High Court of Malawi Civil Division

537 judgments
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Results. 537 judgments found.

537 judgments
March 2020
5 March 2020
Whether a judgment made in chambers required leave to appeal and whether a stay order effectively granted that leave.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal from judgment made in chambers — Requirement for leave under Supreme Court of Appeal Act — Validity of notice of appeal filed before grant of leave — Effect of stay order as de facto grant of leave; Order III r3(2); s23 SCA Act; procedural time limits.
5 March 2020
February 2020
28 February 2020
26 February 2020
26 February 2020
24 February 2020
22 February 2020
4 February 2020
January 2020
Court stayed execution after Registrar prematurely issued and executed a warrant; directed review by Deputy Chairperson.
  • Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Industrial Relations Court — Registrar's powers under Rule 5A — Review by Chairperson/Deputy Chairperson — Interpretation of "reasonable time" in assessment orders — Premature issuance and execution of warrant — Allegations of Registrar misconduct.
29 January 2020
14 January 2020
10 January 2020
Declaration of lawful ownership of public land allocated by the Commissioner; sale to purchaser void; brief trespass no damages.
  • Land law — declaration of planning area converts customary land to public land under Town and Country Planning and Land Acts — allocation and administration by Commissioner for Lands — occupiers cultivating public land possess no transferable title; sale by occupier void
  • Tort — trespass by brief wrongful occupation; limited period may not attract damages. Constitutional property rights — declaratory relief available; no separate damages where trespass too brief and hearing inadequate
7 January 2020
December 2019
20 December 2019
September 2019
Petition alleging result-sheet alterations, barred monitors and unsealed ballot box failed for lack of sufficient evidence.
  • Electoral law — election petition under s.100 PPEA — proper mode of commencement; burden and variable standard of proof in election petitions; admissibility and weight of polling-station result sheets (MEC.POLL 066b) and record log books; recount/scrutiny and effect of unsealed ballot box; requirement for written complaints at polling stations (s.89).
16 September 2019
July 2019
Applicant failed to prove accreditation, labelling, or counting irregularities affected the election result on a balance of probabilities.
  • Electoral law — monitors’ accreditation and identity documents — polling-station procedure — stream labelling and alleged campaigning — ballot display and counting procedure — requirement to make written complaints — burden of proof on balance of probabilities.
7 July 2019
June 2019
A petition filed after the seven-day period under section 100 was held time-barred and dismissed; local government claims belong under the Local Government Elections Act.
  • Election law — limitation period for election petitions — s100 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act is mandatory and not extendable by court; s114 appeals require reasonable time though no statutory limit; local government election petitions governed by Local Government Elections Act.
27 June 2019
13 June 2019
A s.114 appeal requires a prior Commission decision on an alleged irregularity; absent that, the petition was incompetent and dismissed.
  • Electoral law — Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act s.114 — appeal lies only against a Commission decision confirming or rejecting an irregularity; exhaustion of MEC complaints procedure required; non-exercise by Commission may be judicial review; petition dismissed as incompetent.
12 June 2019
May 2019
6 May 2019
2 May 2019
February 2019
25 February 2019
20 February 2019
15 February 2019
January 2019
28 January 2019
November 2018
Registrar lacked jurisdiction to set aside or stay a final appellate order; fraud or incapacity challenges require appeal or fresh action.
  • Civil procedure — Registrar's jurisdiction under Order 25 CPR — expressio unius — challenge to final judgment obtained by fraud: remedy by appeal or fresh action — incapacity defence raised post-final judgment — assessment of damages directed by appellate court.
29 November 2018
High Court dismisses appeal, holding severance and pension payments were properly dealt with and factual findings are final.
  • Labour law — retrenchment — severance pay — appealability of factual findings from Industrial Relations Court under s.65 — pension/provident fund payments — discovery/refusal — fishing expedition.
2 November 2018
September 2018
Claimant awarded replacement cost and K9,000,000 for loss of business after vehicle burned in police custody.
  • Police seizure and custody of vehicle — vehicle destroyed while in custody — damages: replacement cost awarded where irreparable; loss of use/profit recoverable for profit-earning chattel where proved — award of K5,000,000 replacement and K9,000,000 loss of business.
19 September 2018
June 2018
Whether the respondent unlawfully reallocated leased land without hearing or complying with constitutional expropriation procedures.
  • Judicial review — public authority as proper respondent — natural justice — right to be heard — land reallocation and expropriation — compliance with section 44(3) Constitution — right to property (section 28) — Wednesbury unreasonableness.
28 June 2018
The Regional Commissioner unlawfully reallocated leased land without affording the applicant a hearing or complying with section 44(3) of the Constitution.
  • Administrative law — Judicial review — Natural justice — Right to be heard — Reallocation/re‑entry onto leased land — Expropriation under section 44(3) of the Constitution — Procedural fairness and Wednesbury unreasonableness — Proper respondent in judicial review of public authority action.
28 June 2018
Whether mandatory s91 publication authorises seizure and sale for unpaid rates and precludes instalment relief absent ordinary debt proceedings.
  • Local Government Act s91 — seizure and sale for unpaid rates — mandatory Gazette and newspaper publication; Rates attach to property; s78 — payment pending objection; s91(7) — distinctness from ordinary debt recovery; instalment relief not available in s91 proceedings.
