Results.
39 judgments found.
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| June 2024 |
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Allotment of unissued insurer shares without members’ approval and paid consideration is void ab initio; appeal dismissed.
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Company law — issued versus unissued shares — allotment/subscription of unissued shares — Section 216(1) repealed Companies Act — regulator’s minimum paid‑up capital (SI No.71 of 2015) — requirement for members’ approval and cash consideration — invalid allotment void ab initio — Turquand rule and s.216(5) inapplicable where statutory formalities absent or bad faith — improperly constituted board and void management acts.
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28 June 2024 |
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Arbitral award on statutory discrimination set aside because arbitrator exceeded contractual scope and matter was non-arbitrable.
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Arbitration — scope of submission — jurisdiction of arbitrator; Arbitrability of statutory discrimination claims (Employment Code s.5); public policy and setting aside arbitral awards; pleadings and terms of reference; award exceeding mandate.
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27 June 2024 |
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Composite employee withdrawal notices are permissible, but employers must advise that withdrawal takes effect only after three months; appeal allowed in part.
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Labour law — trade union subscription deductions — withdrawal from deduction agreements — validity of composite notices under s.22(2) — employer’s duty to advise on three-month notice; civil procedure — case management and closure for non-attendance.
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27 June 2024 |
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Failure to serve a mandatory letter of demand invalidated proceedings against that respondent; only that respondent's claim should be dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Originating process and mandatory requirements — Order VI Rule 1(1)(d) High Court Rules — letter of demand — effect of non‑compliance; Order 14A (White Book) — jurisdiction to determine points of law finally; corporate personality — service on one group company not imputed to another; remedy limited to dismissal as against non‑served defendant.
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26 June 2024 |
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Court set aside an irregular late review that barred appellant’s witnesses for non-filing of witness statements.
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Civil procedure — Interlocutory rulings — Review under Order 39 — Review period and requirement to afford parties hearing; Witness statements — Order XIX (as amended by S.I
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No. 58 of 2020) — Mandatory filing vs. court’s discretion to permit testimony; Procedural irregularity — Effect of late, sua sponte alteration of an earlier ruling
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26 June 2024 |
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A written payment-plan signed by the parties estops the appellant from reneging; outstanding terminal benefits award upheld.
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Employment law — terminal benefits and payment-plan agreements — estoppel — admissibility of emails and extrinsic evidence to establish a settlement — failure to prove vehicle transfer as full and final settlement or set-off.
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26 June 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: duty and breach proven but dependency unproven; award for loss of expectation of life upheld.
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Negligence — statutory duty of care under wildlife legislation — loss of expectation of life — assessment of damages (exchange-rate and precedent considerations) — dependency claims under Fatal Accidents Act — burden and sufficiency of evidence to quantify special damages.
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21 June 2024 |
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Recognition by a known witness and bloodied trousers corroborated identification despite absent DNA, appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Identification of accused — Recognition of known person — Corroboration by circumstantial evidence (blood-stained clothing as odd coincidence) — Absence of DNA does not automatically make conviction unsafe.
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21 June 2024 |
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Whether instant mob justice and untested confessions sustain murder convictions or warrant manslaughter substitution.
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Criminal law — Confession evidence — trial must enquire into voluntariness before admission; Mob/instant justice — participation in collective assault may ground manslaughter but not necessarily murder absent common purpose; Cumulative assaults and causation — post‑mortem findings and eyewitnesses support liability.
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21 June 2024 |
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Leave to commence committal proceedings under Order 52 RSC is mandatory, must be ex parte, and absence of such leave divests the court of jurisdiction.
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Civil procedure — Committal for contempt — Order 52 Rule 2 RSC — mandatory ex parte leave — jurisdictional requirement — hearing inter partes unlawful — merits cannot be decided before leave — remittal for fresh ex parte hearing; costs awarded to appellant.
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21 June 2024 |
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A provocation defence fails where the alleged provocative act was committed by a third party, not the deceased, so sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Murder — Provocation — Failed provocation may be extenuating — Section 206 Penal Code requires provocative act by the person killed — Ownership of weapon and conduct may rebut provocation claim.
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21 June 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: sufficient evidence of stabbing and malice aforethought; no evidence to sustain provocation or self‑defence.
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Criminal law — Murder — malice aforethought (s.204 Penal Code) — evidence of stabbing and post‑mortem findings — provocation and self‑defence require evidential basis — appellate restraint on interfering with reasonable factual findings — extenuating circumstances relate to sentencing.
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21 June 2024 |
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Appellate court found a trial judge's mathematical error left K29,000 outstanding and ordered payment before return of the title deed.
