Results.
5,386 judgments found.
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| February 2025 |
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Failure to serve the mandatory pre‑suit notice and the time‑barred nature of the dispute rendered the applicants’ claim and motion a nullity.
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Civil procedure — pre‑suit notice mandatory under Civil Procedure (Suits By and Against Government) Act s4 — non‑compliance renders action a nullity; administrative law — challenges to Ministerial implementation of statutory pension scheme are matters for judicial review; limitation — three‑month rule for judicial review; declaratory relief cannot circumvent pre‑suit notice requirement.
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3 February 2025 |
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Exit agreement signed under economic duress: dismissal unfair; applicant entitled to compensation and remedy hearing.
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Employment law — Unfair dismissal — Mutual release/exit agreement vitiated by economic duress; procedural fairness in disciplinary process; employer’s burden to prove valid reason for dismissal; compensation remedy.
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3 February 2025 |
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Dismissals for operational requirements without consultation were unfair; applicants entitled to compensation.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — operational requirements/retrenchment — statutory consultation requirement — justice and equity (s.61 Employment Act) — funding contingency clause — contractual notice period — compensation assessment.
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3 February 2025 |
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Court allowed joinder, required clearer particulars, limited retrospective use of PFMA 2022, and conditioned reinstatement after discharge.
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Criminal procedure — joinder of accused; Statement of offence — particulars and duplicity; Money laundering — predicate offence to be specified; Retrospective application of statutes — PFMA 2022 vs PFMA 2003; Reinstatement after discharge — requirement for State justification; Financial Crimes Act s41 — applies to persons including public officials; Disclosure obligations — generally pre‑plea.
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3 February 2025 |
| January 2025 |
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Ex parte permission for judicial review discharged for abuse of process and suppression of prior related proceedings.
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Administrative law — Judicial review — Ex parte permission — Duty of frank and full disclosure — Suppression of prior related proceedings — Abuse of court process via multiplicity of actions — Discharge of permission and interlocutory injunction — Discretionary extension of time (functus officio).
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31 January 2025 |
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The Ombudsman lacked jurisdiction to investigate an anonymous complaint; resulting employment nullifications were set aside and benefits ordered.
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Ombudsman jurisdiction — section 123(1) Constitution — anonymous complaints — requirement that a person who has suffered injustice lay complaint; judicial review of Ombudsman determinations; nullity of unlawful directives; compliance by public authority; reinstatement and terminal benefits; costs each party.
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31 January 2025 |
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Claim dismissed with costs for failure to comply with trial directions and an incompetent adjournment request.
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Adjournment applications — competence and supporting evidence; failure to comply with trial directions; failure to prosecute; court’s discretion to grant adjournments; dismissal with costs.
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29 January 2025 |
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27 January 2025 |
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Leave to appeal and a stay were dismissed as premature and procedurally incompetent because the High Court judgment remained inchoate.
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Civil procedure — inchoate judgment — premature leave to appeal — inchoate judgments not appealable; stay of execution — must first apply to High Court where concurrent jurisdiction exists; SCA jurisdiction invoked after refusal by High Court; procedural competency of applications.
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22 January 2025 |
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High Court reviewed and set aside subordinate custody order, awarding primary custody to the breastfeeding mother and ordering medical and social assessments.
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Family law — Custody — Best interests of the child — Infant breastfeeding as paramount consideration — High Court supervisory review under Section 26 Courts Act — Quashing subordinate court custody order — Orders for medical and social welfare assessments.
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22 January 2025 |
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Undocumented redundancy and lack of consultation rendered the dismissal substantively and procedurally unfair; compensation ordered.
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Employment Law
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Redundancy and Unfair Dismissal — Substantive and Procedural Fairness — Employer bears burden to justify dismissal (Employment Act ss 57, 62)
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Remedies — Compensation, Severance and Accrued Leave — Quantum to be assessed at separate hearing (Employment Act ss 35, 39)
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22 January 2025 |
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Registrar rejects application for review due to improper signature, procedural non-compliance, and wrong forum for admissions.
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Civil procedure — rejection of documents; signature by named legal practitioner required; notice of change of legal practitioner (Order 33); sworn statement formalities (Order 18); jurisdiction for admissions — Chief Justice; abuse of court process; Rules Orders 5, 18, 25.
