Results.
231 judgments found.
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| June 2022 |
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A conviction grounded on nighttime recognition was quashed for failure to exclude honest but mistaken identification.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — recognition by acquaintances — night-time observation — need to exclude honest but mistaken identification — conviction unsafe where identification evidence is unsatisfactory.
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15 June 2022 |
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Excluding a defence recording without testing its authenticity breached the appellants' right to a fair trial; convictions set aside and retrial ordered.
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Evidence — admissibility of electronic recordings — court must allow evidence on circumstances of recording and may listen to recordings before excluding; fair trial — exclusion of defence evidence may render trial unfair; remedy — retrial ordered where prejudice shown.
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15 June 2022 |
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The appellants' appeal dismissed; identification evidence reliable and alibi insufficiently raised, convictions and sentences upheld.
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Criminal law — identification evidence and recognition — risk of honest but mistaken identity; credibility of interested witnesses; alibi and duty to investigate; dereliction of investigative duty; appellate deference to trial credibility findings.
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15 June 2022 |
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Conviction for defilement upheld: special and compelling circumstances justified relying on a child’s uncorroborated testimony.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Corroboration of prosecutrix's evidence — "Special and compelling grounds" for convicting on uncorroborated testimony; witness interest and motive to falsify; corroboration by opportunity versus suspicious conduct.
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15 June 2022 |
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Res gestae wrongly admitted, but circumstantial evidence independently supported the murder conviction.
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Criminal law — evidence — res gestae — contemporaneity/proximity requirement; circumstantial evidence — cogency and inference of guilt; murder conviction; admissibility of post-event statements.
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15 June 2022 |
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Statement to a third party was not res gestae, but remaining circumstantial evidence sufficed to uphold the murder conviction.
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Evidence — res gestae — requirement of approximate contemporaneity; Hearsay — exclusion where possibility of concoction exists; Criminal law — circumstantial evidence must be cogent so only inference of guilt remains; Murder — sufficiency of circumstantial proof.
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15 June 2022 |
Siwa Nyambe and Ors v the People (Appeal No. 98, 99,100,101, 102, 103/2021; Appeal No. 98, 99,100,101, 102, 103/2021; Appeal No. 98, 99,100,101, 102, 103/2021; Appeal No. 98, 99,100,101, 102, 103/2021; Appeal No. 98, 99,100,101, 102, 103/2021; Appeal No. 98, 99,100,101, 102, 103/2021) [2022] ZMCA 214 (15 June 2022)
Fatal head injury by one assailant upheld as murder; co‑assailants convicted instead of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
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Criminal law — Murder — Causation and common purpose — Fatal head injury by hacking attributable to first appellant; other participants only shown to have assaulted with sticks — Suspect witnesses (relatives) — Substitution to assault occasioning actual bodily harm under s.181(2) Criminal Procedure Code.
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15 June 2022 |
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Qualified privilege protected a bank's email absent proved express malice; liquidated damages in tort were improper and injunction unnecessary.
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Defamation — qualified privilege — express malice required to defeat privilege; pleading requirements for particulars of malice; damages in tort are unliquidated and must be assessed; injunctions contingent on successful substantive claim.
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13 June 2022 |
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Registrar may review dismissal for want of prosecution, but the taxation award was set aside for ignoring respondent's objections.
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Civil procedure — taxation of costs — Registrar's power to review dismissal for want of prosecution — Order VII Rule 3 Court of Appeal Rules; timing of taxation under Order XII Rule 2 — practical delay where taxing officers not appointed; failure to consider objections to bill of costs — prejudice and rehearing ordered.
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7 June 2022 |
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A labour-division judgment delivered after the statutory one-year limit is void; matter set aside and remitted for rehearing.
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Industrial and Labour Relations Act — s.19(3)(b)(ii) — statutory one-year disposal period — judgment delivered after one year void for want of jurisdiction; interlocutory procedure — jurisdictional challenges must be raised formally (Order 7 Rule 1(1) CAR); remedy: set aside and remit; complaint deemed filed on appellate judgment date.
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7 June 2022 |
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A derivative action in a company’s name requires prior leave under section 331 of the Companies Act; absence of leave renders the claim a nullity.
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Companies law — Derivative action — Requirement of leave under section 331 Companies Act 2017 — Members’ voluntary winding up — Validity of written/special resolution under section 77 Companies Act — Corporate Insolvency Act (voluntary liquidation, solvency declaration, appointment of liquidators) — Nullity of derivative claim brought without statutory leave.
