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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2021 |
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Appeal granted and stay ordered on serious questions about magistrate referrals and reopening trial to take fresh pleas.
Criminal procedure — High Court review powers (Courts Act ss.25,26) — Appealability to SCA — Magistrate referrals — Amendment of charges and requirement to take fresh pleas (CP&EC s.151(4)-(5)) — Cure of procedural failures by s.3 CP&EC — Stay pending appeal.
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17 December 2021 |
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Application for stay pending appeal refused; applicant failed to prove that refusal would cause injustice; fine’s size alone insufficient.
Civil procedure – stay of execution pending appeal – discretionary remedy – burden on applicant to show on balance of probabilities that refusal causes injustice; size of fine alone insufficient; courts will not grant stay to obtain gratuitous procedural guidance.
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10 December 2021 |
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A Registrar must refer contentious, appeal‑likely applications to the assigned judge; an Assistant Registrar’s decision made without referral was void and appeal was incompetent.
Civil procedure – competency of appeal – appeals under section 21 of Supreme Court of Appeal Act lie from High Court or judge, not Registrar – Order 25 CPR: Registrar’s powers subject to judge’s direction and referral – Registrar must refer contentious or appeal‑likely matters to assigned judge – determination by Registrar without referral may be without jurisdiction.
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2 December 2021 |
| November 2021 |
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Summary judgment was improperly granted where injunction defence, third‑party proceedings, and an unliquidated loss‑of‑profits claim required a trial.
Civil procedure – Summary judgment and judgment on admission – Defendant’s affidavit and defence raising triable issues – Third‑party proceedings not an admission of liability – Unliquidated loss of profits requiring assessment – Requirement for reasons in judgment.
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30 November 2021 |
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30 November 2021 |
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The claimant’s constitutional challenge to electoral appointments was struck out as res judicata, an appeal in disguise, and an abuse of process.
Constitutional law – electoral commission composition – res judicata – appeal in disguise – jurisdiction of constitutional panel – section 42 General Interpretation Act – section 75 Constitution – locus standi – Civil Procedure (Suits by/against Government) Act s4 notice – ex turpi causa – abuse of process.
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26 November 2021 |
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The applicant cannot claim posthumous pain and suffering; respondent liable for loss of dependency and expectation of life damages.
Road-traffic negligence – assessment of damages – loss of expectation of life – loss of dependency (multiplicand and multiplier) – proof of earnings and special damages – posthumous pain and suffering claim inadmissible.
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19 November 2021 |
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Court granted a stay of execution pending appeal due to a strong jurisdictional challenge and high likelihood of success.
Stay of execution — discretionary relief — guided by balance of convenience, balance of justice and likelihood of success on appeal; jurisdictional challenge — strong prospect of success may justify stay; execution rendering appeal nugatory; costs to successful applicant.
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10 November 2021 |
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A party must first seek stay of execution from the lower court; SCA vacated an ex-parte stay for non-exhaustion of remedies.
Civil procedure – appeals – interim relief – stay of execution pending appeal – Order 1 Rule 18 requires applications first to be made to Court below – ex-parte stay vacated where lower court had fixed hearing date and remedies not exhausted – section 22(1)(d) SCA Act inapplicable for such intervention.
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10 November 2021 |
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A suing party cannot invoke an arbitration clause to obtain a stay; the ex parte injunction was vacated and matter remitted.
Arbitration clause — stay of proceedings — suing party cannot rely on arbitration to obtain stay; Interim ex parte injunction — effectively permanent relief — vacated; Legal practitioners — practising licence expiry — documents not automatically invalid; Law firm signature — does not of itself render processes a nullity; Courts' jurisdiction — separability and when stay is appropriate.
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3 November 2021 |
| October 2021 |
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Appeal allowed in part: special damages must be pleaded and proving; new‑vehicle price is improper benchmark for second‑hand sale.
Civil procedure — leave to appeal — timing and curable irregularity; Pleadings — general v special damages — necessity to plead and prove special damages; Measure of damages — appropriate benchmark for second‑hand goods; Over‑compensation and assessment of quantum.
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28 October 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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Claimants succeed on false imprisonment and costs; malicious prosecution fails for reasonable cause; loss of earnings referred to industrial court.
False imprisonment – defendant’s agent handed claimants to police – liability; Malicious prosecution – requirement of absence of reasonable and probable cause and malice; CCTV and investigative evidence as basis for reasonable cause; Referral of loss of earnings/unfair dismissal claims to Industrial Relations Court; Costs awarded where defendant failed to challenge uncontested evidence.
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6 September 2021 |
| July 2021 |
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7 July 2021 |
| June 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed with costs for failure to comply with Practice Direction and to prosecute the appeal.
Civil procedure — non-compliance with Practice Direction No.1 of 2010 — failure to file skeleton argument/chronology/list of authorities — dismissal for failure to prosecute — injunction proceedings.
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22 June 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed where appellants failed to comply with pre-hearing protocols, indicating abandonment and wasting court time.
Civil procedure — Compliance with Practice Direction No.1 of 2010 — Failure to file skeleton arguments, chronology and authorities — Inference of abandonment — Dismissal of appeal for failure to prosecute — Costs.
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6 June 2021 |
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Whether jointly-acquired matrimonial land vests in the surviving spouse by survivorship or forms part of an intestate estate.
Constitutional property rights — section 24(1)(b)(i),(ii) — interpretation of “property held jointly during marriage” — matrimonial property and survivorship — Deceased Estates (Wills and Inheritance) Protection Act — Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act — inter vivos dispositions vs intestacy — survivor’s proprietary rights — need for letters of administration.
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6 June 2021 |
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Jointly acquired matrimonial property vested in the surviving spouse by survivorship; no administration necessary; section 24 mandates broad fair-disposition principles.
Constitutional and family property law — Interpretation of section 24 (property rights of women) — Meaning of "property held jointly" — Survivorship of jointly held property — Scope of Deceased Estates (Wills and Inheritance) Protection Act and Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act — Administration of estates and requirement for letters of administration.
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6 June 2021 |
| April 2021 |
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A sentencing rehearing in the High Court is the appropriate constitutional remedy for sentences imposed under the invalid mandatory death provision.
Constitutional law — mandatory death penalty — Kafantayeni and Yasini — remedy of sentencing rehearing under ss. 46(2)–(3) and 108(2) — res judicata and stare decisis inapplicable to constitutional resentencing remedy — reception of post-conviction mitigation evidence — management directions for resentencing.
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28 April 2021 |
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21 April 2021 |
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13 April 2021 |
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An appeal from the Industrial Relations Court must raise questions of law or jurisdiction, not re-litigate factual findings.
Labour law – Appeals from Industrial Relations Court – Section 65(2) LRA confines appeals to questions of law or jurisdiction; factual findings of IRC final and binding – Appellate consideration of facts limited to assessing whether law was correctly applied to found facts – Procedural requirements for grounds of appeal (Order III r.2 SCA Rules) – Inchoate appeals.
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13 April 2021 |