default judgment for terminal benefits is not taxable; collection costs payable but without interest, Registrar to assess.
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Taxation of judgment debts — terminal/post-employment benefits — characterization of monthly payments as net versus gross — prohibition on double taxation — collection costs payable but no interest — Registrar to assess collection costs.
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22 July 2024 |
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Failure to inform an unrepresented accused of statutory defences in defilement proceedings vitiates the conviction and mandates retrial.
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Criminal procedure — Plea of guilty — s251(2) CP&EC — requirement to ascertain accused understands nature and consequences of plea; Criminal law — Defilement — s138 Penal Code — statutory defences (age-difference/consent) — duty of trial court to explain defences to unrepresented accused; Fair trial — omission to inform of defences vitiates conviction — conviction reversed and retrial ordered.
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21 July 2024 |
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Failure to comply with scheduling conference directions justified striking out the 1st defendant’s defence and dismissing its counterclaim.
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Civil procedure — scheduling conference directions — mandatory compliance with Order 14 — effect of non-compliance (Order 14 r.5) — striking out defence and dismissal of counterclaim as sanction — section 47 General Interpretation Act inapplicable to court directions — good cause required to avoid sanctions.
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17 July 2024 |
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The claimant cannot sue defendants to set aside a consent judgment for alleged former-counsel misconduct; action dismissed with prejudice.
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Civil procedure — Consent orders — Setting aside consent judgment — Grounds required: mistake/fraud or material/supervening change — Pleading particularity — Misconduct by former counsel is remedy against counsel, not basis against opposing parties — Frivolous/vexatious actions and abuse of process — Dismissal with prejudice and costs.
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17 July 2024 |
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Attempt to set aside a consent judgment dismissed as frivolous; claimant should sue former lawyers or enforce the order.
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Civil procedure — setting aside consent orders — requirement to plead mistake, misrepresentation or material supervening change — abuse of process — remedy against former lawyers or by enforcing consent judgment.
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17 July 2024 |
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Action to set aside a consent order dismissed as disclosing no reasonable cause and an abuse of court process.
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Civil procedure — setting aside consent orders — necessity to plead and particularise mistake, misrepresentation or material supervening event; remedies against former lawyers versus setting aside consent judgment; dismissal for frivolous, vexatious or abusive proceedings.
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17 July 2024 |
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Claimant failed to prove ownership or arbitrary appropriation; land was likely acquired via community consent and compensated, claim dismissed with costs.
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Property law — proof of ownership and representative capacity — arbitrary appropriation of land — customary land acquisition procedures and compensation — evidential burden and failure to call material witness.
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17 July 2024 |
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Driver negligent; claimant partly contributorily negligent; liability apportioned 60% defendants, 40% claimant; insurer limited by policy.
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Road traffic negligence — duty of care and lookout — narrow road and large vehicle — contributory negligence — apportionment 60/40 — vicarious liability of owner — insurer liability subject to policy limit (includes party-and-party costs).
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15 July 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Court upheld Penal Code provisions criminalising certain same-sex sexual conduct and dismissed constitutionality challenges.
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Constitutional law — Criminal law — Sections 153(a), 154, 156 Penal Code — Whether offences criminalising "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", attempts and male-on-male gross indecency violate rights to equality, privacy, dignity, personal liberty and fair trial — Interpretation of the Constitution — Scope of right to privacy — Presumption of constitutionality — Locus standi — Referral procedure for constitutional questions.
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28 June 2024 |
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Stay of execution upheld where registry-caused appeal delay and respondent’s concealment of related conviction negated discharge.
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Forfeiture and stay of execution — application to discharge stay for alleged inordinate delay — duty of Registrar/Registry to prepare record of appeal — shortcomings in record not attributable to appellant — concealment of parallel money-laundering conviction involving same seized funds — discretion to refuse relief and award costs.
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19 June 2024 |
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Whether a spouse’s omission to obtain urgent care plus toxicology and circumstantial evidence establish murder.
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Criminal law — Murder: elements (death, unlawful act/omission, malice aforethought) — Circumstantial evidence and last-seen doctrine — Post-mortem toxicology and algor mortis — Omission by spouse to obtain urgent care as actus reus/mens rea — Admissibility/weight of caution statement.
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6 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed for lack of mandatory leave and lateness; review misuse condemned and stays discharged for prompt prosecution.
