Appeals and reviews

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Appeals and reviews

Results. 42 documents found.

42 documents
High Court set aside committal for extradition due to procedural unfairness, evidentiary defects, improper authentication, and safety concerns for applicants.
  • Extradition — procedural fairness — right to be heard; adequacy of judicial reasons; authentication of extradition documents; hearsay and admissibility; linkage between ATP, warrants and charges; specialty and statutory compliance; consideration of safety, delay and bad faith.
Judgment 31 October 2025
Leave for judicial review dismissed for deficient drafting, but applicant granted liberty to refile with notice to respondent.
  • Judicial review — leave to apply — procedural and drafting deficiencies (typos, wrong citations, unclear arguments) — Order 19 CPR — dismissal with liberty to refile — notice to respondent.
Judgment 22 September 2025
Chief Justice certifies the whole proceeding as constitutional; certification is a judicial, conclusive act not amenable to review or appeal.
  • Certification under s.9(2) Courts Act — Chief Justice certifies the whole original proceeding; Certification is judicial, conclusive and transforms the case into a constitutional matter; Party-commenced certification ordinarily commenced by summons under CPR Order 19 (service and response required); Alleged procedural irregularities in certification are to be addressed to the Chief Justice (Order 2 Rule 3(a)), not by judicial review or appeal.
Judgment 2 September 2025
Court refused challenge to Acting Director’s authority, stayed 24‑hour production requirement, and granted review permission on campaign speech vs ACB investigatory powers.
  • Administrative law — judicial review; Actings appointments — authority of Deputy Director to act as Director; Anti‑Corruption Bureau powers — s.10–11 Corrupt Practices Act; Electoral law — freedom of expression during campaign (constitutional s.35 and Elections Act s.53–55); Reasonableness of statutory document production timelines; Interim stay to protect campaign speech.
Judgment 31 August 2025
Claimant lacked a cognisable right and sufficient interest to seek judicial review of the appointment; application dismissed and costs awarded.
  • Judicial review — permission stage — Order 19 rule 20 requirements — must show a right, interest or legitimate expectation affected and sufficient locus standi; speculative future grievances non-justiciable; interlocutory injunction falls away where permission denied; costs follow the event.
Judgment 20 August 2025
Judgment 18 August 2025
Judgment 18 August 2025
Court declared multiple constitutional breaches in a detained child’s treatment and ordered declarations, mandamus, compensation and costs.
  • Constitutional and child-protection law — detention of children — torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment — right to be informed of rights on arrest — prompt notification of parent/guardian — separation from adult offenders — right to nutrition — entitlement to compensation and mandamus relief.
Judgment 19 June 2025
The respondent's application for leave to appeal was denied because the High Court's review judgment remained inchoate pending assessment of terminal dues.
  • Administrative law — Appeals — Leave required for appeals from High Court judgments given on review under s123(2) of the Constitution and s21 of the Supreme Court of Appeal Act; inchoate judgments pending Registrar’s assessment; Ombudsman jurisdiction — anonymous complaints and locus standi; interpretation of constitutional provisions and binding precedent.
Judgment 22 May 2025
Judicial review of the DPP’s prosecutorial decisions is exceptional; applicants must first exhaust parliamentary and criminal remedies.
  • Prosecutorial discretion — Judicial review leave — Selective prosecution alleged — Requirement to exhaust parliamentary oversight (Legal Affairs Committee) — Exceptional circumstances threshold (dishonesty/mala fides) — Prematurity and abuse of civil process to challenge criminal proceedings.
Judgment 28 April 2025
The employer's appeal against compensation for the respondent's constructive dismissal was dismissed; s63 discretion upheld.
  • Employment law — Unfair/constructive dismissal — Assessment of compensation — Sections 63(4) and 63(5) Employment Act — Immediate loss and future loss — Pleading standards in Industrial Relations Court — Statutory severance allowance (s35).
Judgment 4 April 2025
Oral preliminary objections are procedurally improper; such issues must be raised by formal application supported by affidavit.
  • Civil procedure — preliminary issues — must be raised by formal application supported by affidavit and skeleton arguments — oral preliminary objections improper — viva voce evidence from counsel inappropriate — improperly raised issue struck out with liberty to refile.
