Results.
2,111 judgments found.
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| August 2025 |
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Conviction unsafe where vehicle identification and bag chain of custody were not established.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Identification of vehicle — Chain of custody for recovered bag — Admissibility and proof beyond reasonable doubt — Conviction unsafe and acquittal.
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20 August 2025 |
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Failure to plead and prove fraud with particularity bars challenge to a conclusive certificate of title; appeal dismissed.
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Land law — Certificate of title under Lands and Deeds Registry Act s33/s34 — conclusive evidence of ownership; Civil procedure — Requirement to plead fraud with particularity (Order 18 RSC) — fraud must be distinctly alleged and proved; Appeal — appellate interference with findings of fact limited to perversity, absence of relevant evidence or misapprehension of fact.
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20 August 2025 |
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Charging officer chairing a disciplinary hearing created apparent bias, rendering the dismissal wrongful; six months' damages upheld.
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Employment law — Disciplinary procedure — Natural justice — Charging officer chairing disciplinary hearing — Apparent bias; Wrongful vs unfair dismissal; Proof of dismissible offence and procedural compliance; Damages for wrongful dismissal (notice pay ordinarily, but facts may justify broader award).
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20 August 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed against former employee for libel; broadcaster's liability set aside after proving justification.
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Defamation — libel via online blog and television broadcast — identification and publication — defences: justification and fair comment — appellate review of factual findings and trial court discretion.
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20 August 2025 |
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A sham redundancy is an unfair dismissal; corporate separation cannot be used to evade employment obligations.
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Employment law — Redundancy — Genuine redundancy versus sham redundancy; unfair dismissal under Employment Code Act; lifting the corporate veil where separate entity used to evade employment obligations; measure of damages for unfair redundancy (mitigation and nominal award).
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19 August 2025 |
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Conviction for murder affirmed; self-defence failed due to excessive force, but sentence reduced to 20 years for extenuating circumstances.
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Criminal law — self-defence — warn-and-caution statement (confession) — effect of conflicting trial denial — proportionality of force — excessive force defeats self-defence but may give rise to extenuating circumstances warranting sentence reduction.
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19 August 2025 |
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Circumstantial and last-seen evidence, coupled with adverse credibility findings, sufficed to uphold a murder conviction.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Required cogency to permit only inference of guilt; Last-seen principle; Credibility and lies on material points; Failure to call available witnesses.
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15 August 2025 |
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Conviction upheld on reliable eyewitness ID; death sentence set aside because appellant was a juvenile at commission of the offence.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence — single eyewitness identification in daylight — honest mistake; Credibility assessment of eyewitness evidence; Common purpose liability in fatal assaults; Sentencing — juvenile at time of offence — death sentence prohibited — detention during President's pleasure.
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15 August 2025 |
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Circumstantial evidence and unexplained conduct in a locked room supported only the inference of the applicant's guilt.
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Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence — Whether circumstantial facts point to only one inference — Postmortem evidence — Unchallenged forensic findings — Accused’s silence and conduct as indicative of guilty knowledge.
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15 August 2025 |
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Conviction for murder upheld; death sentence set aside because appellant was a juvenile at time of the offence, ordered detained at President's pleasure.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — single eyewitness identification in daylight after 15 minutes observation; honest mistake; identification parade; sentencing — prohibition of death sentence for juvenile under Penal Code s.25(2); detention at President's pleasure.
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15 August 2025 |
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Opportunity in an isolated clinical setting and medical and parental evidence sufficiently corroborated defilement; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Corroboration: opportunity as corroboration — medical evidence corroborating intercourse despite absent lab report — proof of age by parent and child health record — failure to challenge evidence by cross‑examination.
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15 August 2025 |
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Court upheld convictions where detained witnesses were corroborated by recent possession and other circumstantial evidence.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Detained (suspect) witnesses — Requirement for corroboration — Recent possession doctrine — Inference of guilt from totality of evidence in aggravated robbery and murder.
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13 August 2025 |
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A voluntary admission to a chief can corroborate a prosecutrix and sustain a sexual‑offence conviction.
