Results.
128 documents found.
|
|
|
|
|
High Court set aside magistrate’s judgment for lack of jurisdiction and ordered respondents to repay sums obtained; costs ordered against respondents’ counsel.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
21 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 |
|
High Court set aside arbitrarily imposed fines for forestry offences, requiring means test and reducing custodial sentences.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
19 November 2024 |
|
|
|
Bill |
17 November 2024 |
|
|
|
Judgment |
6 November 2024 |
|
Court escalated the 1981 compensation for the applicant's compulsorily acquired land to MK20,000,000 and denied aggravated damages.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
5 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 |
|
Summary judgment refused because disputed facts and legal issues exist on premises owner status and dog-handler negligence.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
31 October 2024 |
|
Court continued stay of execution pending appeal, dismissed disclosure application as otiose, and ordered parties to agree arrangements within 28 days.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
30 October 2024 |
|
Registrar rejected duplicate originating proceedings as an abuse of process and improper filing at the wrong registry.
-
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).
|
|
Judgment |
27 October 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 |
|
Insurer subrogation succeeds where driver of BR 398 failed to give way, entitling recovery of MK15,390,000 plus interest and costs.
-
Road traffic negligence — duty to give way at junction; proof by photographs and damage pattern; insurer’s right of subrogation to sue in insured’s name; discretion to admit late documents under frontloading rules; award of compound interest and costs.
|
|
Judgment |
18 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 |
|
A summons signed by a firm rather than a named legal practitioner is a nullity and must be struck out.
-
Civil procedure — signature requirements for originating processes — Order 5 r3 & Order 7 r1(h) CPR; Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act — definition of 'legal practitioner' as natural person on the Roll; firm name not a legal practitioner; originating process signed by firm is nullity and incurable.
|
|
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 |
|
Court refused to forfeit a bonded motor vehicle for late passport surrender, applying substantial justice and not punishing counsel‑caused delay.
-
Bail conditions — bonded property — forfeiture for non‑compliance; substantial justice over technicality; liability for counsel’s procedural failures; exercise of judicial leniency.
|
|
Judgment |
17 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 |
|
Failure to comply with scheduling conference directions justified striking out the 1st defendant’s defence and dismissing its counterclaim.
-
Civil procedure — scheduling conference directions — mandatory compliance with Order 14 — effect of non-compliance (Order 14 r.5) — striking out defence and dismissal of counterclaim as sanction — section 47 General Interpretation Act inapplicable to court directions — good cause required to avoid sanctions.
|
|
Judgment |
17 July 2024 |
|
Action to set aside a consent order dismissed as disclosing no reasonable cause and an abuse of court process.
-
Civil procedure — setting aside consent orders — necessity to plead and particularise mistake, misrepresentation or material supervening event; remedies against former lawyers versus setting aside consent judgment; dismissal for frivolous, vexatious or abusive proceedings.
|
|
Judgment |
17 July 2024 |
|
A late application for security for costs was dismissed where claimant rebutted jurisdictional and asset concerns and delay made the order oppressive.
-
Security for costs — Order 32 CPR — residence and central management — assets and enforceability of costs — delay in bringing application — prospects of success — oppressive/stifling effect.
|
|
Judgment |
19 June 2024 |
|
Stay of execution upheld where registry-caused appeal delay and respondent’s concealment of related conviction negated discharge.
-
Forfeiture and stay of execution — application to discharge stay for alleged inordinate delay — duty of Registrar/Registry to prepare record of appeal — shortcomings in record not attributable to appellant — concealment of parallel money-laundering conviction involving same seized funds — discretion to refuse relief and award costs.
|
|
Judgment |
19 June 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 |
|
Whether claimant proved title to the plot and whether the purchaser was a bona fide purchaser without notice.
-
Property law — proof of title: municipal offer/receipt and council confirmation as evidence; nemo dat principle; bona fide purchaser for value without notice — duty of due diligence and requirements; authentication of registry extracts and secondary documents.
|
|
Judgment |
24 April 2024 |
|
Retrospective application of the FCA was found by necessary implication but did not violate constitutional protections against conviction for non-offences.
-
Constitutional law — retrospectivity of statutes — Financial Crimes Act section 42 vs repealed MLA section 35 — interpretation of saving provision section 141(2) FCA — right not to be convicted for non-existent offence and protection against harsher retrospective penalties — procedural commencement via constitutional referral (Order 19 CPR).
|
|
Judgment |
10 April 2024 |
|
Appellant’s convictions for grievous harm and malicious damage quashed for insufficient evidence; alternative conviction impermissible under precedent.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
25 March 2024 |
|
Claims for false imprisonment, defamation and malicious prosecution failed; conversion established only as to retained office chattels, not the claimed money.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
19 March 2024 |
|
Appellate court found the purported will invalid, held customary law must be proved under section 64, and restored land to the appellant and siblings.
-
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.
|
|
Judgment |
18 March 2024 |
|
Assessment of unfair dismissal compensation using current salary to preserve purchasing power; partial contribution reduces award; severance computed accordingly.
