Results.
739 judgments found.
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| May 2026 |
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Application to set aside default judgment dismissed for unexplained delay, lack of meritorious defence and counsel misconduct.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Setting aside — Requirements under Order 12 Rule 21 CPR 2017 — Reasonable cause, meritorious defence, explanation of delay, interest of justice
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Professional misconduct — Misleading court and unauthorised removal/replacement of court file documents — Abuse of process and adverse effect on relief
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8 May 2026 |
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Whether a blanket prohibition on Indian Hemp possession without a religious exemption unjustifiably limits the applicant's freedom of religion.
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Constitutional law
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Freedom of religion — Prohibition on sacramental cannabis possession — Justifiable limitation under s44 of the Constitution
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Equality — Facially neutral drug prohibition — Not discrimination where law applies generally
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Human rights — Human dignity — Criminalisation of religious drug possession — Does not necessarily negate essential content of dignity right
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8 May 2026 |
| April 2026 |
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Court dismissed challenge: NGO lacked standing and pension and written‑particulars exemptions were constitutional.
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Constitutional law — Standing — Public interest/representative standing — Organisations must establish a direct or sufficient interest to litigate on behalf of others
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Labour and social security — Pension exemptions — Ministerial power to exempt classes from mandatory occupational pension — Reasonableness, proportionality and non‑discrimination; Pension Act s11; Constitution ss13, 20, 30, 31
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Employment law — Written particulars of employment — Threshold of five employees — Constitutionality and permissible limitation; Employment Act s27(4)
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16 April 2026 |
| November 2025 |
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Whether the applicant is entitled to continue an interlocutory injunction despite a one-day late filing and alleged non-disclosure and stamping issues.
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Interlocutory injunctions — Order 10 Rule 27 (CPR 2017) — American Cyanamid principles — serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; preservation of status quo — CPR Order 2 cure of irregularity — duty of full and frank disclosure for ex parte relief — equity and unclean hands — effect of unstamped agreements where party treats contract as operative.
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21 November 2025 |
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Section 100 petition confined to Commission‑decided complaints; one unsigned result sheet found but did not affect election, petition dismissed.
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Election law — Section 100 appeal limited to matters decided by the Commission; scope of election petitions; irregularity defined as non‑compliance with the Act; presiding officer’s signature mandatory on result sheets; criminal electoral offences (handouts, unlawful campaigning) are for criminal process and require conviction before affecting election outcome; burden of proof on petitioner on balance of probabilities.
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11 November 2025 |
| August 2025 |
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Claimant lacked a cognisable right and sufficient interest to seek judicial review of the appointment; application dismissed and costs awarded.
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Judicial review — permission stage — Order 19 rule 20 requirements — must show a right, interest or legitimate expectation affected and sufficient locus standi; speculative future grievances non-justiciable; interlocutory injunction falls away where permission denied; costs follow the event.
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20 August 2025 |
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18 August 2025 |
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18 August 2025 |
| April 2025 |
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Accrued annual leave cannot be forfeited; employer must pay untaken earned leave on termination.
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Employment law — Annual leave — Employer’s duty to grant leave; employee’s duty to take leave — No statutory forfeiture of accrued earned leave — Contractual clauses purporting to forfeit accrued leave void — Entitlement to payment for accrued untaken leave on termination (sections 44 and 45, Employment Act).
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25 April 2025 |
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The employer's appeal against compensation for the respondent's constructive dismissal was dismissed; s63 discretion upheld.
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Employment law — Unfair/constructive dismissal — Assessment of compensation — Sections 63(4) and 63(5) Employment Act — Immediate loss and future loss — Pleading standards in Industrial Relations Court — Statutory severance allowance (s35).
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4 April 2025 |
| March 2025 |
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Court awards K70,000,000 to the applicant for negligent medical treatment causing genital mutilation, including exemplary damages.
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16 March 2025 |
| February 2025 |
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Failure to serve the mandatory pre‑suit notice and the time‑barred nature of the dispute rendered the applicants’ claim and motion a nullity.
