Results.
378 judgments found.
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| October 2003 |
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Ex parte injunctions require full, frank disclosure; misrepresentation disentitles applicant to stay of discharge.
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Civil procedure — Ex parte injunctions — Duty of full and frank disclosure — Misrepresentation of alternative accommodation — Stay of discharge governed by ex parte principles, not Marriage Act or Married Women’s Property Act.
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7 October 2003 |
| August 2003 |
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Whether a government bureau lacking legal personality can be sued and the correct procedure to challenge restriction notices.
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Constitutional/administrative law — statutory bodies — legal personality — Anti‑Corruption Bureau lacks capacity to sue or be sued; suits should be against Attorney General or Director; procedure under s.23(5)-(6) — Notice of Motion appropriate; natural justice — notice given; costs against non‑suable body untenable.
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20 August 2003 |
| April 2003 |
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Speaker is not the proper defendant in judicial review of parliamentary acts; Attorney General is, and injunctions against Government are prohibited.
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Administrative law — Judicial review of parliamentary decision — Speaker not proper party; Attorney General proper respondent — Civil Procedure (Suits by or against Government) Act requires notice and bars injunctions against Government — procedural defect of wrong party may defeat interlocutory relief — right to review Parliamentary compliance with natural justice
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27 April 2003 |
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Seizure and freezing orders under CPA s32(5) are civil preservatory measures; ex parte relief is permissible with later inter partes safeguards.
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Corrupt Practices Act s32(5) — seizure and freezing orders; civil ex parte applications; duty of full and frank disclosure; preservation of assets pending trial; property rights and constitutional limitation; tracing/segregation of assets; unclean hands; no statutory receivership under CPA.
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16 April 2003 |
| March 2003 |
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Appellant's murder conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove malice aforethought or participation in the fatal mob attack.
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Criminal law — Murder — Malice aforethought — Requirement to prove intention to kill or cause grievous harm; Criminal law — Joint enterprise — Liability where accused participated in common purpose; Evidence — Dying declaration — Reliability examined against postmortem findings; Criminal procedure — Jury directions — Provocation and self‑defence not necessary on these facts; Conviction quashed for insufficient evidence
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6 March 2003 |
| December 2002 |
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Trial judge erred on burden of proof and evidence; appellant's dismissal of the manager for misconduct was justified.
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Employment law — summary dismissal — misconduct and negligence (unauthorised debits, failure to obtain insurance policies, irregular lending); burden and standard of proof in civil claims; admissibility and weight of bank records; impermissibility of judicial reliance on personal knowledge; defamation — truth defence
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17 December 2002 |
| November 2002 |
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Appellant entitled to market-value damages for conversion; loss-of-profits claim rejected for lack of pleading and proof.
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Conversion — measure of damages: market value at time of conversion; consequential loss
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Loss of use — general damages, modest; cannot substitute for loss of profits without pleading and proof
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Special damages — must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved
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Procedural delay — inordinate delay between hearing and judgment criticised
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10 November 2002 |
| September 2002 |
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Claims for pre-Constitution abuse of power must be brought to the National Compensation Tribunal, not the High Court.
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Constitutional law — section 138(1) National Compensation Tribunal exclusive original jurisdiction for pre-Constitution abuses of power; section 108(1) limited; section 138(3) power to remit; malicious prosecution and false imprisonment claims
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19 September 2002 |
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Whether the appellant held valid title after the government determined the respondent’s lease and whether the respondent’s re-entry was trespass.
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Property law — Lease determination for breach of development covenant — Validity of subsequent grant of lease — Title — Trespass for re-entry after determination — Trial de novo and non-binding earlier rulings — Damages for trespass and pleading particularity
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16 September 2002 |
| May 2002 |
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A stay was ordered where the subcontract's arbitration clause was incorporated and accepted by conduct, requiring arbitration.
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Arbitration Act s.6(1) — application to stay proceedings; incorporation of subcontract general conditions by annexes and conduct; implied acceptance of terms; inapplicability of third-party contract clause; referral to arbitration in Mendoza under Clause 36
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28 May 2002 |
| March 2002 |
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Consent stay discharged where appellants failed to comply with time condition to prepare appeal record and skeletal arguments.
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Civil procedure — consent order — stay of execution conditional on record and skeletal arguments being ready by fixed date — failure to comply with temporal condition — consent order discharged — duty of appellant to prepare record and seek extension if necessary
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11 March 2002 |
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A late, vague request for company minute books was rightly refused as unnecessary, a fishing expedition, and a delaying tactic.
