Results.
24 documents found.
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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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Judgment |
19 November 2024 |
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Forestry licence did not justify respondent’s trespass onto the applicant’s land; nuisance claim lacked particulars and evidence.
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Property law — Trespass to land — Rightful possession under a subsisting lease — Forestry licence insufficient to justify occupation; Nuisance — requires pleaded particulars and evidential proof.
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Judgment |
26 September 2018 |
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Applicant failed to prove individual entitlement to customary land; trial findings upheld and appeal dismissed with costs.
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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
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Evidence — deference to trial court findings
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Appeals — abuse of process; dismissal with costs
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Judgment |
23 July 2018 |
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Occupier of customary land entitled to compensation for loss of use and destroyed crops following State taking.
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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.
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Judgment |
20 July 2018 |
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An interlocutory injunction was refused where the defendant’s actions were carried out pursuant to an existing court order.
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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).
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Judgment |
4 July 2018 |
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Court continued interlocutory injunction pending trial, finding serious triable issues and limitation defence premature.
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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.
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Judgment |
21 May 2018 |
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Plaintiffs' claims for road‑works damage dismissed: negligence not proven and claim against authority statute‑barred.
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Limitation Act — joinder after expiry of limitation period; negligence — duty of care to properties near road works; res ipsa loquitur inapplicable where cause known; pleadings limit issues (waiver must be pleaded).
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Judgment |
23 April 2018 |
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Appeal dismissed: lower court's adverse-possession finding upheld; inheritance statute inapplicable where not pleaded.
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Land law — adverse possession — uninterrupted occupation and use for over 12 years — limitation statute; Civil procedure — evaluation of evidence and credibility; Pleadings — court confined to issues raised; Deceased Estates Act not applicable where inheritance not pleaded.
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Judgment |
30 January 2018 |
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Respondent’s long delay allowed the appellant to acquire permanent usage rights to customary land allocated by the chief.
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Land Law
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Customary Land — Allocation and Right of Use and Occupation — Validity of chief’s allocation under Land Act ss 2, 25 and 26
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Evidence and Delay — Laches/Sitting on Rights — Delay in asserting customary land rights may defeat later claim if land was lawfully allocated and openly developed
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Judgment |
24 October 2017 |
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Mediator found the proposed pump site within road-reserve/buffer-zone intersection; construction confined there not violating plaintiffs' customary rights.
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Land law — customary land v public land — road reserve and river buffer zone intersection — Waterworks Act s.6 — entitlement to injunctive relief where works extend onto customary land.
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Judgment |
11 September 2017 |
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General Interpretation Act preserves repealed law and subsidiary Rules, so the Rules of the Supreme Court remain operative and the preliminary objection is dismissed.
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Statutory interpretation — Courts (Amendment) Act 2016 — General Interpretation Act (ss.13, 14(1)) — effect of repeal on subsidiary legislation — Rules of Supreme Court remain operative — summary judgment procedure preserved.
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Judgment |
1 July 2017 |
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Appellate court upheld lower court's credibility finding in a customary land dispute and dismissed the appeal with costs.
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Customary land — communal ownership — chiefs’ power to authorize use under Land Act ss.25–26 — limits of chiefs’ authority — allocation vs individual title; civil proof on balance of probabilities; credibility findings on customary land disputes; relationship between Traditional Authority determinations and court jurisdiction.
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Judgment |
1 June 2017 |
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Interlocutory injunction continued to protect asserted use-and-occupation rights in customary land pending resolution of disputed authority and jurisdiction.
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Customary land — rights to use and occupy (distinct from registered title) — interlocutory injunction — adequacy of damages — balance of convenience — authority of seller and jurisdiction of chief to witness customary land transaction.
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Judgment |
22 May 2017 |
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Whether the applicant may challenge project implementation without an EIA and secure state-held project documents under the right to information.
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Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Leave to apply for judicial review; standing and arguable case
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Environmental Law — Environmental Impact Assessment — Requirement to conduct EIA and obtain approval before implementation — Environment Management Act s24; Specified Projects Notice (1998)
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Constitutional Law — Right of Access to Information — State-held documents — Constitution s37 — Disclosure ordered
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Judgment |
21 April 2017 |
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Appellate court upheld conviction and concurrent sentences based on recent possession and an unreasonable explanation.
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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.
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Judgment |
3 April 2017 |
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Court continued interlocutory injunction to preserve land pending trial because damages are inadequate and balance of convenience favoured plaintiff.
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Civil Procedure — Interim Relief — Interlocutory injunction — Preservation of status quo in land disputes — Application of American Cyanamid principles
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Judgment |
12 December 2016 |
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Judgment |
27 October 2016 |
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Judgment |
13 June 2016 |
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Plaintiffs' claim to customary land dismissed for lack of evidence; lease process found not irregular; costs awarded.
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Land Law — Customary Land — Communal use, chiefs’ authority to authorize occupation — Land Act ss 2,25,26
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Civil Procedure — Possession Proceedings — Originating summons under RSC Order 113/Order 5 — Requirement to prove title or right to occupation
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Judgment |
8 February 2016 |
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Court held parties agreed only to grant use of the mining licence, not its transfer; plaintiffs' claim dismissed, counterclaim granted.
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Mines and Minerals — mining licence: 'use' v transfer; contract interpretation — objective approach and surrounding background; agency — licence-holder may use agents (s.43); royalties — contractual obligation and counterclaim; plaintiffs failed to prove breach or loss.
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Judgment |
3 November 2008 |
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Appeal allowed: custodial sentences for unlawful charcoal burning substituted with fines where no assessed damage and offenders not hardened.
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Criminal Law
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Forestry offences — Destroying indigenous trees by making charcoal without licence — Sentencing discretion and proportionality
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Sentencing — Consideration of first‑offender status and absence of assessed damage value — Custodial sentence versus fine
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Judgment |
13 July 2008 |
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Government may excavate for irrigation on customary land; surface rights remain and compensation is payable for damage.
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Land Law — Customary Land — Extent of Rights (Surface Use Only) — Land Act s26
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Property/Development — Infrastructure on Customary Land — Authority To Excavate And Lay Pipes — Duty To Refill And Compensate
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Judgment |
2 December 2007 |
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Delay after an ex parte interim order and genuine disputes over title made mandatory interlocutory relief inappropriate.
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Interlocutory injunctions — ex parte interim relief and subsequent delay — mandatory interlocutory injunctions exercised with caution — balance of convenience — competing title/regularization disputes — adequacy of damages.
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Judgment |
23 August 2004 |
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Customary land rights are constitutionally protected; eviction requires statutory expropriation procedures and compensation; injunction granted.
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Customary land — constitutional protection of property rights — expropriation requires public utility, notice and compensation — Land Act and Land Acquisition Act procedural compliance — Environment Management Act grants locus standi to 'any person' — injunction to prevent environmental degradation
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Judgment |
10 January 2004 |