Results.
27 judgments found.
|
|
|
| December 2017 |
|
|
Application to stay assessment of damages pending appeal dismissed as premature and lacking evidence of irreparable prejudice.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings pending appeal — interlocutory judgment where damages to be assessed — discretion to grant stay guided by risk of injustice — applicant must show inability to recover payments or special circumstances — prematurity of application to stay assessment; appropriate remedy is stay of execution after assessment.
|
20 December 2017 |
|
Applicant’s direct application for interim injunction refused; must apply to court below first and consent order barred variation without fresh action.
-
Civil procedure — interim injunction pending appeal — requirement to apply first in the court below (Order I r 18) — leave to appeal — consent order as binding agreement not varied by summons — mortgage law — power of sale and balance of convenience.
|
20 December 2017 |
|
Court dismissed interim injunction to restrain bank sale due to procedural defects and weak substantive grounds.
-
Civil procedure — Interim injunction pending appeal — Requirement to apply first in the court below (Order I r 18) — Leave to appeal required (proviso to s.21) — Consent order binding; variation requires fresh action — Mortgage law: reluctance to restrain power of sale where mortgagor defaults.
|
20 December 2017 |
|
An unconditionally admitted counsel has a right of audience that can only be removed by statutory procedure; Oberem v Oberem stands until set aside.
-
Right of audience on admission to the bar; removal of right of audience only by statutory process; requirement for gazetting subsidiary legislation; Malawi Law Society standards; High Court/Chief Justice procedure to remove counsel’s standing; effect of Oberem v Oberem pending appeal.
|
7 December 2017 |
| November 2017 |
|
|
Court refused to adopt a 14‑day initial skeleton‑argument rule and ordered the record of appeal prepared by 15 December 2017.
-
Civil procedure — case management — service and timing of skeleton arguments — whether appellants must file initial skeleton arguments within 14 days — precedential value of Anglia Book Distributors decision — adoption of domestic Practice Directions versus importation of English CPR practice — preparation of record of appeal.
|
1 November 2017 |
| October 2017 |
|
|
Court allowed amendment and late filing of skeleton arguments subject to costs payable within 60 days or before the hearing.
-
Civil procedure — Appeals — Application to amend grounds of appeal — Application to file skeleton arguments out of time — Court’s discretion to allow lateness where delay is reasonably explained and any prejudice can be compensated by costs — Costs ordered payable within specified period, non-payment to attract procedural consequences.
|
26 October 2017 |
| September 2017 |
|
|
Appeals from a registrar’s assessment of damages/interest lie to the Supreme Court of Appeal, not to a judge in chambers.
-
Courts Act s29 (repeal) — General Interpretation Act s13 (continuation of repealed law) — jurisdiction of Supreme Court of Appeal — Registrar’s assessment of damages/interest — Rule 3 High Court (Exercise of Jurisdiction of Registrar) Rules — Order 58(2)(b) Rules of Supreme Court — appeals lie to Supreme Court of Appeal, not judge in chambers.
|
21 September 2017 |
|
Appeal from a Senior Deputy Registrar in wrong forum, late filing and irregular affidavit; court awards costs to applicant/respondent.
-
Civil procedure — Appellate jurisdiction — Appeal from Senior Deputy Registrar must lie to Judge in Chambers — Wrong forum and late filing — Defective affidavit not to be regularised by appellate court — Costs for procedural applications.
|
20 September 2017 |
|
Stay granted of assessment proceedings pending appeal due to procedural irregularities and risk of injustice to the appellant.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings pending appeal — Discretionary exercise governed by risk of injustice and prejudice — Interlocutory judgment entered at scheduling conference — Procedural irregularities and assessment of damages by Registrar.
|
20 September 2017 |
|
Stay of execution refused where applicant misled court about a pending appeal and sought a stay contingent on a future appeal.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Continuation of ex parte interim stay — Leave to appeal not yet sought — Suppression of material facts — Stay contingent on future appeal untenable — Matters of merit to be determined by lower court.
|
19 September 2017 |
|
Court set aside ex parte stay of possession but kept title deeds in custody and barred disposition of property pending appeal, with no costs order due to legal aid.
-
Civil procedure — stay of execution — continuation or vacation of ex parte stay — setting aside ex parte stay on inter partes application; interim protection of title deeds pending appeal; prohibition on sale, pledge or mortgage of disputed property without appellate court permission; costs and legal aid.
|
13 September 2017 |
|
|
5 September 2017 |
| August 2017 |
|
|
Whether the applicant proved a real possibility of judicial bias from prior comments and decisions, warranting recusal.
-
Judicial independence — Recusal/Apprehended bias — Whether extrajudicial/intra‑judicial comments or prior judicial views create a real possibility of bias — Fair‑minded and informed observer test — Code of Conduct/Constitution
-
Criminal procedure — Bail pending appeal — Test for grant of bail after conviction — Interests of justice versus exceptional circumstances — Section 24(1) Supreme Court of Appeal Act; s355 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code
-
Bias — Timing and context — Effect of passage of time and intervening binding decisions on recusal applications
|
12 August 2017 |
| July 2017 |
|
|
Leave to judicially review anti-corruption investigations denied; prosecutorial discretion and investigatory process upheld.
-
Administrative law — Judicial review — Leave to apply — Prosecutorial discretion and investigatory powers under the Corrupt Practices Act — Delay and timeliness (Order 53 r.4) — Reasonableness and bad faith — Premature challenge to prosecution decision.
|
19 July 2017 |
| June 2017 |
|
|
Appeals from a registrar’s assessment of damages lie to the Supreme Court of Appeal; appeals to a judge in chambers are a nullity.