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Civil procedure — production and inspection of company minute books — necessity and timing of application — O.24 r.13(1) discovery rules — best evidence — fishing expedition — trial judge’s discretion — limited appellate interference
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7 March 2002 |
| November 2001 |
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Unattested draft will cannot determine executor choice; court may appoint neutral trust corporation under s.42 for proper estate administration.
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Wills — unattested draft not a will; Administration of estates — s.42 Wills and Inheritance Act — court may appoint administrator other than ordinarily entitled person; appointment of trust corporation where parties mistrustful; costs — each party pays own costs
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12 November 2001 |
| October 2001 |
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Stay granted pending appeal after High Court misapplied American Cyanamid principles and considered irrelevant factors.
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Interlocutory injunctions — American Cyanamid principles — good arguable case, serious question, balance of convenience — stay of execution pending appeal — prohibition on deciding contentious issues on affidavits — irrelevant considerations (judiciary/legislature conflict) — irreparable harm — costs in the cause.
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31 October 2001 |
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A stay was granted pending appeal after the High Court misapplied Cyanamid principles and failed to exercise proper discretion.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid principles — Balance of convenience vs 'balance of justice' — Court must not decide claims on affidavits — Improper consideration of irrelevant factors — Failure to exercise judicial discretion
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30 October 2001 |
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Whether retracted confessions and circumstantial evidence could sustain convictions and whether a confession can be used against co-accused without adoption.
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Criminal law — s.176 CP&EC — retracted confessions admissible but only weightable if tribunal satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of material truth; need for external pointers/corroboration; confessions against co-accused inadmissible unless adopted by that co-accused; sufficiency of circumstantial evidence and duty of judge to direct jury
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17 October 2001 |
| September 2001 |
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An in‑court agreement based on alleged witchcraft and to stay sentence is illegal and unenforceable; committal and restitution ordered.
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Witchcraft Act s6 and s9 — representation as a wizard/witch and use of charms — illegality of contracts founded on witchcraft; Public policy — agreements to discontinue criminal proceedings or stay execution of sentence in court proceedings — Magistrate functus officio and lack of power to stay execution; Restitution under Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code s148(1); Seizure and sale of assets to satisfy restitution
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23 September 2001 |
| August 2001 |
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Special damages require strict proof on the balance of probabilities; credible oral evidence may suffice; business-loss must be supported by contemporaneous evidence.
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Damages — Special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved strictly (on balance of probabilities); absence of receipts not fatal if oral evidence credible; General damages — loss of business must be supported by contemporaneous evidence; Appeal — fresh evidence on appeal limited; operational cost projections admissible if supported and unchallenged
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22 August 2001 |
| July 2001 |
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Appeal dismissed: appointment complied with customary law and Chiefs Act; appellants’ delay and acquiescence precluded relief.
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Chieftaincy succession — Chiefs Act s4(2) entitlement and majority support — customary nomination procedures (women and nkhoswe) — delay/acquiescence — removal inquiries under s11(2)/s12 — judicial reluctance to disturb long-accepted installations
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10 July 2001 |
| June 2001 |
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Quorum absence invalidated expulsion; administrative tribunal may re-hear after procedural-review quashing; "unless" limb set aside.
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Administrative law — judicial review — procedural irregularity for lack of quorum — quorum requirement under university rules — doctrine of necessity inapplicable where no quorum at outset — power to re-hear after quashing — contempt and compliance with reinstatement orders
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3 June 2001 |
| October 2000 |
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Section 80(2) requires a majority of votes cast, not a majority of all registered voters, to elect the President.
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Constitutional interpretation — Election law — Meaning of "majority of the electorate" in s80(2) — Majority of votes cast, not of all registered voters — PPE Act s96(5) consistent with Constitution — Limited weight to legislative history
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22 October 2000 |
| August 2000 |
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Appeal allowed: respondents failed to prove false imprisonment or slander; aggravated damages require specific pleading.
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Tort — False imprisonment: liability where defendant or agent makes a charge procuring police arrest; distinction between laying information and making a charge; burden of proof on claimant
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Defamation — necessity of proving the words as pleaded
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Damages — special and aggravated damages must be specifically pleaded with particulars
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24 August 2000 |
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Insufficient Turnbull warning was outweighed by fingerprint and caution-statement corroboration, so conviction was upheld.
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Criminal law — Visual identification — Dock identification — Turnbull warning required; Fingerprint evidence as corroboration; Caution statement; Safety of verdict; Missing exhibits explained
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14 August 2000 |
| April 2000 |
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Registration of a UK arbitration award upheld because arbitrators validly had jurisdiction under a concluded contract.
