Results.
470 judgments found.
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| October 2021 |
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The applicant awarded MK6.5m damages and MK2m costs for defamation, false imprisonment and privacy breach after unlawful search.
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Defamation (slander) — false imprisonment — breach of privacy — warrantless entry and search — exemplary damages — assessment of quantum — award of costs.
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9 October 2021 |
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An application for judgment on admission is incompetent if no summons has been issued to commence proceedings.
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Civil procedure — commencement of proceedings by summons (Order 5 Rule 1) — judgment on admission under Order 12 Rule 32 — judgment on admission presupposes prior commencement of proceedings — incompetence of application without summons.
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8 October 2021 |
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An application for judgment on admission is incompetent unless proceedings have been commenced by a summons setting out the claim.
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Civil procedure — commencement of proceedings — summons required under Order 5 Rule 1 — Order 12 judgment on admission presupposes existing proceedings — judgment on admission cannot be entered absent a summons commencing the claim.
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8 October 2021 |
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Notice for assessment of costs dismissed as time‑barred under Order 31 Rule 12; incorrect rule citation was curable.
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Civil procedure — Assessment of costs — Order 31 Rule 12 (three‑month filing period; filing at conclusion; extension or early filing permitted) — Order 10 Rule 1 — irregularity curable — notice for assessment dismissed as time‑barred.
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8 October 2021 |
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Whether the Commissioner General is a necessary party to judicial review of his refusal to allow duty‑free vehicle disposal.
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Judicial review — decision by Commissioner General of revenue authority refusing duty‑free disposal of vehicle — whether Commissioner is proper and necessary party — Order 6 r.8 (CPR) — Order 20 r.1(b)(iii) (judicial review jurisdiction) — interpretation and application of Customs Procedure Code.
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7 October 2021 |
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Permission to seek judicial review refused as challenge to Committee’s consultative public hearings was premature; Committee acted within Standing Orders.
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Parliamentary committees — Standing Orders 159, 150(2), 170(1) — jurisdiction to investigate administration of law and hold public hearings; consultative process; prematurity of judicial review; rights of audience for legal assistants/paralegals.
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7 October 2021 |
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Payment of an importer's fine does not entitle the claimant to release of a seized vehicle.
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Customs law — seizure of conveyances — conveying smuggled goods — separate offences for importer and transporter — s.137(2) reasonable precautions defence — s.145/s.146 seizure and forfeiture powers.
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7 October 2021 |
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Claims for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation and special damages dismissed for lack of reasonable cause or proof.
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False imprisonment — arrest on complainant’s report; police reasonable suspicion and 48-hour detention rule.
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6 October 2021 |
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5 October 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for medical negligence after failed anaesthetic causing permanent loss of sight; awards calibrated by precedent.
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Medical negligence — assessment of damages — failed anaesthetic leading to permanent loss of sight — heads: pain and suffering, loss of amenities, future medical expenses, exemplary and special damages — quantification guided by precedent and proportionality.
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4 October 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for road traffic injuries: global award for pain, suffering, disfigurement and partial loss of earning capacity; special damages denied.
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Road traffic personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering; loss of amenities; disfigurement; loss of earnings/earning capacity — special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proven — quantum guided by comparable local awards.
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4 October 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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The claimant's interlocutory injunction was upheld: serious questions existed, damages were inadequate, and procedural noncompliance was not fatal.
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Interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid test — serious question to be tried — damages inadequate — balance of convenience — abuse of process and procedural non‑compliance not fatal.
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29 September 2021 |
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28 September 2021 |
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28 September 2021 |
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Malicious prosecution claim succeeds due to lack of probable cause; cruel and degrading treatment claim fails for lack of evidence.
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Malicious prosecution — absence of reasonable and probable cause and malice; evidentiary shortcomings (missing medical witness, weak identification) vitiating probable cause — Claim for cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment requires specific evidence and particulars; quantum to be assessed by Registrar.
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24 September 2021 |
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24 September 2021 |
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24 September 2021 |
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Earlier-registered title prevails; state must indemnify innocent purchaser where Land Register error misled them.
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Land law — registered title priority — qui prior est tempore potior est iure — duplicate/erroneous title deeds — rectification of Land Register — state indemnity for registry errors (Registered Land Act s.140) — innocent purchaser — trespass.
