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Citation
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Judgment date
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| September 2018 |
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Appeal dismissed: confessions to a lay witness were voluntary and recovered exhibits plus phone-tracing sufficiently proved the offences.
Criminal law — admissibility and voluntariness of confessions — person in authority; Identification and circumstantial evidence — tracing of stolen property and recovery of exhibits as proof of guilt; sufficiency of evidence for rape, attempted rape and aggravated robbery.
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27 September 2018 |
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Circumstantial facts (vehicle possession, abandoned car and keys, failure to report) were sufficiently cogent to uphold conviction.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Cogency required to exclude conjecture – Possession and unexplained failure to report vehicle found abandoned near crime scene as basis for inference of participation.
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25 September 2018 |
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An undefended matrimonial petition still requires oral evidence; trial court erred dispensing with trial and making findings.
Matrimonial law – Proof of petition – Rule 37 requires oral evidence in open court – Undefended petition does not dispense with petitioner's duty to prove allegations – Trial judge erred in dispensing with trial and entering findings without evidence – Appeal allowed and matter remitted for trial.
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21 September 2018 |
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A single judge may validly sit in the Industrial Relations Division; employers must give reasons for dismissals and 12‑month damages upheld.
Industrial Relations Division — court composition after constitutional amendment — Article 135 permits single judge; Industrial Relations Court Rules (SI 206 of 1974) remain applicable — Employment Act s36(1)(c)(i) & s36(3) — employer must give valid reasons for dismissal; notice clauses cannot avoid statutory duty — wrongful dismissal damages; measure and appellate restraint.
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17 September 2018 |
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Appeal dismissed: no special circumstances for security for costs; advocates found to have valid retainer and affidavit proper for factual findings.
Civil procedure — Security for costs — Discretion and ‘special circumstances’ — Affidavit relied on for discretionary factual findings — Right to be heard — Legal Practitioners Act s.52 — Retainer and instructions to counsel.
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6 September 2018 |