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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 2019 |
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Ex parte leave for judicial review requires a prima facie arguable case; ministerial appointments/commissions are generally non‑justiciable and NGOs lacked standing.
Judicial review — leave to apply — prima facie/clearly arguable case required; Executive powers/prerogative — reviewability depends on subject‑matter and justiciability; Appointment/suspension of ministers and appointment of commissions of inquiry generally non‑justiciable absent statutory/constitutional underpinning or infringement of individual rights; Locus standi — NGOs must show a particular legal interest affected; Affidavit/mandate — deponent must demonstrate authority to represent trustee organisations.
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13 February 2019 |
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Loss-of-use damages compensate unavailability of a chattel when called upon, not only days it was actually used; mitigation limits period.
Sale of Goods/Consumer Protection – breach of contract – damages for loss of use of a chattel – measure and period of loss-of-use; mitigation by purchase of replacement; assessment of damages beyond sporadic actual use.
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13 February 2019 |
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First appellant’s convictions for misuse of public office and neglect upheld; second appellant’s convictions on uncharged counts quashed.
Corrupt Practices Act s25B(1) – misuse of public office; Penal Code s121 – neglect of duty; prima facie threshold at close of prosecution; circumstantial evidence and chain of inference; admissibility of secondary/public documents; conviction not permissible for offences not charged.
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13 February 2019 |
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Whether bail pending appeal should be granted; court may grant pre-hearing bail and virtual hearings can satisfy public-trial requirements.
Criminal procedure – Bail pending appeal – Interpretation of section 24 Supreme Court of Appeal Act – Applications not necessarily premature pre-hearing; Public trial – virtual/remote hearings and constitutional public-access requirement; Exercise of discretion – consider all circumstances (Macdonald Kumwembe); Alleged trial irregularities and health claims require substantiation.
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13 February 2019 |
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Acquittal where identification was unreliable and the prosecution failed to disprove the applicant’s alibi.
Criminal law – Murder – Identification evidence and Turnbull guidelines for dock recognition – Alibi defence and burden on prosecution to disprove alibi – Insufficiency of circumstantial evidence – Acquittal for reasonable doubt – Police investigative failures.
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12 February 2019 |
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Conviction quashed where identification was unreliable, the alibi was not disproved and the State failed to prove weapon issuance or deployment.
Criminal law — identification evidence — dock recognition — Turnbull principles — alibi defence — burden on prosecution to disprove alibi — circumstantial evidence insufficiency — failure to prove issuance/deployment of weapon — conviction quashed.
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12 February 2019 |
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Retrenched employees entitled to reassessed individual compensation; severance payments under s35 deductible from awards.
Employment law – retrenchment and unfair dismissal – consultation requirements; Section 57(2) (capacity/conduct) – limited application to redundancy; Section 61(2) – justice and equity in dismissal; Section 35 – severance allowance independent and deductible from compensation; assessment of damages – individualised assessment required.
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11 February 2019 |
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11 February 2019 |
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Whether appellants benefited from a later amendment to sentencing law (lex mitior); court held amendment not milder and dismissed appeal.
Criminal law – sentencing – lex mitior (retroactive application of milder penal law) – General Interpretation Act s14 (savings on repeal and re‑enactment) – theft by public servant – mandatory minimum sentences – appellate limits under S.11(2) Supreme Court of Appeal Act.
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7 February 2019 |
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Amendment to Penal Code did not confer retroactive benefit; appeal limited to law, conviction and sentence confirmed.
:[
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7 February 2019 |