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22 January 2025 |
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A prolonged unpaid suspension without disciplinary process amounted to constructive dismissal and an unfair labour practice.
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Employment Law
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Constructive Dismissal — Prolonged unpaid suspension and failure to hold disciplinary proceedings
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Unfair Labour Practices — Withholding wages during suspension
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Administrative Law — Procedural Fairness — Employer cannot indefinitely defer internal disciplinary action to criminal proceedings
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13 January 2025 |
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12 January 2025 |
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Failure to call accusers and authenticate evidence rendered the dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair.
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Employment Law
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Disciplinary Dismissal — Procedural fairness and right to cross‑examination of accusers
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Evidence — Reliance on unauthenticated audio recordings and call logs in disciplinary proceedings
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Remedies — Compensation, notice pay and severance for unfair dismissal and unfair labour practices
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7 January 2025 |
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Summary dismissal for alleged theft was procedurally and substantively unfair due to withheld evidence and insufficient corroboration.
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Labour Law — Dismissal — Procedural and substantive fairness — Disclosure of evidence and impartiality of disciplinary proceedings
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6 January 2025 |
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Dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair due to biased hearing, lack of evidence of gross misconduct, and selective treatment.
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Employment Law
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Dismissal
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Procedural fairness — Right to call witnesses; Panel impartiality; Transparency
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Substantive fairness — Requirement to prove gross misconduct and proportionality of sanction
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Labour practices — Unfair treatment — Selective enforcement of overtime policy and retaliatory conduct
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6 January 2025 |
| December 2024 |
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Whether a stay pending appeal should be granted where employer alleges appeal merits but cites financial incapacity.
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Labour law — stay of execution pending appeal — criteria for granting stay (prima facie merits, nugatory appeal, prejudice) — unfair dismissal — retrenchment — consultation — ultra vires ministerial action — financial incapacity not determinative.
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23 December 2024 |
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18 December 2024 |
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A defendant who refers a constitutional challenge becomes the claimant; the Attorney General remains a neutral constitutional advisor.
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Constitutional law
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Constitutional referrals — Whether Attorney General should be claimant where lower court certifies referral — Role of AG as neutral custodian of the Constitution
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Burden of proof — Presumption of constitutionality and onus on party challenging legislation
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Civil procedure — Order 19 CPR — Commencement and citation of constitutional proceedings — Party who moves the court should be claimant
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17 December 2024 |
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Applicant unfairly dismissed; court awarded MK45,008,542.95 for withheld pay, unfair dismissal, unfair labour practices, severance, gratuity and pension loss.
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Employment Law
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Unfair Dismissal — Whether dismissal without written reasons or hearing was unfair and effect on length of service
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Unfair Labour Practices — Failure to facilitate transfer (transport) and discriminatory treatment — Damages for non-pecuniary and pecuniary loss
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17 December 2024 |
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Unexplained division of matrimonial property set aside and remitted for rehearing due to lack of reasons and analysis.
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Matrimonial property distribution — duty to give reasons — assessment of contributions and parties' intentions — improper delegation to Registrar — remittal for rehearing.
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17 December 2024 |
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Section 96(1) does not make lodging a complaint and cyber‑inspector assessment a mandatory precondition to prosecuting offences under the Act.
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Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act — Section 96(1) — "may" versus "shall" — permissive complaint procedure — role and powers of cyber inspector — whether complaint/assessment is mandatory precondition to prosecution — effect of non‑compliance on validity of charges.
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17 December 2024 |
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Fixed‑term contract expired lawfully; administrative delay in promotion notification did not amount to unfair dismissal or unfair labour practices.
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Labour Law
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Termination — Fixed‑term contract expiry by effluxion of time — Section 28(2) Employment Act
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Procedural Fairness — Notice of non‑renewal — Verbal communication followed by written confirmation
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Unfair Labour Practices — Promotion notification and payroll deletion — Administrative delay without bad faith
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10 December 2024 |
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Whether recognising foreign law degrees with lower entry standards violates constitutional equality and education standards; referral to the Chief Justice.
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Constitutional law — education standards — recognition of foreign qualifications — discrimination and equality (Sections 25, 13, 20) — NCHE and CLE powers — constitutional interpretation by registrars — Section 9(2) Courts Act referral to a panel of judges.