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1 June 2022 |
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Whether mesne profits can be awarded without a landlord-tenant relationship and without being specifically pleaded.
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Property law — unlawful occupation; Mesne profits as damages — may be inferred from pleadings seeking rent arrears and damages; Mesne profits require landlord-tenant relationship; Substitution of damages for mesne profits; Damages to run from date of loss of possession until vacation; interest and costs.
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1 June 2022 |
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1 June 2022 |
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Whether dismissal under Order 14A RSC was proper when execution had occurred and a set-aside application remained pending.
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Civil procedure — Order 14A RSC — dismissal of applications where there is "nothing to stay"; execution and sale of attached property; scope of preliminary points; remittal where set-aside proceedings pending.
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1 June 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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Dismissal for non‑compliance with court directions upheld; late unsigned consent order ineffective.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for non‑compliance with court directions; consent order validity requires timely filing and judicial endorsement; interlocutory application superseded by subsequent court order; backlog referral does not excuse non‑compliance with procedural orders.
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31 May 2022 |
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Omitting disputed 'without prejudice' documents from the appeal record is fatal to a challenge against their expunction.
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Civil procedure — "without prejudice" rule — settlement negotiations and admissibility — judicial discretion to expunge documents — appellate interference limited — omission of disputed documents from appeal record is fatal.
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31 May 2022 |
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Whether registry anomalies and evidence of fraud defeated the appellant's status as a bona fide purchaser for value without notice.
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Land law — bona fide purchaser for value without notice — constructive notice from registry anomalies — fraud in conveyancing — procedural law — intervention and Order 28 rule 8(1) directions — inability of fraudster to pass good title.
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31 May 2022 |
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Conviction quashed for insufficiently cogent circumstantial evidence; witchcraft belief unproven as extenuation.
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Criminal law — circumstantial evidence — cogency required to sustain conviction; belief in witchcraft as potential extenuation; evaluation of relatives' evidence; improper inference of flight.
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19 May 2022 |
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Appellants with an equitable lien and court-ordered possession had standing to be joined to challenge a consent judgment.
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Civil procedure — Joinder of non-parties to challenge consent judgment; Equitable lien/ construction lien principles and proprietary interest; Locus standi; Effect of non-registration under Lands and Deeds Registry Act; Multiplicity of actions.
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18 May 2022 |
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Appeal reduced murder to manslaughter where prosecution failed to prove absence of provocation and proper findings were lacking.
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Criminal law — murder v manslaughter — provocation and heat of the moment in fights — burden of proof remains on prosecution — appellate substitution of conviction where murder not proved.
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17 May 2022 |
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Failure to obtain High Court leave for an appeal from its appellate/review judgment deprives the Court of Appeal of jurisdiction; appeal dismissed.
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Court of Appeal jurisdiction — leave required for appeals from High Court exercising appellate/review jurisdiction (s.23(1)(c) Court of Appeal Act) — employment law — employer’s duty to produce contracts — deemed fixed-term contracts under Employment (Amendment) Act — gratuity entitlement when oral contracts not produced.
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4 May 2022 |
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Charging-order procedure under Order 50 RSC (1979 Act) not applicable in Zambia; enforcement orders set aside.
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Civil procedure — Enforcement of judgment — Charging orders — Order 50 RSC grounded on Charging Orders Act 1979 not extended to Zambia — Proceedings under Order 50 RSC nullity for lack of jurisdiction.
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3 May 2022 |
| April 2022 |
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A lower court that has decided it has jurisdiction cannot later dismiss the same matter for lack of jurisdiction; second ruling quashed.
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Civil procedure — res judicata / functus officio — lower court’s first ruling on jurisdiction precludes re-determination; constitutional jurisdiction — Article 128(3) and Article 147 — whether matter must be commenced in Constitutional Court; judicial review of preliminary issues.
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29 April 2022 |
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A subsequent High Court dismissal for lack of jurisdiction was barred by res judicata after an earlier ruling found jurisdiction.
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Procedure — res judicata and functus officio — finality of rulings; Civil procedure — preliminary issues on jurisdiction; Constitutional jurisdiction — High Court v Constitutional Court under Article 128(3); Administrative remedies — exhaustion and ministerial engagement; Ultra vires challenges to levies and tolls (Local Government Act v Tolls Act).
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29 April 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed: issues on interest computation not raised below; written loan terms and statutory interest award upheld.