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Criminal law — Incest/defilement — admissibility and probative value of extrajudicial admissions to a chief; corroboration in sexual offences; appellate deference to trial credibility findings.
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13 August 2025 |
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Conviction for defilement upheld on corroborative medical and circumstantial evidence; 35‑year sentence affirmed.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Circumstantial evidence and corroboration — Suspect witnesses — Medical evidence corroborating sexual injury — Sentencing: young victim and deterrence justify severe term.
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13 August 2025 |
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Corroboration of a child witness is discretionary; unproven intoxication cannot negate intent or justify extenuation.
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Criminal law — murder — identification by child witness — corroboration discretionary under s.78(9) Children’s Code; child evidence corroborated by discovery and postmortem. Criminal law — intoxication — burden to prove drunkenness affected capacity; uncorroborated intoxication may be rejected and not qualify as extenuation
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12 August 2025 |
| July 2025 |
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Registrar taxed respondents' bill of costs on a standard basis, awarding ZMW 87,472.76 after finding sufficient notice given.
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Taxation of costs — Notice and opportunity to be heard — Taxation in absentia where notice served — Standard (reasonableness) of taxation — No padding — Application of Order 62 Rule 4 (White Book) and Legal Practitioners' (Costs) Order 2017 — Allocatur ZMW 87,472.76.
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23 July 2025 |
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Appellant's unauthenticated foreign repair invoice and failure to allow inspection/produce quotes invalidated repair claim; nominal damages awarded.
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Tort — negligent driving — consent judgment; Insurance — third‑party motor cover — insurer's liability limited to policy limit; Evidence — foreign documents require authentication under the Authentication of Documents Act; Procedure — failure to provide repair quotations and to permit inspection may prejudice insurer and third‑party defendants; Damages — nominal damages where loss not proved.
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17 July 2025 |
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A two-day procedural delay by the applicant warranted an extension of time; prospects of success not required.
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Civil procedure — Extension of time — Order 13 Rule 3(1)(c) — Short/technical delay — Two-day delay excused — Prospects of success requirement not applicable to extension of time — Judicial discretion — Article 118(2)(e) Constitution (avoid undue regard to procedural technicalities).
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11 July 2025 |
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Redundancy pay does not cover periods already remunerated as gratuity under expired fixed-term contracts; recalculation would cause unjust enrichment.
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Employment law — redundancy benefits — clause interpretation — fixed-term contracts vs permanent service — gratuity v redundancy — unjust enrichment — discrimination (s.108 ILRA) — Employment Act s.26B(4) and s.36(1)(a) — Attorney General v Chibaya.
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9 July 2025 |
| June 2025 |
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An unauthenticated foreign share sale agreement is invalid in Zambia and cannot be compelled produced against non-parties.
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Authentication of Documents Act — foreign share sale agreement — unauthenticated foreign document invalid for use in Zambia; privity of contract — parties not bound — subpoena duces tecum; estoppel cannot validate unauthenticated statutory defect; corporate personality — piercing the veil requires strong evidence.
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30 June 2025 |
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Variation was valid despite earlier system entries; interest cap under s110(1)(b) was not breached and appeal dismissed.
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Banking law — variation of loan facilities — requirements of offer, acceptance and consideration — effect of borrower’s subsequent acceptance — Banking and Financial Services Act s110(1)(b) — definition and timing of non-performing loan and interest capping.
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27 June 2025 |
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A principal who takes over an agent’s contract and admits payments is liable despite privity of contract.
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Contract law — Road carriage agreement — Existence of single contract — Whether third party took over contract obligations
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Agency — Principal and agent — Agent acting for principal — Principal’s liability where it takes over agent’s contractual obligations
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Civil procedure — Judgment on admission — Effect of admission and part‑payments as evidence of assumption of obligation
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27 June 2025 |
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Appellants failed to show trial court misapplied evidence; special resolutions were void and PACRA register reversal upheld.