-
Appeals — appellate jurisdiction governed by Supreme Court of Appeal Act — Registrars’ assessments of damages are judgments appealable to the Supreme Court of Appeal — Rule 3 of the High Court (Exercise of Jurisdiction of the Registrar) Rules does not displace Order 58, rule 2(1)(b) — appeal to judge in chambers on assessment was nullity — Civil Procedure Rules 1998 and Practice Directions relevant to permission and procedure.
|
20 June 2017 |
| April 2017 |
|
|
Supreme Court dismissed stay application as an abuse of process amid overlapping interlocutory proceedings and ordered each party to bear own costs.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Abuse of court process where multiple overlapping interlocutory applications pursued — Applicants must elect appropriate procedural route — Costs: each party to bear own.
|
24 April 2017 |
|
Applicant must exhaust tax-law remedies; no stay granted where Commissioner General had already determined the appeal.
-
Tax procedure — stay of execution — whether stay appropriate where Commissioner General has determined appeal within statutory period; requirement to exhaust statutory tax remedies; Court’s inability to stay proceedings before Commissioner General; adjournment and substitution of counsel.
|
24 April 2017 |
|
|
11 April 2017 |
|
A stay cannot be granted where there is no execution because the judgment has been paid into court pending appeal.
-
Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Where judgment ordered paid into court pending appeal there is no execution to stay; application for stay of 'phantom execution' is misconceived — Leave to appeal not required merely because judgment delivered in chambers.
|
11 April 2017 |
| March 2017 |
|
|
Interlocutory injunction refused where statutory employment dismissal raised private law issues and damages were adequate.
-
Interlocutory injunctions — American Cyanamid principles — employment versus judicial review (Order 53) — statutory postholder dismissal — doctrine of necessity on bias — adequacy of damages; Electoral Commission Act s.12.
|
6 March 2017 |
|
Destruction and non-preservation of electoral materials by the Electoral Commission justified a re-run; appellant’s election invalidated.
-
Electoral law — preservation of electoral materials — s119 PPEA; Election petitions — standard of proof — satisfaction of the court; Destruction of ballot boxes — adverse inference where custodian fails to preserve evidence; Recount frustrated — re-run as appropriate remedy; Notification of interested candidates and procedural fairness.
|
6 March 2017 |
| February 2017 |
|
|
An ex parte interim injunction against a minister, granted without a proper application or evidence, was vacated; judicial review procedure must follow CPR 1998.
-
Civil procedure — Judicial review procedure (Part 54 CPR 1998) — Interim remedies (Part 25) — Ex parte interlocutory injunctions — Vacatur where no specific application or evidence — Grant of leave does not automatically result in injunction or stay — Commissions of inquiry — resignation/suspension of public officers — interpretation of "Rules of the Supreme Court 1999" as CPR 1998 (26 April 1999).
|
8 February 2017 |
|
The appellant's purchase and possession of customary land created an equitable proprietary interest defeating the first respondent's later lease.
-
[Customary land] Nature of customary land title; sui generis proprietary interest; vesting in President does not negate intermediary proprietary rights; sale/alienation of customary land subject to customary law; equitable interest arising on contract and part performance/possession; purchaser in possession gives notice; appellate rehearing powers; trespass and damages for unlawful construction.
|
8 February 2017 |
|
Where joint ownership was intended but contributions are indeterminate, courts may award each party a 50% beneficial interest.
-
Family law — division of matrimonial property; matrimonial/home converted properties — equality is equity where contributions indeterminate; contribution to development as basis for beneficial interest; household expenditures insufficiently particularised to establish proprietary claim; custody does not automatically entitle provision of a home; child maintenance and school fees — shared responsibility
|
2 February 2017 |
| January 2017 |
|
|
Delay, non‑prosecution and procedural defects justify refusal of stay and refusal to certify a defective constitutional referral.
-
Civil procedure — stay of execution — default judgment — laches and non‑prosecution; Criminal procedure — section 302A CPEC — applicability where accused not charged; Constitutional procedure — referral/certification under Rule 8 and Chief Justice’s role — originating motion required for non‑referral constitutional challenges; Court’s duty to assess substantiality before referral; Registry and drafting obligations.
|
24 January 2017 |
|
Expired statutory custody limits make detention unlawful; bail decisions must follow custody rules and Bail Guidelines.
-
Constitutional right to release — s.42(2)(e); Custody time limits — ss.161A–161J CPEC mandatory; No power to extend time after expiry except as statutorily provided; Bail incidental to release; Bail Guidelines Act — mandatory factors and information duty; Juvenile protections; Remittal for reconsideration.
|
11 January 2017 |
|
Failure to apply mandatory Bail Guidelines and exceeded custody time limits justified bail pending appeal.
-
Criminal procedure — bail — distinction between constitutional right to release (s.42(2)(e)) and statutory bail (s.118) — applicant must prove threshold facts; State bears evidential burden. Bail (Guidelines) Act and Guidelines mandatory — courts must consider all prescribed factors and may order production of missing information. Custody time limits (s.161A–161J) binding — detention beyond limits requires release. Bail pending appeal — application should accompany notice of appeal but Court may waive and hear it. Single member cannot determine substantive bail appeal; full court required
|
9 January 2017 |