High Court of Malawi Civil Division - 2025

17 judgments

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17 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
December 2025
The claimant’s late-registered lease was void; earlier registered lease prevails and the trespass claim is dismissed.
Deeds Registration Act – mandatory registration period; late registration renders instrument void – priority of registration under s.8 Trespass – possessory tort; possession ordinarily sufficient but yields to superior registered title. Nemo dat quod non habet – unregistered surrender ineffective; re-grant by minister invalid if prior lease subsists. Res judicata – default judicial review judgment not a merits-based bar; identity of parties and merits required Limitation – bars affirmative claims but does not preclude defendants relying on historical title defensively Relief – interlocutory injunction vacated; court-directed survey to demarcate customary land boundaries
30 December 2025
November 2025
Post-declaration election petitions proceed under Section 101; technical defects in verification are curable and not necessarily fatal.
Election law – Procedure – Distinction between Sections 100 and 101 PPLGEA – Post-declaration petitions proceed under Section 101 – Verifying sworn statements and exhibits – Procedural defects curable under CPR, 2017 – Judicial review not mandatory for factual election disputes.
7 November 2025
October 2025
A raped minor’s denial of abortion breached reproductive rights; law and guidelines require considering mental-health grounds for termination.
Gender Equality Act – right to sexual and reproductive health; Penal Code s243 – preservation of life includes mental health; vicarious liability of employer; duty to impart information; Minister’s duty to provide clear clinical guidance; Human Rights Commission enforcement obligations; access to lawful abortion for minors impregnated by sexual violence.
28 October 2025
September 2025
Leave for judicial review dismissed for deficient drafting, but applicant granted liberty to refile with notice to respondent.
Judicial review — leave to apply — procedural and drafting deficiencies (typos, wrong citations, unclear arguments) — Order 19 CPR — dismissal with liberty to refile — notice to respondent.
22 September 2025
June 2025
Court declared multiple constitutional breaches in a detained child’s treatment and ordered declarations, mandamus, compensation and costs.
Constitutional and child-protection law – detention of children – torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment – right to be informed of rights on arrest – prompt notification of parent/guardian – separation from adult offenders – right to nutrition – entitlement to compensation and mandamus relief.
19 June 2025
An unwarned shot by a police officer killed an innocent bystander; the police service held vicariously liable, revenue authority not liable.
Police law – use of firearms – duty to give warning, proportionality, and duty to render medical assistance; vicarious liability of police service; revenue authority not vicariously liable; admissibility and limited weight of hearsay in postmortem remarks.
19 June 2025
May 2025
Court exercised inherent jurisdiction to release a deteriorating vehicle from custody, imposing conditions to protect the applicant's claim.
Civil procedure — Inherent jurisdiction — Release of property in Court custody to prevent deterioration — Interim protective conditions to safeguard parties' substantive rights.
28 May 2025
The respondent's application for leave to appeal was denied because the High Court's review judgment remained inchoate pending assessment of terminal dues.
Administrative law — Appeals — Leave required for appeals from High Court judgments given on review under s123(2) of the Constitution and s21 of the Supreme Court of Appeal Act; inchoate judgments pending Registrar’s assessment; Ombudsman jurisdiction — anonymous complaints and locus standi; interpretation of constitutional provisions and binding precedent.
22 May 2025
An expired, unrenewed summons served outside the three‑month period is ineffectual and justified striking out the claim.
Civil procedure — validity and service of summons — Order 7 rule 25 (3‑month rule) — Irregularity and cure — Order 2 rules — renewal of summons — strike out — notice of change of legal practitioners not served — interlocutory application falls away.
9 May 2025
April 2025
The High Court has no jurisdiction to enlarge the statutory 30‑day appeal period from the Industrial Relations Court.
Labour law — Appeals from Industrial Relations Court — Section 65(2) Labour Relations Act — thirty-day statutory appeal period — High Court lacks power to enlarge time — IRC (Procedure) Rules inapplicable in High Court.
1 April 2025
March 2025
Oral preliminary objections are procedurally improper; such issues must be raised by formal application supported by affidavit.
Civil procedure — preliminary issues — must be raised by formal application supported by affidavit and skeleton arguments — oral preliminary objections improper — viva voce evidence from counsel inappropriate — improperly raised issue struck out with liberty to refile.
25 March 2025
Registrar’s total non-response to information requests on political party funding was unlawful and required written explanation; fee non-payment alone did not justify silence.
Access to information – political party funding – duty of Registrar to respond – constitutional right of access (s.37) – Political Parties Act s.36 – subsidiary fees and competence of requests – absence of regulations – judicial review of administrative non-response.
12 March 2025
High Court affirms unfair dismissal but reduces an IRC award, restricting boosting and interest in labour compensation.
Employment law – conversion of fixed-term to indefinite contract – unfair dismissal under sections 28 and 57 of the Employment Act; Labour compensation – judicial discretion under section 63(4) – limits on boosting, inflation adjustments and interest in labour awards; Civil procedure – compliance with pleadings and effect of failure to amend.
12 March 2025
Leave for judicial review of a Law Society disciplinary process was discharged as premature; disciplinary self-regulation aligns with procedural-fairness rights.
Administrative law – judicial review – permission to commence – prematurity of review before disciplinary hearing; Legal profession – self-regulation and disciplinary jurisdiction; Constitutional law – section 43 right to procedurally fair administrative action; Professional ethics – personal conduct on social media as conduct bringing profession into discredit.
11 March 2025
January 2025
The Ombudsman lacked jurisdiction to investigate an anonymous complaint; resulting employment nullifications were set aside and benefits ordered.
Ombudsman jurisdiction — section 123(1) Constitution — anonymous complaints — requirement that a person who has suffered injustice lay complaint; judicial review of Ombudsman determinations; nullity of unlawful directives; compliance by public authority; reinstatement and terminal benefits; costs each party.
31 January 2025
Claim dismissed with costs for failure to comply with trial directions and an incompetent adjournment request.
Adjournment applications — competence and supporting evidence; failure to comply with trial directions; failure to prosecute; court’s discretion to grant adjournments; dismissal with costs.
29 January 2025
12 January 2025