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Civil procedure — appealability — objections not raised in trial court cannot be introduced on appeal; Contract — freedom of contract and enforceability of signed written loan terms; Interest on judgment — Section 2 Judgments Act permits interest up to Bank of Zambia lending rate; Solicitor-client relations — alleged private misrepresentation does not warrant appellate intervention.
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27 April 2022 |
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Court upheld identification and recent-possession findings but set aside unsafe s.294(2) convictions, substituting s.294(1) aggravated robbery convictions.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence and parade — Recent possession — Aggravated robbery — Section 294(1) vs 294(2) — Requirement to prove firearm used was capable of being fired and linked to the offence — Substitution of conviction and sentence.
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22 April 2022 |
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Identification and recent-possession evidence upheld; conviction under s.294(2) set aside for failure to prove firearms used, substituted to s.294(1).
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and opportunity to observe — Recent possession as inference of guilt — Requirement to prove recovered firearms were the ones used to establish offence under section 294(2) — Substitution of conviction to section 294(1) and alteration of sentence.
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22 April 2022 |
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Appeal allowed: insufficient proof that assault caused death; conviction reduced to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
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Criminal law — murder vs causation — postmortem evidence and inconclusive forensic results; credibility and possible interest of police witnesses; substitution to lesser offence under s181(2) Criminal Procedure Code; assault occasioning actual bodily harm (s248 Penal Code).
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22 April 2022 |
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Failure to follow statutory conversion procedure nullifies title; Court ordered cancellation and reversion to customary tenure.
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Land law — Conversion of customary tenure to statutory tenure — Mandatory statutory procedure and consultation — Failure renders conversion and certificate of title void; Equity cannot validate statutory non‑compliance; Cancellation of title and reversion to customary tenure.
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21 April 2022 |
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Whether the employer gave valid reasons for terminating fixed‑term employees and the appropriate remedies for wrongful termination.
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Employment law — Termination of employment — Section 36 Employment Act — requirement to give valid reasons — fixed‑term contracts — wrongful termination remedies — measure of damages for loss and mental distress — accrued leave entitlement — costs under Industrial Relations Court Rules.
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21 April 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused; proposed alternative conviction for abduction lacked legal and evidentiary basis.
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Criminal law — defilement acquittal for unproved age — application for leave to appeal to Supreme Court under Section 13 — threshold of public importance — alternative/lesser conviction (abduction) — requirement to afford opportunity to defend — evidentiary insufficiency.
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12 April 2022 |
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Court allowed late production of a crucial, omitted document to ensure a fair trial, dismissing the employer’s appeal.
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Civil procedure — Discovery and inspection — Late production of documents during trial — Court’s discretion to admit crucial omitted documents — Employer-employee bargaining power considered — Costs follow the event.
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8 April 2022 |
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An employed advocate may continue private practice; contracts with employer are not automatically illegal under Rules 24(2) and 27.
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Legal Practitioners' Practice Rules — interpretation of Rules 24(2) and 27 — in-house counsel and private practice — illegality of contract — enforcement of contractual entitlements — quantum meruit (alternatively) — professional ethics and client interest.
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8 April 2022 |
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Whether an advocate employed in‑house may concurrently practise privately and enforce the employment contract.
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Legal practitioners — Interpretation of Rules 24(2) and 27 of the Legal Practitioners’ Practice Rules — In‑house employment and concurrent private practice — Rule 40 public office restriction — Illegality and enforceability of contracts.
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8 April 2022 |
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Failure to comply with statutory appeal time limits robs the Court of jurisdiction; procedural delays cannot be excused to reach merits.
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Court of Appeal procedure — Time limits for appeals (s.25 Court of Appeal Act; Order X R.3(5)) — Jurisdictional effect of non-compliance — Power of full Court to vary single-Judge decisions (s.9(b)) — Strict observance of Rules; procedural non-compliance may render appeal incompetent.
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8 April 2022 |
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An appellate court lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed beyond mandatory statutory time limits; dismissal by the single Judge was upheld.
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Civil procedure — Appeals — statutory time limits for lodging notice of appeal — Section 25 Court of Appeal Act and Order X Rule 3(5) Court of Appeal Rules — failure to comply deprives Court of jurisdiction — power under Section 9(b) to vary single Judge decisions cannot override mandatory time limits.
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8 April 2022 |
| March 2022 |
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Single-witness identification upheld; unsupported community belief in witchcraft not an extenuating circumstance to reduce murder conviction.