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Criminal procedure — Appeals from High Court in criminal review — Mandatory requirement for leave under section 11(2) — Time limits for notice of appeal under section 17(1) — Misuse of review as substitute for appeal — Stays discharged and case remitted for directions.
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2 May 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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Court awarded MK6,000,000 compensatory damages for defamation but declined exemplary damages for lack of malicious publication.
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Defamation — libel for alleged robbery; compensatory damages awarded MK6,000,000 — exemplary damages refused for lack of malicious/guilty knowledge; claimant failed to prove pecuniary loss; damages must be pleaded and proved (Order 7 r.21); courts must balance reputation remedies with press freedom; UK personal-injury comparator not adopted.
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19 April 2024 |
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Marriages by repute cannot be dissolved via divorce petitions; seek declaratory finding and ancillary orders instead.
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Family law — Marriage by repute or permanent cohabitation — Whether such unions can be dissolved by a court — Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act ss 12, 13
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Civil procedure — Proper remedy for informal unions — Petition for divorce is inappropriate; seek declaratory finding and ancillary orders instead
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18 April 2024 |
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Failure to disclose parallel proceedings and attempting collateral attack on another court's decision amounted to abuse of process; action struck out.
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Civil procedure — Ex parte relief — Duty of full and frank disclosure of pending proceedings — Concurrent jurisdiction — Abuse of process — Action impermissible to challenge decisions of another court — Striking out and discharge of injunction; costs.
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15 April 2024 |
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Retrospective application of the FCA was found by necessary implication but did not violate constitutional protections against conviction for non-offences.
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Constitutional law — retrospectivity of statutes — Financial Crimes Act section 42 vs repealed MLA section 35 — interpretation of saving provision section 141(2) FCA — right not to be convicted for non-existent offence and protection against harsher retrospective penalties — procedural commencement via constitutional referral (Order 19 CPR).
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10 April 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Bank’s report to police not actionable as false imprisonment or defamation; claimant failed to prove medical causation or special damages.
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False imprisonment — distinction between reporting to police and laying charges; police’s independent discretion; defamation by imprisonment — imputations attributable to detaining authority; damages — causation and authentication of medical evidence; special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved.
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30 March 2024 |
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Prosecution must authenticate photo/video evidence, but acquittal stands where grievous harm under section 235(a) is not proved.
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Evidence — Admissibility of photographs and video — Section 179 CP&EC — Prima facie authentication by competent witness; Burden on prosecution to establish provenance and originality
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Criminal law — Section 235(a) Penal Code — Elements require unlawful wounding or grievous harm plus intention; medical evidence relevant to actus reus
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Criminal procedure — Review powers — High Court may correct misdirections but cannot substitute convictions for offences not charged; alternative verdicts constrained by Supreme Court authority (State must amend)
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20 March 2024 |
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Claims for false imprisonment, defamation and malicious prosecution failed; conversion established only as to retained office chattels, not the claimed money.
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False imprisonment — distinction between reporting a crime and laying charges; Malicious prosecution — must prove prosecution by defendant, favourable termination, lack of reasonable cause and malice; Conversion — wrongful retention of chattels and denial of access; Pleadings — evidence inconsistent with pleadings may be rejected; Civil standard of proof — balance of probabilities.
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19 March 2024 |
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Appellate court found the purported will invalid, held customary law must be proved under section 64, and restored land to the appellant and siblings.
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Succession and customary land — validity of will under DEWIPA — DEWIPA prevails over customary law on inheritance — customary law is a question of fact requiring proof under section 64 Courts Act — proof required before land can be treated as attached to chieftaincy — Magistrate court jurisdiction and remedies for property loss.
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18 March 2024 |
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Court reduced excessive costs, limited senior counsel and combined in-house fees, and awarded MWK21,625,940.25 in taxed costs.
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Costs assessment — Order 31 CPR 2017 — reasonableness and proportionality of costs; standard vs indemnity assessment (legal practitioner and own client); Senior Counsel fees and proof of use; allocation of hours and hourly rates; disallowance of MLS levy and duplicate VAT claims; care and conduct allowances.
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15 March 2024 |
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A statutory corporation (municipal council) is not exempt from enforcement under Order 34 rule 4 absent express statutory immunity.
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Civil procedure — Order 34 rule 4 CPR 2017 — exemption from enforcement applies to Government or public officers as defined by statute; statutory corporations do not automatically enjoy Crown-type immunities absent express statutory provision.
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6 March 2024 |