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Arbitration — Registration of foreign arbitration awards — British and Commonwealth Judgments Act — Enforcement under Arbitration Act (ss.27, 37, 38) — Jurisdiction of arbitrators — Existence of contract determined by documentary evidence
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16 April 2000 |
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Procedural defects in treating a witness as hostile and some misdirection on caution statements were noted, but conviction upheld on credible eyewitness evidence.
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Criminal procedure — hostile witness application — necessity of laying foundation and showing prior statement; Criminal evidence — caution/confession statements — exculpatory statements not evidence of asserted facts but admissible as evidence of making and reaction; Corroboration — no general requirement where single credible eyewitness evidence suffices; Appeal — review of jury verdicts
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16 April 2000 |
| November 1999 |
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Where a claim pleads an unspecified "bank rate" for interest, the court will apply the Judgment Act rate (5%).
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Interest — rate to apply where claim pleaded as "bank rate" without specification — commercial versus investment rates — pleading requirements for interest — application of Judgment Act rate (Courts Act s.65) as convenient guide
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23 November 1999 |
| August 1999 |
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An interlocutory injunction preventing the appellant from remaining in the matrimonial home was justified by threats of violence.
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Interlocutory injunction — matrimonial home — alleged domestic violence and threats — adequacy of damages — injunction duration tied to pending divorce proceedings — equity looks to substance not form — American Cyanamid principles applied.
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26 August 1999 |
| July 1999 |
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Applicant's challenge that key prosecution witnesses were "tainted" and that the summing‑up was inadequate was rejected.
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Criminal law — murder — credibility of eye‑witnesses — alleged "tainted" witnesses — adequacy of summing‑up and directions to jury — appellate review of jury verdict
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27 July 1999 |
| February 1999 |
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Bail for serious offences is discretionary; prosecution non-objection is not decisive and prolonged remand alone is not exceptional.
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Criminal law — Bail — Constitutional right to bail not absolute — Serious offences (murder) require exceptional circumstances for bail — Prosecution's non-objection not dispositive — Committal to High Court a legitimate factor — Subsequent bail applications require material change.
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24 February 1999 |
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24 February 1999 |
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No binding sale existed; appellant awarded repayment of the redemption sum with 5% statutory interest, specific performance denied.
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Contract law — agreement to agree; no binding sale where essential term (price) not agreed — Specific performance refused — equitable clean hands — restitution of redemption payment — statutory interest under s.65 Courts Act — contractual interest must be pleaded
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22 February 1999 |
| November 1998 |
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Pensionable status does not, without clear wording or pleading, preclude termination on contractual notice; appeal allowed and pension benefits awarded with interest.
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Employment law — implication of terms — pensionable or "permanent" employment does not, without clear language, prevent termination by notice; pleadings required for implied terms — tort claims not to supplant contractual claims
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10 November 1998 |
| August 1998 |
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Court ordered return of employer-supplied materials, holding contractor’s lien invalid absent architect’s interim certificate.
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Interlocutory mandatory injunctions — balance of convenience and conduct of parties; building contract lien — dependence on architect’s interim certificate (Clause 31); quantity surveyor valuations not substitute for architect’s certificate
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10 August 1998 |
| April 1998 |
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Alleged partnership failed; truck treated as estate property and divided fairly between dependant and excluded child.
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Wills and Inheritance Act ss.16(2)(b) and 17 — intestate succession — dependants' protection and fair distribution — alleged partnership not substantiated — estate property versus partnership property — remedy by transfer with compensation or sale and equal division.
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9 April 1998 |
| July 1997 |
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Whether jury directions on conspiracy, admissibility of hearsay, and the accused's constitutional right to silence were correctly applied.
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Criminal law — Conspiracy: knowledge required for late joiners; Criminal procedure — Right to remain silent — sections 313 and 314 invalid to extent inconsistent with Constitution; Evidence — hearsay and statements by deceased; Trial procedure — fairness of judicial summing-up; Costs — State ordered to pay appeal costs where prosecution abandons appeal
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30 July 1997 |
| September 1996 |
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Payment in lieu of notice is "remuneration"; a clause allowing one month's pay for three months' notice violated the constitutional right to fair remuneration.
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Constitutional law — Right to fair and safe labour practices and fair remuneration — Payment in lieu of notice constitutes remuneration — Contractual term permitting one month's pay in lieu of three months' notice inconsistent with constitution — Reciprocal clause insufficient where imbalance of bargaining power
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2 September 1996 |
| November 1995 |
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The respondents cannot sue the President or Speaker personally for official acts; proceedings must be brought via the Attorney General.