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Companies law — membership and quorum — validity of special resolutions — company register at PACRA as prima facie evidence of title — challenges to findings of fact — standard for appellate interference (perverse/misapprehension) — forgery allegations and handwriting evidence — arbitration clause in articles not invoked via statutory procedure.
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26 June 2025 |
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A stay pending leave to appeal requires clear prospects of success and irreparable harm; ex parte stay discharged.
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Stay of execution pending appeal — discretionary remedy — prospect of success and irreparable harm required — appeal does not automatically stay execution — ex parte stay discharged.
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24 June 2025 |
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Appellant failed to prove copyright infringement; Court of Appeal set aside damages and upheld the cross-appeal.
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Copyright law — copyright ownership and commissioned works — burden of proof in infringement actions; evidentiary sufficiency and expunged documents; s.26 delivery-up remedies; s.25(4) reasonable belief defence; damages for infringement, conversion and passing off.
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20 June 2025 |
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Appellant’s dispatch documents shifted the evidential burden; respondent failed to prove non-receipt and no contractual duty to transport existed.
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Contract law — sale of goods — terms implied by practice: release on production of documents; Burden of proof — evidential burden may shift where defendant adduces positive evidence; Evidence — delivery notes, invoices and weighbridge slips can prove dispatch; Civil procedure — appeal irregularity dismissed where application made out of time.
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20 June 2025 |
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A court lacking jurisdiction on the merits may nonetheless award costs; such discretion must be exercised judicially.
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Jurisdiction — lack of jurisdiction as to merits does not preclude court from awarding costs; costs lie in judicial discretion; customary land disputes and Local Courts' original jurisdiction.
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18 June 2025 |
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Recognition evidence by familiar witnesses and cogent circumstantial facts upheld murder convictions despite no identification parade.
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Criminal law — Identification/recognition evidence — reliability in poor lighting; absence of identification parade not fatal where witnesses know accused — Circumstantial evidence — cogency and exclusion of reasonable hypothesis — Alibi as afterthought.
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17 June 2025 |
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Appeal dismissed: trial judgment sufficient despite missing pages; witnesses and medical evidence credible; 18‑month custodial sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — assault occasioning actual bodily harm — credibility of prosecution witnesses — admissibility and sufficiency of medical report where author testifies — missing trial record — appellate review — sentence appropriateness and aggravating factor of acting with impunity in police premises.
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17 June 2025 |
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The respondents’ procurement directive and suppliers' conduct constituted an anti-competitive agreement in breach of Section 8; fines upheld.
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Competition law — Restrictive business practices — Section 8 (prohibition of agreements, decisions or concerted practices with object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition) — inference of concurrence of wills from circumstantial evidence — vertical arrangement vs horizontal agreement — Section 16 (abuse of dominance) — penalties under Section 58 — appealability of costs rulings.
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17 June 2025 |
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Court dismissed leave to appeal and stay applications due to res judicata and procedural irregularity in bypassing the High Court.
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Civil procedure — leave to appeal — stay of proceedings — requirement to first apply to the High Court (Order 13 Rule 12 CAR) — res judicata — arbitration clause — notice of discontinuance — derivative action — Arbitration Act.
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17 June 2025 |
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Appellate court confined dispute to pleadings, ordered replacement of four admitted beacons and rejected unproven claims and damages.
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Civil procedure — function of pleadings; burden of proof — party who alleges must prove; land boundaries — replacement of beacons where removal admitted; Surveyor General's role in restoring beacons; caveat — damages must be pleaded and proved; costs — discretionary, appeal costs limited to out-of-pocket expenses.
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11 June 2025 |
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Applicant’s out-of-time restoration under wrong Rule was incompetent; application dismissed with costs.
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Civil procedure — Restoration of matters struck off active cause list — Order 10/19(2) CAR applicable to appeals at hearing, not interlocutory applications; failure to comply with 'unless' order and absence of leave to extend time renders restoration application incompetent.
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11 June 2025 |
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Vendor's advocates holding purchase monies as stakeholders may be liable to refund when a conveyancing transaction fails.