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23 September 2021 |
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Claimant’s workplace personal-injury suit was time-barred; acknowledgment provisions for land/debt do not revive personal-injury claims.
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Limitation of actions — personal injury/negligence — three-year limitation under Limitation Act proviso; sections 22–23 (acknowledgement/part payment) do not revive personal injury claims; Workers Compensation Act — 12‑month limitation for workers’ compensation; unproven casual-worker allegation.
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22 September 2021 |
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Whether customary succession and chiefs' determinations establish the rightful heir to the chieftaincy.
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Chiefs Act s.4 — customary succession — Chewa matrilineal succession — consensus of chiefs and elders — weight of commissions of enquiry and chiefs' reports — challenge to presidential appointment of a chief.
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22 September 2021 |
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22 September 2021 |
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22 September 2021 |
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Assessment of personal injury damages: inadequate proof of lost earnings/special damages; consolidated award of MK 4,950,000.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering; loss of amenities; disfigurement; insufficient proof of loss of earnings and special damages; single consolidated award to avoid overcompensation.
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22 September 2021 |
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Malicious prosecution claim succeeds; false imprisonment, unlawful detention and defamation claims dismissed; costs shared.
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Criminal procedure and civil liability — malicious prosecution — absence of reasonable and probable cause and malice; false imprisonment — liability where police conduct own investigations; unlawful detention — proof required of court appearance/remand within 48 hours; defamation — necessity to plead and prove exact words and publication; costs — discretionary.
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21 September 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for multiple passengers injured in a motor vehicle accident, awarding MK23,530,000 and taxed costs.
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Personal injury — Assessment of damages — Restitutio in integrum — Use of comparable awards — Proof of disfigurement — Special damages strict proof — Assessment in absence of defendant (service proved).
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20 September 2021 |
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Applicant failed to show good cause or explain an eight-month delay; leave to appeal out of time was refused.
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Criminal procedure — leave to appeal out of time — s.349(4) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — requirement to show sufficient cause, bona fides and diligence — discretion to condone delay only where adequate explanation and steps taken.
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17 September 2021 |
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Standard-basis taxation reduced an inflated costs bill to K4,520,440.00, stressing proportionality and required supporting documents.
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Costs taxation — standard basis assessment — proportionality and reasonableness — Legal Practitioners’ hourly rates (K40,000/hr for senior counsel) — requirement to attach assessment bundle — trimming exaggerated or unsupported bill items.
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14 September 2021 |
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The applicant failed to prove the respondent’s negligence or causation for the fire; claim dismissed.
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Negligence — causation in electrical fire claims; res ipsa loquitur — burden to exclude internal causes; electricity supply contracts — liability ends at metering point; necessity of expert evidence in electrical fire causation.
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10 September 2021 |
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Confirmation court increases burglary sentence for premeditated, large-scale theft and notes failure to amend/add charge under section 254.
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Criminal procedure — failure to amend charges before section 254 compliance; Penal Code — burglary (s.309(a)) and breaking into building committing felony (s.311); sentencing — appropriate starting point and enhancement for premeditation and magnitude.
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10 September 2021 |
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Court confirmed five‑year burglary sentence, finding magistrate properly balanced aggravating and mitigating factors.
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Criminal law — Burglary and theft — Sentencing — Confirmation review under section 15 — Guideline starting point for burglary (six years) — Mitigating factors: youth, first offender, unlocked entry, no damage — Sentence confirmed.
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10 September 2021 |
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High Court confirms twelve-year sentence for defilement of a 13-year-old, declining to enhance sentence.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Sentence confirmation and review — Whether sentence manifestly excessive or inadequate — Sentencing factors: age of victim and offender, inducement, psychological harm — High Court intervention limited.
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10 September 2021 |
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Accused convicted for corruptly offering money to judges to influence an election petition; alternative counts dismissed.
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Corrupt Practices Act — offering advantage to public officers (s24(2)) — admissibility and weight of audio/WhatsApp evidence — circumstantial evidence and intent — alternative attempt/inducement counts fall away on conviction of substantive offence.
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10 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.
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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 |
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Court confirmed a three-year sentence for grievous bodily harm by hot-iron burns, weighing injury severity against guilty plea and first-offender status.