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Contract/secured loan — forward purchase agreement — withholding of certificate of title; Evidence — proof of payments and attribution to loan officer; Appeal — appellate interference with factual findings where miscalculation/perverse finding; Remedies — order for payment, return of title deed or conveyance; Costs awarded.
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21 June 2024 |
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Interpleader resolves ownership of seized goods; alleged forcible entry requires separate proceedings and does not defeat interpleader.
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Interpleader proceedings — ownership of goods seized in execution — scope limited to ownership disputes; alleged forcible entry/wrongful execution not determinative in interpleader; separate remedy required for wrongful execution; appellate review of factual findings (perversity/absence of evidence).
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20 June 2024 |
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A court lacks jurisdiction to amend commencement mode after finding wrong commencement; successful party entitled to costs.
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Civil procedure — Mode of commencement — Originating summons vs writ — Court lacks jurisdiction to amend process after finding wrong commencement — Orders made thereafter invalid — 'Costs follow the event' principle — entitlement to costs where preliminary point succeeds.
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20 June 2024 |
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Claims against a bank taken into possession by the Bank of Zambia must follow the Act's liquidation procedures.
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Banking and Financial Services Act 2017 — Bank of Zambia possession — liquidation schedule — customer statements — requirement to file claims/objections — jurisdiction of Industrial Relations Division — applicability of John Mutale.
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20 June 2024 |
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Court warns against uncritical reliance on handwriting experts but upholds ownership based on undisputed payment and conduct.
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Evidence — Expert witnesses (handwriting) — Court's duty to see and assess documentary basis for expert opinion; Proof of title — payment of purchase balance and payment of ground rent as supporting ownership; Fraud/forgery allegations — need to be distinctly pleaded and proved.
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20 June 2024 |
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Whether Order 53(9)(1) allows joinder or only hearing of an interested party in judicial review proceedings.
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Judicial review — Order 53(9)(1) RSC — hearing v. joinder of interested parties — sufficient interest — originator of complaint — police investigations — procedural fairness — costs to abide outcome.
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19 June 2024 |
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Whether disputes protecting registered surface rights must be litigated in the High Court or are mandatorily governed by the Mines Act’s arbitration regime.
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Mines and Minerals Development Act (Part IV) — surface rights v. mining rights — jurisdiction of High Court for trespass claims — consent, compensation and arbitration provisions — interlocutory determination under Order 14A.
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19 June 2024 |
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Plaintiff may recommence after dismissal for want of prosecution; awarded costs must be taxed promptly and do not bar refiling.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — not a decision on the merits; fresh action permissible
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Costs — successful party must tax within prescribed time (Order 62 r 29); failure to tax cannot bar refiling. Stay of proceedings pending payment of costs inappropriate; taxation procedure must be followed. Abuse of process
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19 June 2024 |
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A summary dismissal for no cause of action without reasons or a hearing is irregular and is remitted for fresh hearing.
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Civil procedure — striking out pleadings — dismissal for want of cause of action — discretionary summary power to strike out to be used only in plain and obvious cases — requirement to follow Order XIX Rule 3 (HCR) pre‑trial procedures — necessity for reasoned rulings and right to be heard.
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19 June 2024 |
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Where rescission and refund claims fall outside Order 12, a default judgment was improperly entered and the matter must be remitted for trial.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Order 12 High Court Rules — Claims for rescission and refund of deposits not within categories permitting entry of default judgment — Misjoinder of procedure — Remedy is appeal and remittal for trial under Order 12(8) — Setting aside premature where judgment improperly entered.
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19 June 2024 |
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Non-parties must be joined before challenging a consent order; unsupported factual findings and premature trials warrant reversal.
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Civil procedure — Consent judgments — Only parties (or properly joined non-parties) may challenge consent orders; joinder/fresh-action procedure required; appellate reversal where factual findings (fraud/registry irregularities) are unsupported; interlocutory objections must be determined before trial.
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19 June 2024 |
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The appellant's challenge to negligence finding failed; eyewitness and regulatory evidence supported respondents' claim of electrical-origin fire.
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Negligence — duty of care of electricity supplier — causation of fire from service cable resting on roof — evaluation of eyewitness versus expert evidence — corroboration by fire brigade and ERB reports — appellate restraint in overturning factual findings.
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19 June 2024 |
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Bank not liable where authorised signatories lawfully instructed payments and no written instruction or reasonable grounds required bank to inquire.
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Banking law — mandate and agency — privity of contract — Quincecare/Quincecare‑type duty and APP fraud — scope of bank's duty to inquire when payments made by authorised signatories — entitlement to account viewing rights limited to authorised signatories and written instructions.
