Results.
15 judgments found.
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| March 2024 |
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Bank’s report to police not actionable as false imprisonment or defamation; claimant failed to prove medical causation or special damages.
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False imprisonment — distinction between reporting to police and laying charges; police’s independent discretion; defamation by imprisonment — imputations attributable to detaining authority; damages — causation and authentication of medical evidence; special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved.
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30 March 2024 |
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Court revoked bail and ordered forfeiture of cash bond and a bonded residential house after respondent absconded.
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Criminal procedure — Forfeiture of bonded money or property under section 121(2) — Absconding depositor — Identification of third‑party/matrimonial rights — Registered ownership as basis for forfeiture.
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28 March 2024 |
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Assessment of compensation for unfair dismissal: five months’ pay per year, pension, and 200% boost for inflationary devaluation.
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Employment law — Unfair dismissal for non‑hearing (s57, s58 Employment Act) — Compensation assessment (s63(4) & s63(5)) — Years of service post‑privatisation — Employer pension contributions — Boosting awards for devaluation/inflation.
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26 March 2024 |
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Default judgment refused where claimants failed to prove they were police officers, did not comply with statutory pre-action notice, nor exhaust internal Police Service remedies.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Order 12 rules 6–8 — Evidential sufficiency in ex parte default applications; Government suits — statutory pre-action notice to Attorney General (Civil Procedure (Suits by/against Government) Act s.4; Order 8 r.19); Administrative remedies — Police Service Commission under Police Act; judicial discretion on default judgment and costs.
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25 March 2024 |
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Appellant’s convictions for grievous harm and malicious damage quashed for insufficient evidence; alternative conviction impermissible under precedent.
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Criminal law — Grievous bodily harm — High threshold for ‘grievous harm’ under section 4/238 — Medical evidence not always mandatory but here insufficient; Malicious damage — proof of wilful or reckless damage required and absence of exhibit fatal; Alternative verdicts — courts may not substitute lesser offences where State chose charge (Namatav v Republic); Self‑defence and provocation — disproportional response defeats self‑defence, provocation not available to reduce non‑murder offences; Sentencing — original sentences excessive.
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25 March 2024 |
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Prosecution must authenticate photo/video evidence, but acquittal stands where grievous harm under section 235(a) is not proved.
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Evidence — Admissibility of photographs and video — Section 179 CP&EC — Prima facie authentication by competent witness; Burden on prosecution to establish provenance and originality
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Criminal law — Section 235(a) Penal Code — Elements require unlawful wounding or grievous harm plus intention; medical evidence relevant to actus reus
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Criminal procedure — Review powers — High Court may correct misdirections but cannot substitute convictions for offences not charged; alternative verdicts constrained by Supreme Court authority (State must amend)
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20 March 2024 |
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Claims for false imprisonment, defamation and malicious prosecution failed; conversion established only as to retained office chattels, not the claimed money.
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False imprisonment — distinction between reporting a crime and laying charges; Malicious prosecution — must prove prosecution by defendant, favourable termination, lack of reasonable cause and malice; Conversion — wrongful retention of chattels and denial of access; Pleadings — evidence inconsistent with pleadings may be rejected; Civil standard of proof — balance of probabilities.
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19 March 2024 |
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19 March 2024 |
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Appellate court found the purported will invalid, held customary law must be proved under section 64, and restored land to the appellant and siblings.
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Succession and customary land — validity of will under DEWIPA — DEWIPA prevails over customary law on inheritance — customary law is a question of fact requiring proof under section 64 Courts Act — proof required before land can be treated as attached to chieftaincy — Magistrate court jurisdiction and remedies for property loss.
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18 March 2024 |
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Court reduced excessive costs, limited senior counsel and combined in-house fees, and awarded MWK21,625,940.25 in taxed costs.
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Costs assessment — Order 31 CPR 2017 — reasonableness and proportionality of costs; standard vs indemnity assessment (legal practitioner and own client); Senior Counsel fees and proof of use; allocation of hours and hourly rates; disallowance of MLS levy and duplicate VAT claims; care and conduct allowances.
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15 March 2024 |
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Leave and extension granted to challenge sentencing disparity; bail pending appeal refused.
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Criminal procedure — Leave to appeal and extension of time — Sentencing uniformity between co-accused — Bail pending appeal — Supervisory nature and limits of High Court criminal review.
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15 March 2024 |
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Court refuses anti‑arbitration injunction, sanctions non‑disclosure in ex‑parte proceedings, and enforces arbitration agreements.
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Civil procedure
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Interlocutory jurisdiction — Applicability of Order I Rule 18; SCA jurisdiction only triggered where same application and material was first refused in High Court
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Ex‑parte relief — Duty of full and frank disclosure; failure to disclose prior court directions justifies setting aside order
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Arbitration law — Anti‑arbitration injunctions — Courts should respect arbitration agreements and refrain from granting anti‑arbitration injunctions except in limited cases (fraud, impartiality)
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14 March 2024 |
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14‑day deadline for skeleton arguments runs from filing the record of appeal in this Court; stay of execution maintained and application dismissed.
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Civil procedure — stay of execution — Practice Direction No.1 of 2010 — 14‑day period for skeleton arguments runs from filing of record of appeal in Supreme Court of Appeal; non‑compliance may be waived or time enlarged; balance of justice and preservation of jurisdiction guide discharge of stay.
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14 March 2024 |
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A statutory corporation (municipal council) is not exempt from enforcement under Order 34 rule 4 absent express statutory immunity.
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Civil procedure — Order 34 rule 4 CPR 2017 — exemption from enforcement applies to Government or public officers as defined by statute; statutory corporations do not automatically enjoy Crown-type immunities absent express statutory provision.
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6 March 2024 |
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A statutory corporation/local council is not automatically exempt from enforcement under Order 34 rule 4 absent express statutory coverage.
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Civil procedure — Order 34 r.4 CPR 2017 — exemption from enforcement; Suits by or against the Government — Civil Procedure (Suits by or against the Government or Public Officers) Act; General Interpretation Act — definition of Government; Statutory corporations and Crown immunities; Third-party debt order — stay application dismissed.
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6 March 2024 |