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Criminal law — act intended to cause grievous bodily harm — sentence confirmation — assessment of appropriate sentence — factors: severity of injuries, guilty plea, first offender status, comparative authorities — incomplete medical evidence.
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6 September 2021 |
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Default judgment set aside because defendant showed a bona fide defence, subject to costs, filing a defence, and mediation conditions.
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Civil procedure — Setting aside default judgment — Delay — Defence on merits — Conditional setting aside — Costs as condition — Requirement to file defence and mediation timetable.
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5 September 2021 |
| August 2021 |
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Assessment of damages for fatal and non‑fatal road accident injuries, including dependency and report costs.
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Personal injury — assessment of damages — pain and suffering; loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency — multiplicand and multiplier method; proof requirement for special damages; reasonable compensation for unproven report costs.
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27 August 2021 |
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An ex parte interlocutory injunction was maintained because claimants disclosed triable issues and damages would be inadequate; set-aside application dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunctions (Order 10 r.27) — triable issue and limited merits inquiry; adequacy of damages; abuse of letters of administration; non-disclosure and setting aside ex parte orders.
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26 August 2021 |
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Interlocutory injunction preserving disputed estate upheld where claimants showed a triable issue and damages were inadequate.
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Interlocutory injunctions — ex parte injunctions — suppression/non-disclosure of material facts — letters of administration — administration and distribution of deceased estate — adequacy of damages — preservation of status quo — balance of convenience.
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26 August 2021 |
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An application for an interim injunction restraining a municipal ban on motorcycle taxis dismissed pending substantive review.
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Administrative law — Interlocutory injunction — Test: serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; balance of convenience — Right to economic activity — Limitation under constitutional section 44 — Municipal regulation of motorcycle taxis and public safety concerns.
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24 August 2021 |
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Claimant with scrotal rupture awarded MK7.5M for pain and loss of amenities; permanent impotence insufficiently proven.
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Personal injury — workplace scrotal laceration exposing testes — assessment of general damages; pain and suffering; loss of amenities (sexual/conjugal life) — evidence required to prove impotence; disfigurement claim not pleaded/proven — award MK5,000,000 (pain) and MK2,500,000 (amenities).
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23 August 2021 |
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23 August 2021 |
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23 August 2021 |
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Court increased rape sentence to 12 years due to use of a knife, threats and deprivation of the complainant’s liberty.
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Criminal law — Rape — Sentencing — Aggravating features: use of knife, threats, deprivation of liberty — Custodial sentence generally required — Confirmation and enhancement where original sentence manifestly inadequate.
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23 August 2021 |
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Assessment awards damages for 37‑day false imprisonment, nine months’ withheld wages, interest and costs following default judgment.
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Damages — False imprisonment — Assessment of quantum for 37‑day detention; recovery of withheld wages for interdiction; interest on withheld salaries; party and party costs after default judgment.
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23 August 2021 |
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Claimant’s withdrawal of judicial review attracts costs to defendants for expenses incurred before service of the discontinuance.
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Civil procedure — Discontinuance/withdrawal of proceedings — Costs liability under Order 12 r49 — Court order required under Order 31 r1(2) — Costs awarded for work done on or before service of notice — Assessment by Registrar.
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23 August 2021 |
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Appeal admitted out of time and retrial ordered where missing magistrate court record was substantial and prejudicial.
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Criminal law — Appeal and extension of time — Admission of appeal out of time under s349(4) CPEC — Appellate review of magistrate findings — Missing/incomplete lower court record — Substantial omissions justify retrial — Credit for time in custody.
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20 August 2021 |
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High Court confirmed divorce and property division, ordered reassessment of compensation, and set aside an improper protection order allowing return to the home.
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Family law — Divorce; distribution of matrimonial property — assessment of compensation — review of magistrate’s decision; Protection orders — improper ex parte PDVA order and unlawful eviction; Judicial conduct — delays, impartiality and fair trial concerns.
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19 August 2021 |
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Application to extend time to file a bill of costs refused for failure to demonstrate sufficient reason for delay.
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Civil procedure — extension of time to file bill of costs — Order 31 r12 CPR 2017 — discretionary relief — good and substantial reason — enforcement proceedings — initial bill and supplementary bill — importance of timelines.
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16 August 2021 |
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16 August 2021 |
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16 August 2021 |