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6 December 2024 |
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Claim for 100% top‑ups denied; applicants entitled to proportionate adjustments, devaluation, interest and nominal damages.
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Labour Law — Remuneration — Campus top‑up allowances and alleged unequal pay for work of equal value — Workload‑based differentiation justified by policy and pre‑merger terms
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Employment Law — Equal Remuneration — Proof required to show comparable workload and entitlement to identical top‑ups — Employment Act s6; Constitution s31
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3 December 2024 |
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Court granted a conditional stay pending appeal but required the respondent to pay 50% of each decretal award immediately.
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Industrial/Employment law — stay of execution pending appeal — onus on party seeking suspension — necessity for cogent evidence of impecuniosity or risk of appeal being rendered nugatory — balancing justice between parties — conditional stay by requiring substantial interim payments.
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3 December 2024 |
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Dismissal was procedurally and substantively unfair; employer must pay unpaid pension contributions and cannot enforce alleged loan.
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Employment Law
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Unfair Dismissal — Procedural and Substantive Fairness — Employment Act ss 57(1)–(2), 62(1)
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Pension Contributions — Employer’s Duty to Remit — Pension Act ss 9, 12
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Employer Counterclaim — Proof of Loan and Offsetting Awards — Necessity of Written Agreement and Recovery Evidence
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3 December 2024 |
| November 2024 |
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Leave to appeal denied to avoid piecemeal, inchoate appeals and to expedite resolution of child custody and relocation issues.
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Appeal — leave to appeal — requirement under s.21 Supreme Court of Appeal Act; Inchoate appeals — prohibition on piecemeal appeals; Case management — expediency in child custody disputes; Jurisdiction — relocation application to Chief Resident Magistrate (Centre); Costs — each party to bear own costs.
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29 November 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed for inordinate delay and failure to prosecute; missing-file excuse was unsubstantiated hearsay.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — Order III r.9 (record of appeal) — Practice Direction No 1 of 2010 (skeleton arguments) — missing court file allegation — hearsay — failure to prosecute — costs.
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29 November 2024 |
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Assistant Registrar recused from processing an admission petition after finding the petitioner’s grades may not meet constitutional and regulatory minimum education standards.
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Legal education — admission to practice — assessment and recognition of foreign law degrees — requirement that private and foreign qualifications meet standards not inferior to public universities — constitutional s.25(3)(b) and regulatory minimum standards — recusal where court officer forms prejudicial views.
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26 November 2024 |
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Whether a High Court may lift a stay after arbitration termination and grant leave to appeal with a stay pending appeal.
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Arbitration law — lifting stay of proceedings after arbitration termination — leave to appeal against interlocutory Ruling — stay pending appeal; procedural compliance with leave-to-appeal rules; commercial efficacy and overriding objective.
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26 November 2024 |
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High Court set aside magistrate’s judgment for lack of jurisdiction and ordered respondents to repay sums obtained; costs ordered against respondents’ counsel.
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Civil procedure — Jurisdiction of subordinate courts — Cause of action arising in another district — Proceedings and judgments without jurisdiction are null and void — High Court power to set aside subordinate court judgments — Third-party debt/attachment orders — Costs and remedies against counsel.
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21 November 2024 |
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Whether seized foreign currency should be forfeited where a businessperson hid funds and used a fake receipt, outweighing mitigating circumstances.
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Exchange control — Regulation 36(1) discretionary forfeiture of foreign currency — judicial exercise of discretion — aggravating factors (large sum, concealment, forged receipt, business person) v. mitigating factors (first offender, plea, alleged hardship) — precedents: Kamanga; Zheng Yan; Henry Kopa; Ashraf Bdallal El Ali — requirement to hear accused in opposition to forfeiture.
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20 November 2024 |
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High Court set aside arbitrarily imposed fines for forestry offences, requiring means test and reducing custodial sentences.
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Forestry offences — sentencing — fines and default imprisonment — mandatory means test — application of Fines (Conversions) Act — first offender principles — s340(1) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — supervisory confirmation review.
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19 November 2024 |
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Applicant’s dismissal declared substantively and procedurally unfair; employer breached fair labour practices.
