Results.
27 judgments found.
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| December 2024 |
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Whether recognising foreign law degrees with lower entry standards violates constitutional equality and education standards; referral to the Chief Justice.
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Constitutional law — education standards — recognition of foreign qualifications — discrimination and equality (Sections 25, 13, 20) — NCHE and CLE powers — constitutional interpretation by registrars — Section 9(2) Courts Act referral to a panel of judges.
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6 December 2024 |
| November 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed for inordinate delay and failure to prosecute; missing-file excuse was unsubstantiated hearsay.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — Order III r.9 (record of appeal) — Practice Direction No 1 of 2010 (skeleton arguments) — missing court file allegation — hearsay — failure to prosecute — costs.
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29 November 2024 |
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Assistant Registrar recused from processing an admission petition after finding the petitioner’s grades may not meet constitutional and regulatory minimum education standards.
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Legal education — admission to practice — assessment and recognition of foreign law degrees — requirement that private and foreign qualifications meet standards not inferior to public universities — constitutional s.25(3)(b) and regulatory minimum standards — recusal where court officer forms prejudicial views.
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26 November 2024 |
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High Court set aside magistrate’s judgment for lack of jurisdiction and ordered respondents to repay sums obtained; costs ordered against respondents’ counsel.
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Civil procedure — Jurisdiction of subordinate courts — Cause of action arising in another district — Proceedings and judgments without jurisdiction are null and void — High Court power to set aside subordinate court judgments — Third-party debt/attachment orders — Costs and remedies against counsel.
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21 November 2024 |
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6 November 2024 |
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Court escalated the 1981 compensation for the applicant's compulsorily acquired land to MK20,000,000 and denied aggravated damages.
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Land Acquisition Act (as in force at acquisition) — assessment of fair compensation — section 10 factors (consideration paid, improvements, appreciation) — valuation methodology and escalation of historic award — post-acquisition change of land use not to be used to increase historic compensation — aggravated/exemplary damages against State — requirements; loss-of-opportunity claim not entertained if unpleaded.
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5 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused because disputed facts and legal issues exist on premises owner status and dog-handler negligence.
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Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Order 12 CPR — Realistic vs fanciful prospects; Premises liability — vicarious/statutory owner under Control and Diseases of Animals Act; Negligence of dog handler — triable issue; Failure to plead/support failure-to-warn allegation; Judgment on admission — requirements for written admissions.
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31 October 2024 |
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30 October 2024 |
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Court continued stay of execution pending appeal, dismissed disclosure application as otiose, and ordered parties to agree arrangements within 28 days.
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Civil procedure — stay of execution pending appeal — discretion guided by interests of justice; disclosure/production of financial documents — otiose and irrelevant where stay already granted; interlocutory directions to agree arrangements.
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30 October 2024 |
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Registrar rejected duplicate originating proceedings as an abuse of process and improper filing at the wrong registry.
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Registrar's power to reject documents — abuse of court process by duplicative filings (summons and judicial review) — improper forum/registry — Order 5 rules 10–13; Order 6 r9; Courts Act s3 and s6A(2).
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27 October 2024 |
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Whether requiring NRB-issued registration as proof for voter registration unlawfully restricts the applicant's right to vote.
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Electoral law — Voter registration — Proof of eligibility — Section 12 Elections Act requiring NRB registration as proof — Franchise under section 77 Constitution — Interlocutory injunction — Separation of powers.
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25 October 2024 |
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An appeal can be struck out for inordinate delay where the appellant fails to ensure timely preparation of the record of appeal.
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Civil procedure — Appeal — Want of prosecution — Delay in preparation of record of appeal — Duties of appellant and court under procedural rules — Inherent jurisdiction to strike out appeal — Suspension of enforcement vacated — Costs under s72 Labour Relations Act
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11 October 2024 |
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A summons signed by a firm rather than a named legal practitioner is a nullity and must be struck out.
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Civil procedure — signature requirements for originating processes — Order 5 r3 & Order 7 r1(h) CPR; Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act — definition of 'legal practitioner' as natural person on the Roll; firm name not a legal practitioner; originating process signed by firm is nullity and incurable.
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11 October 2024 |
| September 2024 |
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Applicant granted leave to appeal out of time; time enlarged seven days; no order for costs.
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Civil procedure — leave to appeal out of time — enlargement of time — requirement of good and substantial reasons — prima facie merits of proposed grounds — undue delay.
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30 September 2024 |
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Applicant granted seven-day enlargement and leave to appeal out of time after showing good and substantial reasons and prima facie merit.