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Constitutional law — Suit against high office‑holders — President and Speaker not "public officers" for personal suability — Actions against official acts to be brought via Attorney General — Presidential immunity under s.91(1) — Parliamentary privilege under s.60 — Declaratory relief requires sufficient interest/standing
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19 November 1995 |
| September 1995 |
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Severance, trial delay and the prosecution's burden under s.42 justified granting bail to the appellants.
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Constitutional right to bail (s.42) — "interests of justice" as qualification — prosecution's burden on bail — severance of charges as fresh basis for bail — caution in relying on s.293 statements — delay and length of trial as grounds for bail
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10 September 1995 |
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Bail is a constitutional right unless the prosecution shows, on balance, that the interests of justice require continued detention.
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Constitutional right to bail (s.42) — "interests of justice" test — burden on prosecution to show detention justified — "exceptional circumstances" not always prerequisite — severance of charges may justify fresh bail application — limited weight of s.293 statements at bail stage — delay and length of trial relevant
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10 September 1995 |
| August 1995 |
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20 August 1995 |
| April 1994 |
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Whether the appellant was an employee and entitled to damages for injury caused by the employer's failure to provide safe equipment.
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Employment law — employee v independent contractor — control, integration and economic reality tests; Employer's duty to provide safe equipment and workplace; Causation — missing guard and defective grinding disc; Rejection of assumption of risk defence; Quantum for permanent disablement.
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15 April 1994 |
| March 1993 |
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Sedition convictions upheld on statutory construction; incitement to violence not universally required, but sentences reduced as excessive.
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Criminal law — Sedition — Interpretation of s.50(1) Penal Code — Definitions disjunctive — "Hatred, contempt, disaffection" ordinary meaning — Incitement to violence not necessary except possibly under s.50(1)(b); Constitutional law — Freedom of expression subject to reasonable restrictions; International instruments — UDHR part of domestic law, African Charter not enforceable absent incorporation; Sentence — appellate reduction for manifest excessiveness
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28 March 1993 |
| December 1992 |
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The Supreme Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to review its own delivered judgment except under the narrow "slip rule" or pre-perfection practice.
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Civil procedure — Judicial review — Whether a Court of Appeal may review its own judgment — Order 53(3) excludes Court of Appeal — slip rule and Rule 29 (practice of Court of Appeal in England) — powers of review are statutory.
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11 December 1992 |
| August 1992 |
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Court granted stay of execution pending appeal due to special circumstances despite likelihood respondent could repay damages.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Discretionary relief — Balance between protecting successful litigant's judgment and preserving right to appeal — Special circumstances and probability of inability to repay as factors — Large awards representing future pension benefits.
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18 August 1992 |
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Court granted stay pending appeal due to special circumstances despite respondent's apparent ability to repay; costs awarded to respondent.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Court's discretion; special circumstances; successful litigant's ability to repay not decisive; large future pension award considered.
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15 August 1992 |
| April 1992 |
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Whether a towing contractor was solely negligent in a recovery tow and proper measure of damages where insurance paid.
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Tort—Negligence—Towing and recovery operations; contributory negligence; assessment of damages where insurance proceeds available; proof of funeral and loss-of-use damages; costs on successful appeal.
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18 April 1992 |
| March 1992 |
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Illegality of credit fuel sales defeated respondents’ claim, but appellant denied costs due to partial success.
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Contract law — Illegality; Conservation of Motor Fuel Regulations — sale of fuel on credit; sub-contracting and L.P.O. transactions; evidentiary burden on set-off/deductions; costs discretion where success is partial.
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20 March 1992 |
| February 1992 |
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Application for directions on repayment of monies recovered under a set‑aside judgment dismissed as an abuse of court process.
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Civil procedure — Abuse of process; effect of appellate setting aside of trial judgment on monies recovered; restitution of sums recovered pursuant to an annulled judgment; interaction with Registrar's orders and stays.
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10 February 1992 |
| November 1989 |
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23 November 1989 |
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Whether an application to amend pleadings, accounting particulars and documentary evidence affected the bank’s counterclaim and liability.
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Civil procedure — amendment of pleadings — leave to amend after evidence — objections during trial; Banking accounts — counterclaim accounting — effect of further and better particulars and ledger errors; Pleadings — joint versus several liability; Evidence — admissibility and weight of appellant’s cash book (exhibit); Costs — apportionment where appeal partly succeeds.
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6 November 1989 |