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13 June 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: ex parte applications properly dismissed for want of prosecution due to appellant's inordinate delay and counsel's failure to follow up.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution; ex parte applications — failure to prosecute; service of court directives — inference from circumstances; case management and duty of counsel; principles from Birkett v James applied.
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13 June 2024 |
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Dismissal for want of prosecution is not res judicata; fresh action permitted; awarded costs must be taxed and enforced separately.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution not a decision on merits — res judicata inapplicable; entitlement to commence fresh action; costs recovery procedure (taxation within three months) — court will not stay fresh proceedings for unpaid taxed costs absent proper enforcement steps.
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13 June 2024 |
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Review is limited; fresh material evidence is required to reopen a dismissal for want of prosecution.
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Civil procedure — Review under Order 39 Rule 1 — Limited scope; fresh material evidence required — Dismissal for want of prosecution — Consent order expressing intention to settle not a final consent judgment — Case management in commercial list.
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13 June 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: High Court had jurisdiction; Ministry letters not formal decisions; adjournment refusal and lower court findings upheld.
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Mining law — jurisdiction under MMDA sections 96–97 — notification v. decision; administrative appeals; powers to cancel/suspend licences; trial court discretion to adjourn; burden of proof on plaintiff.
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13 June 2024 |
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An exclusive UAE jurisdiction clause governed the contract; Zambian courts must decline jurisdiction under forum non conveniens.
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Private international law — forum non conveniens — exclusive jurisdiction clause — governing law (UAE) — effect of foreign jurisdiction clauses — procedural defects (service address; leave to serve out of jurisdiction) — adequacy of pleading (fraud).
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13 June 2024 |
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An exclusive Dubai jurisdiction clause was enforced, holding Zambian courts lacked jurisdiction to hear the contract dispute.
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Contract law — exclusive jurisdiction clause — forum non conveniens — governing law (UAE) — enforcement of foreign forum clause — leave to serve out of jurisdiction — procedural defects curable but irrelevant where forum inappropriate.
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13 June 2024 |
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A non‑party with sufficient interest may be joined to proceedings even after a consent judgment; fresh action may be inappropriate.
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Civil procedure — Joinder after consent judgment — Order 15 Rule 6(2)(b) — Locus standi — When joinder preferable to fresh action.
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13 June 2024 |
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Appeal allowed: special damages unproven and contributory negligence re-apportioned 70%/30% (appellant/respondent).
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Negligence — road traffic accident — special damages require specific pleading and proof — contributory negligence — apportionment of liability (70%/30%) — assessment by Registrar — interest and costs.
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11 June 2024 |
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Civil NCB forfeiture requires statutory notice and proof linking property to crime; criminal cautions demand voluntariness safeguards.
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Forfeiture of proceeds of crime — Non-conviction (in rem) forfeiture — FPOCA notice requirements (s30) — Service out of jurisdiction vs statutory notice — Admissibility of warn and caution statements obtained in criminal investigations in civil forfeiture — Voluntariness and probative weight — Two-stage test for tainted property — Standard of proof: balance of probabilities.
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11 June 2024 |
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Failure to give statutorily required notice and lack of evidence connecting property to crime invalidated non-conviction forfeiture.
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Forfeiture of proceeds of crime — Non-conviction forfeiture — Mandatory notice under s30 — "Tainted property" definition and burden on balance of probabilities — Inadmissibility/insufficiency of intelligence evidence — Improper focus on financial capacity.
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11 June 2024 |
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The appellant, as agent and bailee, was liable for stolen cement due to breach of duty; transaction was agency, not credit sale.
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7 June 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed where appellant repeatedly defaulted and sought last‑minute adjournment in breach of court rules.
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Civil procedure — Dismissal for want of prosecution; striking out vs dismissal; Order 35 r.2 High Court Rules; adjournment applications — Order 33 r.2 (10‑day notice) — viva voce adjournments; inordinate delay, contumelious default; mediation not excuse for last‑minute adjournment.
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7 June 2024 |
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Failure to file a memorandum of appearance and defence renders an Order 14A RSC preliminary motion incompetent and voids the resulting Ruling.
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Civil procedure — Preliminary points under Order 14A RSC — prerequisite of filing memorandum of appearance and defence — failure renders motion incompetent; Lands and Deeds Registry Act — registration of leases; ex parte interim injunctions — Order 29/1 RSC v Order 27/4 HCR; appellate record requirements (pleadings).
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5 June 2024 |
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Appellate court will not overturn trial credibility findings in matrimonial disputes absent perversity, lack of evidence, or misapprehension.
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Appeal — appellate review of findings of fact — credibility and demeanour — appellate interference only where findings are perverse, unsupported by relevant evidence, or based on misapprehension of facts — matrimonial causes — unreasonable behaviour and irretrievable breakdown.
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3 June 2024 |