Results.
25 judgments found.
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| October 2021 |
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Whether the respondent must reimburse the appellant for VAT the appellant paid to ZRA on domestic transport services.
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Tax law — Applicability of VAT to domestic transport services — Parties’ contractual clause excluding VAT — Enforceability against statutory tax obligations — Reimbursement of tax paid to Zambia Revenue Authority — Proper procedure for claims seeking repayment of quantified statutory tax amounts.
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29 October 2021 |
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Whether sitting tenants may compel sale of council houses in a national park and require alternative housing from the council.
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Local government housing — Sale of council houses to sitting tenants — Requirement of council resolution and ministerial approval under Local Government Act — Proof of title and offers required; Conservation law — Zambia Wildlife Act s.15(1) (no title in national parks) — effect on sale; Remedies — alternative housing/compensation not legally compelled absent clear obligation or capacity.
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29 October 2021 |
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Appellants failed to prove council ownership or formal offers for park houses; appeal dismissed with costs.
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Local government housing — sale to sitting tenants — requirement of council resolution and Ministerial approval — effect of Wildlife Act prohibiting title in national parks — necessity of evidencing ownership and formal offers before ordering specific performance or alternative housing.
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29 October 2021 |
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A consent order fixing costs is final; court cannot impose interest absent parties' agreement.
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Consent orders — binding effect — operate as judgments and are governed by contract principles.
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29 October 2021 |
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Whether a land allocation and boundary survey established a valid title and justified demolition of the appellant's encroaching structures.
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Land law — allocation and title — cadastral boundary verification — Surveyor-General's report admissible and authoritative; encroachment — squatter status and demolition of works; appellate review of factual findings — perversity standard; mootness/academic issues where parties have resolved aspects of dispute.
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29 October 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed: Surveyor‑General’s boundary verification upheld; allocation of disputed plot lawful and encroachment ordered removed.
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Property law — boundary disputes — role of Surveyor‑General in boundary verification — validity of title allocation — encroachment and squatting — demolition orders — academic appeals.
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29 October 2021 |
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Post‑judgment discovery is permissible to aid execution; State must produce documents showing compliance with Compensation Fund Act.
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Civil procedure — Discovery and inspection (Order 24) — Post‑judgment discovery in aid of execution; Compensation Fund Act (ss.17–22) — enforcement procedure and verification; costs — costs follow the event.
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28 October 2021 |
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Appeal allowed; refusal to grant extension of time was erroneous and matter remitted for completion of pleadings.
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Civil procedure — extension of time — failure to serve pleadings — order for directions — effect of service of application to dismiss — discretion to grant extension; Service of process; Procedural etiquette when matter set for dismissal is pending.
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28 October 2021 |
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Proceedings alleging breach of constitutional rights must be commenced by petition; jurisdictional defect renders writ-commenced action incompetent.
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Constitutional procedure — Article 28 and Protection of Fundamental Rights Rules — mode of commencement (petition v writ) — jurisdictional defect — Order 14A RSC — preliminary issues — waiver and admissibility of criminal judgment as civil proof.
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28 October 2021 |
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The appellant failed to prove unpaid freight debt; unpleaded demurrage claims were correctly excluded.
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Civil procedure — Pleadings and evidence: unpleaded claims cannot be introduced by witness statement; evidence must correspond to pleaded case. Expert evidence — qualification and procedural requirements for expert witnesses; treating an accountant as ordinary witness. Proof of debt — burden of proof, necessity to produce invoices and particularize ledger items; offsets and financial statements
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Appeals — interlocutory rulings and leave, and effect of incomplete record of appeal
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27 October 2021 |
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An action alleging breach of constitutional rights must be commenced by petition, not writ; wrong commencement deprives court of jurisdiction.
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Constitutional procedure — Article 28 and Rule 2 (Protection of Fundamental Rights Rules) — mode of commencement — petition required for Part III rights claims; jurisdictional objections not waived by filing defence; dismissal for wrong mode of commencement; leave to recommence; costs allocation.
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23 October 2021 |
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The applicant's title was set aside because the respondents were not consulted before customary land conversion.
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Land law — Customary land conversion — Statutory Instrument No. 89 (Land (Customary Tenure) (Conversion) Regulations) — requirement to ascertain and consult family/communal interests before conversion — validity of land inspection report — certificate of title susceptible to cancellation where conversion occurred without consultation — remittal for survey and site visit.
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22 October 2021 |
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Appellant's seizure disorder supported diminished responsibility, reducing murder convictions to manslaughter and prompting concurrent 20-year sentences.