Judgment 25 March 2025
Registrar’s total non-response to information requests on political party funding was unlawful and required written explanation; fee non-payment alone did not justify silence.
  • Access to information — political party funding — duty of Registrar to respond — constitutional right of access (s.37) — Political Parties Act s.36 — subsidiary fees and competence of requests — absence of regulations — judicial review of administrative non-response.
Judgment 12 March 2025
Leave for judicial review of a Law Society disciplinary process was discharged as premature; disciplinary self-regulation aligns with procedural-fairness rights.
  • Administrative law — judicial review — permission to commence — prematurity of review before disciplinary hearing; Legal profession — self-regulation and disciplinary jurisdiction; Constitutional law — section 43 right to procedurally fair administrative action; Professional ethics — personal conduct on social media as conduct bringing profession into discredit.
Judgment 11 March 2025
Failure to serve the mandatory pre‑suit notice and the time‑barred nature of the dispute rendered the applicants’ claim and motion a nullity.
  • 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.
Judgment 3 February 2025
Dismissals for operational requirements without consultation were unfair; applicants entitled to compensation.
  • 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.
Judgment 3 February 2025
Ex parte permission for judicial review discharged for abuse of process and suppression of prior related proceedings.
  • 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).
Judgment 31 January 2025
Document 24 January 2025
Leave to appeal and a stay were dismissed as premature and procedurally incompetent because the High Court judgment remained inchoate.
  • 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.
Judgment 22 January 2025
High Court reviewed and set aside subordinate custody order, awarding primary custody to the breastfeeding mother and ordering medical and social assessments.
  • 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.
Judgment 22 January 2025
Unexplained division of matrimonial property set aside and remitted for rehearing due to lack of reasons and analysis.
  • Matrimonial property distribution — duty to give reasons — assessment of contributions and parties' intentions — improper delegation to Registrar — remittal for rehearing.
Judgment 17 December 2024
Appeal dismissed for inordinate delay and failure to prosecute; missing-file excuse was unsubstantiated hearsay.
  • 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.
Judgment 29 November 2024
Whether seized foreign currency should be forfeited where a businessperson hid funds and used a fake receipt, outweighing mitigating circumstances.
  • 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.
Judgment 20 November 2024
Judgment 6 November 2024
Employer breached its redundancy policy and failed to meaningfully consult, rendering the dismissal unfair and attracting compensation.
  • 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.
Judgment 1 November 2024
Application to file supplementary skeleton arguments deferred to the full bench; copies to be supplied by deadline or dismissed.
  • 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.
Judgment 24 October 2024
The court ceased jurisdiction after referral to arbitration and declined to entertain further applications.
  • Arbitration law — Referral to arbitration cedes court jurisdiction — Court obliged to honour arbitration agreement; inability to hear matters once jurisdiction ceded; procedural delay attributable to counsel’s failure to appoint arbitrator.
Judgment 16 October 2024
An appeal can be struck out for inordinate delay where the appellant fails to ensure timely preparation of the record of appeal.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal — Want of prosecution — Delay in preparation of record of appeal — Duties of appellant and court under procedural rules — Inherent jurisdiction to strike out appeal — Suspension of enforcement vacated — Costs under s72 Labour Relations Act
Judgment 11 October 2024
Applicant granted leave to appeal out of time; time enlarged seven days; no order for costs.
  • Civil procedure — leave to appeal out of time — enlargement of time — requirement of good and substantial reasons — prima facie merits of proposed grounds — undue delay.
Judgment 30 September 2024
Applicant granted seven-day enlargement and leave to appeal out of time after showing good and substantial reasons and prima facie merit.
  • Civil procedure — enlargement of time for appeal — leave to appeal out of time — requirement of good and substantial reasons — prima facie merits of proposed grounds — undue delay — discretionary relief (NBS Bank Ltd v R.J. Hamdani)
Judgment 30 September 2024
Registrar’s refusal to issue admission petitions was a judicial act; appeal, not judicial review, was the appropriate remedy.
  • Judicial review — Registrar's refusal to issue court documents — issuance as a judicial function requiring application of judicial mind — decisions of Registrar exercising judicial functions not amenable to judicial review — alternative remedy by appeal — exhaustion of remedies.
Judgment 12 August 2024
Convictions upheld; enhanced sentences set aside because the appellant was not given notice or a hearing before enhancement.