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Labour Law
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Dismissal — Substantive and procedural fairness
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Disciplinary procedure — Impartiality, notice and right to present evidence
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Constitutional Law — Fair labour practices — Section 31 of the Constitution
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15 November 2024 |
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Dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair; unfair labour practice established, but wage discrimination not proven.
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Labour Law
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Dismissal — Procedural and substantive fairness in disciplinary proceedings
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Unfair labour practice — Improper internal appeal procedure and non‑production of material evidence
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Remuneration — Alleged wage discrimination justified by performance‑based promotion
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12 November 2024 |
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The applicant awarded additional overtime after flat-rate allowance was absorbed by a minimum wage increase; leave claim denied.
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Employment Law — Compensation for unfair dismissal and statutory entitlements — Effect of minimum wage revision on flat-rate overtime allowances
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11 November 2024 |
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6 November 2024 |
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Court escalated the 1981 compensation for the applicant's compulsorily acquired land to MK20,000,000 and denied aggravated damages.
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Land Acquisition Act (as in force at acquisition) — assessment of fair compensation — section 10 factors (consideration paid, improvements, appreciation) — valuation methodology and escalation of historic award — post-acquisition change of land use not to be used to increase historic compensation — aggravated/exemplary damages against State — requirements; loss-of-opportunity claim not entertained if unpleaded.
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5 November 2024 |
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Employer breached its redundancy policy and failed to meaningfully consult, rendering the dismissal unfair and attracting compensation.
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Employment law — redundancy and retrenchment — s.57(1) Employment Act — duty to consult where employer’s terms/policy require it — relevance of ILO Termination of Employment Convention No.158 and Ministry of Labour guidelines — procedural fairness, meaningful consultation and use of proper evidence — unfair dismissal and compensation.
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1 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused because disputed facts and legal issues exist on premises owner status and dog-handler negligence.
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Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Order 12 CPR — Realistic vs fanciful prospects; Premises liability — vicarious/statutory owner under Control and Diseases of Animals Act; Negligence of dog handler — triable issue; Failure to plead/support failure-to-warn allegation; Judgment on admission — requirements for written admissions.
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31 October 2024 |
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30 October 2024 |
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Court continued stay of execution pending appeal, dismissed disclosure application as otiose, and ordered parties to agree arrangements within 28 days.
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Civil procedure — stay of execution pending appeal — discretion guided by interests of justice; disclosure/production of financial documents — otiose and irrelevant where stay already granted; interlocutory directions to agree arrangements.
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30 October 2024 |
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Registrar rejected duplicate originating proceedings as an abuse of process and improper filing at the wrong registry.
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Registrar's power to reject documents — abuse of court process by duplicative filings (summons and judicial review) — improper forum/registry — Order 5 rules 10–13; Order 6 r9; Courts Act s3 and s6A(2).
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27 October 2024 |
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Incomplete investigations alone do not justify continued detention; bail granted where State fails to show likely interference or obstruction.
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Criminal procedure — pre-trial detention — 48-hour rule — arrest should ordinarily follow investigations; incomplete investigations do not automatically justify continued detention; bail may be granted where State fails to show likelihood of interference with witnesses or obstruction of investigations.
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27 October 2024 |
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Whether requiring NRB-issued registration as proof for voter registration unlawfully restricts the applicant's right to vote.
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Electoral law — Voter registration — Proof of eligibility — Section 12 Elections Act requiring NRB registration as proof — Franchise under section 77 Constitution — Interlocutory injunction — Separation of powers.
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25 October 2024 |
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Interpleader claim dismissed where claimant failed to follow Sheriff Act procedure and did not prove ownership of seized goods.
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Interpleader relief; section 11(a)(iii) Courts Act; Order 29 CPR scope; section 20 Sheriff’s Act (Sheriff interpleader summons); burden to prove ownership of goods seized in execution.
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25 October 2024 |
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25 October 2024 |
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Application to file supplementary skeleton arguments deferred to the full bench; copies to be supplied by deadline or dismissed.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory application for leave to file supplementary skeleton arguments — judicial discretion — timing and service of filings — appropriateness of single-member determination where appeal listed before full bench — procedural directions and automatic dismissal for non-compliance.
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24 October 2024 |