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Criminal law — Murder — malice aforethought; Expert medical evidence — admissibility and weight; Diminished responsibility under s12A Penal Code; Epileptiform/atypical seizure disorder may constitute an "abnormality of mind" affecting mental responsibility; Substitution of conviction and sentence by appellate court.
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21 October 2021 |
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An independent witness’s evidence, including a parent’s, may provide 'something more' sufficient to corroborate a child witness and uphold conviction.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Corroboration of child witness under Juveniles Act s122 — Corroboration by parent as 'something more' — Suspect witnesses may corroborate each other if vulnerabilities differ.
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21 October 2021 |
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Age proved by parent and the prosecutrix's account was sufficiently corroborated; conviction and mandatory sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Proof of age as essential ingredient — Parental testimony and best evidence; Sexual offences — Corroboration requirement — Independent eyewitness and physical evidence; Illegally obtained disclosure — admissibility and effect on credibility.
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21 October 2021 |
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Omission of the victim's age in a defilement charge is a material defect that vitiates the conviction.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Particulars must allege unlawful carnal knowledge and that victim is a "child" (under 16) — Omission of age is material and renders charge disclosing no offence — Defect not curable on appeal; distinction from non‑essential descriptive defects.
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20 October 2021 |
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An ex-parte leave order granted after the 14-day limit is void ab initio, rendering the appeal incompetent and dismissed.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory appeals — Order 47 rule 2 HCR — mandatory 14-day period for leave to appeal; void ab initio — jurisdictional defect; ex parte order; Order 3 r.2 HCR and constitutional equitable hearing cannot confer jurisdiction; jurisdictional pleas may be raised at any stage.
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20 October 2021 |
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Where experts give multiple possible causes of death, courts must exclude alternatives before convicting for murder.
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Criminal law — murder — circumstantial evidence — cause of death undetermined by pathologists — necessity to consider and discount alternative inferences — expert evidence and appellate review.
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20 October 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed; a single 14-year-old identifying witness required no corroboration and identification was held reliable.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — single identifying witness — child witness (age 14) — corroboration under Juveniles Act s122 — previous inconsistent statements and their weight — honest but mistaken identification — sufficiency of observation (light, opportunity, duration).
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20 October 2021 |
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Whether illegal subdivision vitiates title and whether a subsequent Commissioner of Lands’ offer for the whole stand is valid.
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Civil procedure — originating summons v writ where disputes of fact exist; trial adjournment — discretion and requirements (medical evidence, backlog, interest of justice); land law — illegal subdivision without authority; validity of replacement offer by Commissioner of Lands; appellate review of factual findings.
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20 October 2021 |
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Reproducing whole interrelated articles is permissible in defamation pleadings where the defamatory sting derives from the publications read as a whole; notice to defend requires memorandum plus defence.
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Defamation — Pleading — Particularisation of words — Reproduction of whole publications permissible where sting derives from entire publication — Order 18/Rules on libel pleading — Notice of intention to defend — Order 14A — Conditional memorandum or affidavit insufficient.
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7 October 2021 |
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Pleadings in defamation must usually quote words complained of, but whole publications may be pleaded where the meaning depends on context; Order 14A requires a memorandum of appearance with a defence.
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Defamation — requirement to plead the precise words complained of; exception where meaning or sting derives from the publication read as a whole — reproducing full articles permissible in exceptional circumstances; Pleadings — parties must particularize causes of action (avoid class pleading); Civil procedure — Order 14A requires memorandum of appearance with defence as notice of intention to defend; affidavit or conditional memorandum without defence insufficient.
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7 October 2021 |
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Applicant granted leave to appeal out of time after reasonable misunderstanding and showing arguable prospects and no improper delay.
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Civil appeals — right of appeal vs leave to appeal — Court of Appeal Act ss.22–25; Order X r.4(1) CAR; extension of time — Order XIII/Order X; good cause and prospects of success; business rescue proceedings — court power to order security under Corporate Insolvency Act s.22.
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7 October 2021 |
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Whether the Court of Appeal may extend the statutory 14‑day period for seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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Civil procedure — jurisdiction to extend statutory time; Court of Appeal Rules Order 13 Rule 3; section 13(2) Court of Appeal Act; section 30 rule‑making power; section 37 Interpretation Act; distinguishing Antonio Ventriglia and Paolo Marandola.
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7 October 2021 |
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Leave to commence committal set aside for failure to effect personal service and endorse the consent judgment with a penal notice.
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Enforcement of judgments — committal for civil contempt — Order 45 RSC — requirement of personal service and penal notice — corporate judgment debtors and directors — piercing the corporate veil.
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7 October 2021 |