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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2021 |
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Child claimant awarded K6,000,000 for pain and disfigurement and K1,500,000 for loss of amenities after serious leg injuries.
Personal injury — assessment of damages — open fracture of tibia and fibula; degloving wound and skin grafting — permanent scar and limp — quantum for pain, suffering, disfigurement and loss of amenities — psychiatric injury not proven — child claimant.
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24 November 2021 |
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Permission for judicial review and an urgent injunction refused for lack of an arguable, non‑speculative case.
Judicial review — permission stage — arguable case requirement; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act — designated authority; ultra vires and Wednesbury unreasonableness; interlocutory injunction — without notice; admissibility of affidavit evidence.
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24 November 2021 |
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Defendant’s residence and service in Malawi confer jurisdiction; lex loci delicti governs substantive law, not forum choice.
Jurisdiction – forum non conveniens – presence and service – action in personam; Conflict of laws – lex loci delicti governs applicable substantive law, not jurisdiction; Online defamation – place of access/publication and choice of law; Procedure – interlocutory injunctions governed by Malawian rules; Foreign law proof – Order 17 r 60.
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12 November 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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Standard-basis taxation reduced an inflated costs bill to K4,520,440.00, stressing proportionality and required supporting documents.
Costs taxation — standard basis assessment — proportionality and reasonableness — Legal Practitioners’ hourly rates (K40,000/hr for senior counsel) — requirement to attach assessment bundle — trimming exaggerated or unsupported bill items.
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14 September 2021 |
| August 2021 |
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Interlocutory injunction preserving disputed estate upheld where claimants showed a triable issue and damages were inadequate.
Interlocutory injunctions – ex parte injunctions – suppression/non-disclosure of material facts – letters of administration – administration and distribution of deceased estate – adequacy of damages – preservation of status quo – balance of convenience.
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26 August 2021 |
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Claimant with scrotal rupture awarded MK7.5M for pain and loss of amenities; permanent impotence insufficiently proven.
Personal injury – workplace scrotal laceration exposing testes – assessment of general damages; pain and suffering; loss of amenities (sexual/conjugal life) – evidence required to prove impotence; disfigurement claim not pleaded/proven – award MK5,000,000 (pain) and MK2,500,000 (amenities).
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23 August 2021 |
| July 2021 |
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Minister’s tacit recognition of an acting chief was ultra vires absent written presidential delegation and without customary consultation.
Chiefs Act s10 – appointment of Acting Traditional Authority; delegation of presidential powers – written delegation required (General Interpretation Act s35(1); Constitution s89(6)); customary law and royal‑family consultation required for acting appointments; tacit administrative decisions and judicial reviewability; Wednesbury unreasonableness; ultra vires administrative action.
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5 July 2021 |
| June 2021 |
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The Ombudsman lacked jurisdiction over a delayed unfair‑dismissal claim and awarded excessive, Wednesbury‑unreasonable compensation.
Constitutional/judicial review – Ombudsman jurisdiction – section 123 Constitution – exclusion where court remedies available; Labour law – unfair dismissal – Employment Act governs compensation – awards must be just and equitable; Administrative law – Wednesbury unreasonableness – excessive compensation; Limitation and separation of functions between courts and Ombudsman.
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23 June 2021 |
| May 2021 |
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Court dismissed defendant’s strike-out application, finding contractual claim not plainly displaced by the Public Roads Act and not frivolous.
Civil procedure – strike-out for frivolous/vexatious or abuse of process – inherent jurisdiction; Public Roads Act – statutory compensation procedure and contractor powers; section 21(1) immunity and section 21(2) preservation for negligence; contractual claim versus statutory remedy.
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24 May 2021 |
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18 May 2021 |
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Whether a confirming court should enhance a 36‑month sentence for robbery with violence given mitigating factors and comparative sentencing trends.
Criminal law — Confirmation of sentence — Robbery with violence — Sentencing discretion — Mitigating factors (first offender, youth, no weapon, compensation) — Sentencing range 5–10 years — Comparative authorities considered.
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18 May 2021 |
| March 2021 |
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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.
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22 March 2021 |
| February 2021 |
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The court confirmed concurrent custodial sentences for burglary and theft, emphasizing first-offender status and rehabilitative considerations despite aggravating factors.
Sentencing discretion; review of sentence for excess or inadequacy; consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors; burglary seriousness; confirmation of concurrent custodial sentences.
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25 February 2021 |
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Whether the driver’s negligence caused death and whether the insurer is liable despite an unpleaded policy exclusion.
Road-traffic negligence — driver’s duty of care — employer/insurer liability — insurance policy exclusions and pleading — admissibility of police reports.
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15 February 2021 |