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Criminal law — Identification: conviction on single identifying witness — danger of honest mistake; need to exclude mistake by assessing opportunity to observe, lighting, and prior acquaintance. Criminal law — Belief in witchcraft: subjective belief not ordinarily an extenuating circumstance; requires objective, verifiable circumstances to amount to provocation or mitigation
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Procedure — Alibi raised belatedly may be rejected as afterthought
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25 March 2022 |
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Appellant’s intoxication was held an extenuating circumstance, reducing death sentence to life imprisonment.
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Criminal law — Murder — Sentencing — Extenuating circumstances — Intoxication by alcohol and drugs — Medical report and witness evidence — Reduction of death sentence to life imprisonment under section 201(2) Penal Code.
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25 March 2022 |
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Circumstantial evidence was not cogent to establish murder; conviction reduced to common assault and death sentence quashed.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Cogency and alternative inferences (David Zulu) — Common intention — Murder vs lesser offences — Trial court misdirection — Resolution of doubt in favour of accused.
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24 March 2022 |
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Whether custodial beatings causing a ruptured spleen establish malice aforethought and whether uncorroborated eyewitnesses could sustain a murder conviction.
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Criminal law — Murder — Custodial death from assault — Postmortem showing ruptured spleen — Witness credibility and corroboration — Suspect witnesses — Malice aforethought: foresight/knowledge of likely death or grievous harm.
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23 March 2022 |
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Conviction based on a minor's uncorroborated identification and familiar room description was unsafe and quashed.
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Criminal law — Corroboration of a minor's identification — Description of accused's premises — 'Something more' requirement — Medical proof of sexual assault insufficient to identify perpetrator.
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23 March 2022 |
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Appellate court will not disturb credibility findings absent clear error; circumstantial evidence supported the murder conviction.
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Criminal law — Murder; circumstantial evidence; credibility findings; appellate restraint where trial judge saw witnesses; novus actus interveniens; inference of guilt.
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23 March 2022 |
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Conviction for armed aggravated robbery overturned where firearm use was unproven; substituted conviction under s.294(1) and 25-year sentences imposed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Circumstantial evidence and drawing the only permissible inference — Treatment of defences raised at trial as afterthoughts — Requirement to prove use of a firearm for s.294(2) — Substitution of conviction to s.294(1) and sentencing.
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23 March 2022 |
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Trial magistrate misapplied the no-case standard and wrongly excluded council records; acquittal set aside and retrial ordered.
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Criminal law — forgery and uttering forged documents; evidence — production of public records by public officials; standard at 'no case to answer' — prima facie test; appellate power to order retrial; leave to appeal suo motu.
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23 March 2022 |
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Publications were justified and protected by fair comment; accrued leave claims limited to the respective council.
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Defamation — reference by description — truth/justification as complete defence — fair comment: public interest, factual basis, absence of malice — local authorities as separate corporate entities; leave commutation payable by respective council.
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17 March 2022 |
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Borrower, not bank, was contractually obliged to insure mortgaged property; audit period extended to 1 Mar 2016–30 Sep 2017.
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Banking law — facility letters — interpretation of clauses allocating insurance obligation and recovery of costs; mortgagee/mortgagor duties; contra proferentum not applied where clauses unambiguous; credit reporting — obligations to submit credit data and absence of proof of inaccurate reporting; damages — requirement to prove actual loss, nominal damages appropriate; procedural — appellate review of factual findings.
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16 March 2022 |
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The appellant’s failure to file a memorandum of appearance with a defence precluded reliance on Order 14A to raise a preliminary point.
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Civil procedure — Order 14A RSC — notice of intention to defend requires memorandum of appearance with defence; conditional memorandum insufficient. Order 33(3) RSC not independent of Order 14A. Order 2(2) RSC relates to irregularity of process, not substantive disposal
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Limitation Act — whether claim is statute-barred or postponed by fraud is a triable factual issue
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15 March 2022 |
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15 March 2022 |
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An arbitration clause in a facility agreement does not automatically apply to separate mortgage or guarantee documents lacking incorporation.
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15 March 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed: respondent complied with reinstatement and medical directives; Registrar rightly refused assessment beyond awarded arrears.
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Labour law — reinstatement conditional on medical fitness; Workers Compensation Act (ss.35, 39) — medical re‑examination and discharge formalities; Industrial and Labour Relations Act s.97 — appeals limited to points of law or mixed law and fact; Registrar’s mandate — can only assess damages actually awarded; appellate procedure — cannot raise new issues or unpleaded heads of damage on appeal.
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10 March 2022 |