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Civil procedure — pre‑suit notice mandatory under Civil Procedure (Suits By and Against Government) Act s4 — non‑compliance renders action a nullity; administrative law — challenges to Ministerial implementation of statutory pension scheme are matters for judicial review; limitation — three‑month rule for judicial review; declaratory relief cannot circumvent pre‑suit notice requirement.
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3 February 2025 |
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Exit agreement signed under economic duress: dismissal unfair; applicant entitled to compensation and remedy hearing.
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Employment law — Unfair dismissal — Mutual release/exit agreement vitiated by economic duress; procedural fairness in disciplinary process; employer’s burden to prove valid reason for dismissal; compensation remedy.
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3 February 2025 |
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Dismissals for operational requirements without consultation were unfair; applicants entitled to compensation.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — operational requirements/retrenchment — statutory consultation requirement — justice and equity (s.61 Employment Act) — funding contingency clause — contractual notice period — compensation assessment.
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3 February 2025 |
| January 2025 |
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High Court reviewed and set aside subordinate custody order, awarding primary custody to the breastfeeding mother and ordering medical and social assessments.
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Family law — Custody — Best interests of the child — Infant breastfeeding as paramount consideration — High Court supervisory review under Section 26 Courts Act — Quashing subordinate court custody order — Orders for medical and social welfare assessments.
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22 January 2025 |
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Registrar rejects application for review due to improper signature, procedural non-compliance, and wrong forum for admissions.
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Civil procedure — rejection of documents; signature by named legal practitioner required; notice of change of legal practitioner (Order 33); sworn statement formalities (Order 18); jurisdiction for admissions — Chief Justice; abuse of court process; Rules Orders 5, 18, 25.
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22 January 2025 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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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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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| February 2024 |
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A party’s mere dissatisfaction with an arbitrator’s merits findings does not amount to misconduct warranting setting aside the award.
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Arbitration — setting aside award — misconduct standard — arbitrator’s procedural discretion — inspection of materials — merits disagreement not ground for removal of arbitrator.
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28 February 2024 |
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Court awards compensation and statutory severance using current salary, reduced for applicant’s partial contribution; appeal conditional on 50% payment.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal for procedural unfairness — assessment of compensation under s63(4) and (5) Employment Act — use of current salary to preserve purchasing power — partial contribution reduces discretionary award — statutory severance calculation (First Schedule, s35(2)) — appeal conditional on payment of 50% (no automatic stay).
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20 February 2024 |
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Preservation order expired after 90 days; no forfeiture application was pending, so frozen accounts must be unfrozen.
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Financial Crimes Act s67(b) — preservation orders expire after 90 days unless a forfeiture application is pending; meaning of "application pending"; Courts Act s3(1) — issuance/placement of process; civil forfeiture prerequisites and necessity of predicate offence; unfreezing accounts where preservation order expired.
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15 February 2024 |
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Whether arbitration was waived and unfulfilled conditions precedent rendered the share purchase agreement unenforceable.
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Arbitration clause — waiver by filing defence; Rule in Turquand — apparent authority of managing director/sole shareholder; Conditions precedent — failure to fulfil renders share purchase agreement unenforceable; Share transfer — essential for completion; Costs follow event.
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15 February 2024 |
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A very late, extensive re-amendment was refused where it would unfairly prejudice the respondent and disrupt court resources.
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Civil procedure — amendment of pleadings — O.7 r.23 CPR 2017 — very late re‑amendment after closure — overriding objective and case management — prejudice not compensable by costs — reintroduction of issues disposed at mediation.
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12 February 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused due to genuine disputes over repayment, interest, and entitlement to punitive damages.
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Summary judgment — Genuine dispute of fact — Repayment of guaranteed funds — Assessment of interest and loss — Punitive damages in contract require proof of deliberate tortious conduct — Mediation or trial required.
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12 February 2024 |
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Summary judgment granted for a written MK10,000,000 loan; defendant’s illegality and repayment defences found unarguable.
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Contract law — written loan agreement — existence and enforceability; summary disposal under procedural rules; illegality defence and Financial Services Act; unconscionability and bargaining power; estoppel and proof of repayment.