  • Criminal law — Defilement and child trafficking — Convictions upheld; Sentence enhancement — appellate increase set aside for failure to afford audi alteram partem — Right to be heard before adverse sentencing order — Late filing of skeleton arguments allowed as exception — State nonattendance at apex court criticized.
Judgment 23 July 2024
Appeal dismissed for lack of mandatory leave and lateness; review misuse condemned and stays discharged for prompt prosecution.
  • Criminal procedure — Appeals from High Court in criminal review — Mandatory requirement for leave under section 11(2) — Time limits for notice of appeal under section 17(1) — Misuse of review as substitute for appeal — Stays discharged and case remitted for directions.
Judgment 2 May 2024
An applicant cannot obtain leave to appeal to the SCA on an interlocutory matter without certified lower-court refusal and procedural propriety.
  • Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Requirement to seek leave in the court below and to produce certified refusal before approaching appellate court — Interlocutory/non-final matters not appealable — Procedural propriety for litigants in person.
Judgment 19 February 2024
Regulator acted ultra vires by treating subscription-management provider as a tariff-setting broadcaster; committee hearing was procedurally fair.
  • Communications law — Tariff regulation (s.74(1)) — Distinction between subscription broadcasting and subscription management services — Scope of licence — Ultra vires review — Delegation to committees (s.15) — Procedural fairness of regulatory enforcement hearing.
Judgment 1 December 2023
DPP’s appeal dismissed: prosecution failed to establish cause of death or nexus, so no case to answer.
  • Criminal law — case to answer — prima facie case; murder — causation, nexus and malice aforethought; circumstantial evidence and doctrine of last seen; admissibility and weight of expert and post-mortem evidence; delegation of prosecutorial power; requirements for notice of appeal.
Judgment 28 July 2021
Whether striking out a defence at mandatory mediation was a proportionate sanction and whether mediation confidentiality was breached.
  • Civil procedure — mandatory mediation — Order 13 r.6 CPR (2017) — striking out defence for non-attendance — proportionality of sanction; mediation confidentiality — Order 13 r.7 — use of mediation materials in substantive orders; case management discretion — appellate review; restoration and costs as remedies.
Judgment 23 June 2021
Discharge for statutory delay refused where felonies and misdemeanours formed part of the same series; s.302A inapplicable.
  • Criminal procedure — s.302A CP&EC (time limits for trial) — s.261 CP&EC — s.127 CP&EC (charging felonies and misdemeanours together) — attribution of delay — discharge for delay refused.
Judgment 2 August 2019
Applicant failed to prove individual entitlement to customary land; trial findings upheld and appeal dismissed with costs.
  • Land law — Customary land — Communal ownership; chiefs’ power to authorize use under customary law — No individual title. Civil procedure — Burden and standard of proof: balance of probabilities
  • Evidence — deference to trial court findings
  • Appeals — abuse of process; dismissal with costs
Judgment 23 July 2018
Whether the applicant may challenge project implementation without an EIA and secure state-held project documents under the right to information.
  • Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Leave to apply for judicial review; standing and arguable case
  • Environmental Law — Environmental Impact Assessment — Requirement to conduct EIA and obtain approval before implementation — Environment Management Act s24; Specified Projects Notice (1998)
  • Constitutional Law — Right of Access to Information — State-held documents — Constitution s37 — Disclosure ordered
Judgment 21 April 2017
Appellate court upheld conviction and concurrent sentences based on recent possession and an unreasonable explanation.
  • Criminal law — burglary and armed robbery — doctrine of recent possession — possession of stolen property shortly after theft — burden and standard of proof — appellate restraint on sentence interference; concurrent sentences.
Judgment 3 April 2017
Trial held in prison without Chief Justice direction is a nullity; confessions obtained by compulsion must be excluded.
  • Constitutional law — appeal or review under section 42(2)(e) — statutory expansion of rights; Criminal procedure — venue — trials in prison precincts without Chief Justice direction violate public hearing right; Evidence — confessions — section 176 CPE Code admits only relevant and admissible confessions; confessions obtained by compulsion/torture (sections 19(3), 42(2)(c)) must be excluded; procedural requirement that courts determine voluntariness as preliminary factual matter; date in charge generally not essential.
Judgment 21 April 2015