11 June 2018
May 2018
Court awarded K4,701,536 for wrongful death: expectation of life and dependency; special damages dismissed for lack of proof.
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16 May 2018
April 2018
Assessment of quantum in personal injury: awarded damages for pain, amenities, disfigurement and nominal lost earnings.
  • Personal injury — assessment of quantum — general damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement and loss of earning capacity — use of comparable awards — nominal award where no evidence of earnings — 5% allowance for currency depreciation.
30 April 2018
Assessment of unfair dismissal award: calculation of compensation, severance and compound interest under the Employment Act.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — remedy under s.63(4) — assessment of compensation; Severance pay — First Schedule calculation; Compound interest on severance (commercial lending rate) — limitation on awarding new relief at assessment; Costs refused.
27 April 2018
Alleged misleading by counsel does not constitute good cause for a stay of execution; stay is discretionary.
  • Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Discretionary relief — Applicant must show good cause — Misleading by counsel insufficient — Remedies include suit against counsel or appeal — Order 47 Rule 1 RSC.
24 April 2018
An insurer's consent order and payment do not automatically justify summary judgment against the insured.
  • Summary judgment; consent order; insurer settlement; insured not party; Road Traffic Act s148; unliquidated damages; triable issues on negligence and apportionment; leave to defend.
23 April 2018
The applicants' interlocutory injunction in a WhatsApp defamation claim was continued pending trial; damages deemed potentially inadequate.
  • Defamation — publications on social media (WhatsApp) — interlocutory injunction — triable issue — adequacy of damages for reputation harm — requirement for full and frank disclosure — balance of convenience.
19 April 2018
After failed mediation, the court referred the dispute to trial to decide whether the second defendant was properly installed as village headman.
  • Civil procedure — Mediation — Failure to reach settlement — Referral to trial under Order 13 Rule 9(2) — Determination of proper installation of village headman.
10 April 2018
After mediation failed, the court referred the land entitlement dispute to trial and ordered transfer to the Magistrate’s Court.
  • Civil procedure — mediation failure — referral to trial under Order 13 rule 9(2) — land dispute — transfer from High Court to Magistrate’s Court for hearing.
10 April 2018
After failed mediation, court referred the claimants' land entitlement dispute to trial and transferred it to the Magistrate's Court.
  • Land dispute — entitlement to land — mediation failure — referral to trial — transfer to Magistrate’s Court — Order 13 Rule 9(2) High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules.
10 April 2018
Appeal dismissed because the appellant failed to comply with Order 33, rendering the appeal not ready for hearing.
  • Civil procedure — appeal readiness — compliance with Order 33 of the Subordinate Court Rules — procedural dismissal for non‑compliance.
9 April 2018
An appeal was dismissed because the appellant failed to comply with Order 33, rendering the matter not ready for hearing.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal — Procedural compliance — Failure to comply with Order 33 of the Subordinate Court Rules — Appeal not ready for hearing — Dismissal for non-compliance.
9 April 2018
Appeal hearing dismissed for failure to comply with Order 33 of the Subordinate Court Rules.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal — Readiness for hearing — Non‑compliance with Subordinate Court Rules (Order 33) — Dismissal of hearing.
9 April 2018
Summary judgment refused where defendant raised genuine factual disputes about contractual variation and estoppel requiring trial.
  • Civil procedure — summary judgment (Order 14) — genuine triable issues — contract variation through agent — acceptance of late payments — estoppel — whether time was of the essence.
3 April 2018
Interim injunction refused where damages were adequate and the applicant suppressed a material fact (trustee status).
  • Interim injunctions — adequacy of damages as alternative remedy — injunction refused where damages adequate; Duty of full disclosure — suppression of material facts vitiates interlocutory application; Internal association law — disciplinary powers and eligibility for office under constitution; Natural justice — right to be heard in disciplinary processes.
3 April 2018
March 2018
Failure to publish Council appointments in the Gazette rendered the Council unconstituted and its disaccreditation decision void if made while accreditation subsisted.
  • Administrative law — Judicial review — Grounds: illegality, irrationality, procedural impropriety — Statutory interpretation of "academic cycle" — Accreditation law — Mandatory gazetting of public body appointments; failure renders acts void.
27 March 2018
The applicant failed to show a triable issue of land ownership; interlocutory injunction dismissed.
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21 March 2018
The applicant failed to prove continued possession of customary land; claim dismissed; respondents ordered to provide a token of appreciation; costs borne individually.
  • Customary land — possession and control — burden on balance of probabilities; church property as collective; failure to prove continued possession; claim dismissed; token of appreciation ordered; parties to bear own costs.
20 March 2018
Personal injury claim dismissed as statute‑barred where the writ was filed after the three‑year limitation and plaintiff did not attend hearing.
  • Limitation Act — personal injury — three-year limitation for actions for damages for negligence — "brought"/filed within statutory period; Civil procedure — Order 14A point of law determination; Order 32 r.5 — hearing in absence where party duly served; statute-barred claim — dismissal with costs.
16 March 2018
Action struck out as abusive and premature for duplicating a pending appeal and for failing to exhaust internal party remedies.
  • Party constitution — internal dispute resolution (Article 56) — exhaustion of internal remedies — abuse of court process — duplicative litigation and risk of conflicting judgments — striking out proceedings.
6 March 2018
2 March 2018