-
Unfair dismissal — procedural fairness — denial of right to confront witnesses; Compensation under s.63(4)–(5) Employment Act; Use of current salary to preserve purchasing power; Partial employee contribution reduces award; Severance computation under First Schedule and s.35(2); Appeal does not stay award — 50% payment pending appeal.
|
|
Judgment |
20 February 2024 |
|
Court awards compensation and statutory severance using current salary, reduced for applicant’s partial contribution; appeal conditional on 50% payment.
-
Employment law — unfair dismissal for procedural unfairness — assessment of compensation under s63(4) and (5) Employment Act — use of current salary to preserve purchasing power — partial contribution reduces discretionary award — statutory severance calculation (First Schedule, s35(2)) — appeal conditional on payment of 50% (no automatic stay).
|
|
Judgment |
20 February 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 |
|
Assessment of quantum for unfair dismissal, gratuity, pension and notice pay under Defence Force Regulations.}
|
|
Judgment |
29 January 2024 |
|
|
|
Judgment |
27 January 2024 |
|
Court orders in‑chambers inspection of classified Defence documents; dismisses time‑barred breach‑of‑trust counts under section 302A.
-
Criminal procedure — disclosure vs national security — in-camera judicial inspection of classified Defence Council/MDF documents; public interest immunity; right to fair trial and disclosure obligations; particulars of bribery charges (unspecified amounts) — not fatal; statutory limitation — section 302A CP&EC — strict construction, time-barred misdemeanour counts discharged.
|
|
Judgment |
12 January 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 |
|
Applicant’s rush to appellate court was premature; lower court’s decision to hear matter inter partes was within its CPR case-management discretion.
-
Administrative law — judicial review — leave to apply and interim injunction — ex parte v inter partes hearings — case management discretion under CPR — balance of convenience and public interest in stays of administrative decisions.
|
|
Judgment |
4 July 2023 |
|
Applications for stay and enlargement of time dismissed as premature and incompetent for lack of jurisdiction; costs awarded to respondent.
-
Civil procedure — stay of execution — Applicant must first apply to court below (Order I r.18); stay exceptional and discretionary; Enlargement of time — where order made in chambers leave to appeal required (s.21 SCA Act); Appeals premature before assessment of damages — inchoate judgment; Wrong procedural provision renders application incompetent.
|
|
Judgment |
19 May 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 |
|
The applicant's convictions were upheld on circumstantial evidence and call logs despite improper use of section 3 CP&EC.
-
Criminal law
-
ircumstantial evidence
-
dmissibility of call logs/business records alse police statement as perjury xtradition (s.21)
-
ddition of lesser offences provable by extradition facts xclusion of illegally obtained evidence
-
nd limited scope of s.3 CP&EC
|
|
Judgment |
14 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 |
|
A section 114 election petition is incompetent absent a prior Commission decision on the alleged irregularity.
-
Electoral law; s.114 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act — appeal lies only from a Commission decision confirming/rejecting irregularity; complaints under s.113 required first; judicial review distinct remedy; grounds for voiding election limited to s.114(3).
|
|
Judgment |
12 June 2019 |
|
Claim dismissed: no proved contract, LPOs were forged and the employee lacked authority to bind the defendant.
-
Contract formation — offer and acceptance — proof of agreement; Public procurement — RFQ/open tender requirements for high‑value contracts; Forgery — forged LPOs are nullities; Agency — actual and ostensible authority; Burden of proof.
|
|
Judgment |
24 October 2018 |
|
Forestry licence did not justify respondent’s trespass onto the applicant’s land; nuisance claim lacked particulars and evidence.
-
Property law — Trespass to land — Rightful possession under a subsisting lease — Forestry licence insufficient to justify occupation; Nuisance — requires pleaded particulars and evidential proof.
|
|
Judgment |
26 September 2018 |
|
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 |
|
Occupier of customary land entitled to compensation for loss of use and destroyed crops following State taking.
-
Land law — Customary land vested in the President — Occupier's entitlement to disturbance/compensation — Non-retroactivity of statutes — Assessment of damages for loss of use and destroyed crops.
|
|
Judgment |
20 July 2018 |
|
An interlocutory injunction was refused where the defendant’s actions were carried out pursuant to an existing court order.
-
Civil procedure — interlocutory injunctions — exceptional remedy; injunctions ordinarily not granted to restrain acts undertaken pursuant to an extant court order; customary land — Section 25 Land Act — sale of customary land may be void ab initio (relevant to triability).
|
|
Judgment |
4 July 2018 |
|
Court continued interlocutory injunction pending trial, finding serious triable issues and limitation defence premature.
-
Interlocutory injunction — preservation of status quo — American Cyanamid guidelines; Limitation Act — possession, re-entry and forfeiture; Adequacy of damages in land possession disputes; Serious issue to be tried — disputed facts on title and occupation.
|
|
Judgment |
21 May 2018 |