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Civil procedure — enlargement of time for appeal — leave to appeal out of time — requirement of good and substantial reasons — prima facie merits of proposed grounds — undue delay — discretionary relief (NBS Bank Ltd v R.J. Hamdani)
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30 September 2024 |
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Application for permission to judicially review a disciplinary recommendation was dismissed as statute-barred under the Act.
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Judicial review — statutory limitation under section 96(3) LELPA — 30-day period mandatory and not extendable — permission refused as statute-barred; interim stay/injunction not granted as application dismissed.
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30 September 2024 |
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An assessment of damages is part of the High Court's judgment and cannot be reheard by the same court; appeal and stay are the proper remedies.
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Civil procedure — assessment of damages — assessment by Registrar forms part of judgment — assessment cannot be reheard by same High Court — remedy is appeal (stay pending appeal), not rehearing; Order 2 r 3(f), Order 10 r 1; Order 31 r 17 limited to costs review; Third Party Debt proceedings.
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19 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Court set aside party executive’s candidate‑eligibility rules as ultra vires and violative of members’ constitutional political rights.
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Constitutional and party law — justiciability of intra‑party disputes — locus standi of party member — ultra vires acts by party executive — limitation of members’ political rights — Section 40 Constitution — Political Parties Act compliance.
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6 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
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Applicant proved false imprisonment and defamation by the retailer and assault by police, entitling her to damages.
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False imprisonment; assault and battery; defamation; shop detention; police misconduct; damages; civil burden and balance of probabilities.
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16 July 2024 |
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Limitation Act does not apply to customary land without proving local customary law; succession governed by Deceased Estates Act.
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Customary land — Limitation Act inapplicable without proof of local customary rules; succession to customary land governed by Deceased Estates (Wills, Inheritance and Protection) Act; allocation and long possession as evidence of customary ownership.
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15 July 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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The claimant, a public‑servant officer, successfully challenged as unlawful the President’s appointment of an outsider above retirement age to head Immigration.
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Administrative law — Judicial review — Locus standi — Appointment law — Immigration Act (s.3) v Public Service Act — Appointment must be from public service — Mandatory retirement (Public Service Act s.29) — Re‑engagement circular insufficient — Justiciability of statutory appointments.
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6 June 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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Whether claimant proved title to the plot and whether the purchaser was a bona fide purchaser without notice.
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Property law — proof of title: municipal offer/receipt and council confirmation as evidence; nemo dat principle; bona fide purchaser for value without notice — duty of due diligence and requirements; authentication of registry extracts and secondary documents.
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24 April 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Court revoked bail and ordered forfeiture of cash bond and a bonded residential house after respondent absconded.
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Criminal procedure — Forfeiture of bonded money or property under section 121(2) — Absconding depositor — Identification of third‑party/matrimonial rights — Registered ownership as basis for forfeiture.
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28 March 2024 |
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Default judgment refused where claimants failed to prove they were police officers, did not comply with statutory pre-action notice, nor exhaust internal Police Service remedies.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Order 12 rules 6–8 — Evidential sufficiency in ex parte default applications; Government suits — statutory pre-action notice to Attorney General (Civil Procedure (Suits by/against Government) Act s.4; Order 8 r.19); Administrative remedies — Police Service Commission under Police Act; judicial discretion on default judgment and costs.
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25 March 2024 |
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A statutory corporation/local council is not automatically exempt from enforcement under Order 34 rule 4 absent express statutory coverage.
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Civil procedure — Order 34 r.4 CPR 2017 — exemption from enforcement; Suits by or against the Government — Civil Procedure (Suits by or against the Government or Public Officers) Act; General Interpretation Act — definition of Government; Statutory corporations and Crown immunities; Third-party debt order — stay application dismissed.
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6 March 2024 |
| January 2024 |
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Section 73(2) mandates counsel only where the other party is, or is represented by, a legal practitioner.
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Labour law — Industrial Relations Court — Legal representation — Section 73(2) mandatory where other party is or is represented by a legal practitioner
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Statutory interpretation — Mandatory language "shall" — No judicial addition or discretionary gloss on clear statutory conditions
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Civil procedure — Corporate parties and representation — Other statutes do not displace Labour Relations Act procedural scheme
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29 January 2024 |
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Widow and children entitled to occupy customary land; Msudzulo cannot lawfully deprive them of inheritance or possession.
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Customary law — Msudzulo ceremony — customary practice versus constitutional rights; Inheritance on customary land — Deceased Estates (Wills, Inheritance and Protection) Act — immediate family entitlement; Proof and admissibility — requirement of sworn verification for pleadings; Procedural dismissal of counterclaim.
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17 January 2024 |