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6 February 2024 |
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1 February 2024 |
| January 2024 |
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Interim injunction continued pending trial as triable issue exists over whether a counteroffer negated the sale agreement; damages inadequate for land.
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Property law — interim injunction — existence of enforceable agreement for sale of land — whether offeree’s response amounted to a counteroffer or mere request for variation — adequacy of damages for land — balance of convenience — referral to mediation.
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25 January 2024 |
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Interim injunction maintained due to triable issue on offer/counteroffer and inadequacy of damages for land.
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Interim injunction — whether a triable issue exists as to formation of contract (offer v counteroffer) — uniqueness of land and inadequacy of damages — balance of convenience — continuation of interlocutory injunction; referral to mediation.
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25 January 2024 |
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Summary judgment granted where defence was a sham; stay for related criminal proceedings denied.
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Civil procedure — stay of civil proceedings pending criminal proceedings; summary judgment — general denial treated as sham under Order 7 r 6 CPR; monetary claims vs criminal restitution; party-and-party costs only.
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24 January 2024 |
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A dispute founded on employment contract restraints belongs to the Industrial Relations Court, not the High Court Commercial Division.
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Jurisdiction — High Court (Commercial Division) v Industrial Relations Court — employment contract disputes; restraint of trade in employment — enforceability and reasonableness vis-à-vis constitutional right to work (s.29); definition of "commercial matter" (Courts Act s.2).
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22 January 2024 |
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Whether a restraint-of-trade claim arising from employment belongs to the Industrial Relations Court rather than the Commercial Division.
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Jurisdiction — Commercial Division v Industrial Relations Court — enforcement of post‑termination restraint in employment contract — whether dispute is commercial or labour — reasonableness of restraint and constitutional right to economic activity (section 29).
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22 January 2024 |
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Court set aside stay of enforcement and issued a third‑party debt order against the respondent's bank for assessed costs.
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Civil procedure — stay of execution of costs order — setting aside stay for inordinate delay and failure to prosecute review — third‑party debt order against bank — respondent's ability to repay — costs awarded to respondent.
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4 January 2024 |
| December 2023 |
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Shareholder petition under Companies Act upheld as competent; strike-out and security-for-costs applications dismissed.
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Companies law — Shareholder actions (ss.341–343) — Distinction between derivative and personal/shareholder actions — Locus standi of post-IPO shareholders; Civil procedure — competency of strike-out applications — limits on invoking inherent jurisdiction; Security for costs — balancing exercise and evidence of ability to pay.
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29 December 2023 |
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22 December 2023 |
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Discharge of an INTERPOL red notice did not negate flight risk; court denied bail and recused itself.
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Criminal procedure — Bail — Change of circumstances — INTERPOL red notice discharge — Flight risk — Court’s independent discretion despite prosecution’s consent — Counsel’s duty to court — Recusal for perceived bias.
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15 December 2023 |
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Court awarded boosted compensation for unfair dismissal, including employer medical contribution and 20% employee apportionment.
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Labour law — unfair dismissal — compensation calculation — last known salary and employer MASM medical contribution included for compensation; severance calculated on basic salary only — employee contribution to dismissal (20%) reduces award — mitigation of loss (common law) not applied under Employment Act — uplift/boost for currency devaluation (82%).
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14 December 2023 |
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Court awarded boosted compensation for unfair dismissal, including employer medical contribution, reduced for 20% employee contribution.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal compensation — Sections 63(4) and 63(5) Employment Act — severance under Section 35 and First Schedule — inclusion of employer medical contribution in ‘wages’ for compensation — applicant’s contribution to dismissal (20%) — mitigation/common‑law principles held inapplicable as statutory scheme governs — boosting awards for currency devaluation (82%).
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14 December 2023 |
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Court assessed just and equitable compensation by service duration, excluded specified benefits from severance, and boosted awards 50% for devaluation.
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Labour law — unfair dismissal compensation — assessment under Employment Act ss.63(4),(5) — duration of service primary factor — mitigation of loss not a statutory requirement — severance computation per s.35(2) exclusions — uplift for currency devaluation (50%).
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12 December 2023 |