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Conveyancing — vendor's advocate as stakeholder — LAZ General Conditions of Sale — stakeholder owes fiduciary duties to both parties — cause of action against advocate for failure to refund deposit — misjoinder and costs.
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11 June 2025 |
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A materially different renewed application for leave to appeal is irregular and the Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction to entertain it.
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Civil Procedure
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Appellate Jurisdiction — Court of Appeal cannot exercise original jurisdiction to entertain leave applications at first instance — Court of Appeal Rules Order X Rule 4(5)
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Leave to Appeal — Renewed application must be same in form and substance as High Court application — Material departure renders renewed application irregular
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10 June 2025 |
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Court dismissed appeal, holding no strict 90‑day limit for leave under section 85(3) and that respondent’s reasons were cogent.
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Industrial and labour law — extension of time under section 85(3) ILRA — no prescribed time limit for leave applications — sufficiency of reasons for delay; Civil procedure — ex parte applications and natural justice — procedural irregularity that would not affect outcome; Appeal to Judge in chambers — rehearing and burden of proof; Amicable settlement attempts and financial constraints as cogent reasons for extension of time.
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9 June 2025 |
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A section 10 arbitration application may be brought at any stage; a broadly drafted pension fund arbitration clause survives post-employment and mandates referral to arbitration.
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Arbitration Act s.10 — stay and refer to arbitration; pension trust deed arbitration clause; survivability of arbitration clauses post-employment; High Court (Amendment) Rules 2020 — appearance and defence not prerequisite to s.10 application; ejusdem generis and clause construction; arbitrability of constitutional/statutory claims; preliminary objection practice.
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6 June 2025 |
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An application for special leave to review ought to be heard by the original judge; costs are inappropriate where proceedings are merely stayed under section 10.
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Arbitration Act s10 — stay and referral to arbitration; High Court Rules Order 39 — special leave to review; jurisdiction — review before the judge who made impugned ruling; costs — award inappropriate where proceedings are stayed under section 10.
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6 June 2025 |
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Zambian courts had jurisdiction over domestic guarantee agreements; respondent had locus standi; arbitration clause in main subcontract inapplicable.
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Arbitration clause — foreign jurisdiction not an automatic ouster; forum conveniens considerations; Separate guarantee agreements — independent from main subcontract; Locus standi — beneficiary party under guarantees entitled to sue; Specific performance of guarantees; Costs awarded to successful party.
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6 June 2025 |
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Writ under consent judgment upheld; distress was lawful but any excess value must be assessed and refunded with interest.
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Enforcement of consent judgment — Writ of possession issued under consent order — Requirement for leave/notice (Order 45 RSC/Order 88 RSC) — Joinder of occupier — Warrant of distress for unpaid rent — Excessive distress and assessment of proceeds — Right of first refusal and effect of tenant's default — Damages for wrongful execution.
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6 June 2025 |
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5 June 2025 |
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Oral orders take effect on delivery; absent fresh evidence, review refused and tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the late-filed complaint.
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Civil procedure — Review (Order 39 R.1) — fresh material evidence threshold; Effect of oral pronouncement — judgment/order takes effect on delivery; Industrial and Labour Relations Act s.85(3) — leave to file out of time; Vacation filings — leave authorises filing during vacation; Jurisdiction — defects in originating process and timing of leave
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5 June 2025 |
| May 2025 |
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An injunction pending appeal must be grounded on reasonable prospects of success; lacking that, it will be discharged.
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Court of Appeal jurisdiction to grant injunctions pending appeal; injunction-pending-appeal test: reasonable prospects of success; procedural rules on renewed/full-court motions; distinction from interlocutory injunctions at trial.
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30 May 2025 |
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The Court upheld a stay and referral to arbitration, finding valid service and that the arbitration clause applied to former employees' benefit disputes.
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Arbitration — stay of court proceedings — service by pigeon-hole — validity of notice; Arbitration clause scope — severability and survival post-termination; Contract interpretation — ejusdem generis vs ordinary meaning in commercial arbitration clauses; Constitutional issues — mere reference does not oust arbitral jurisdiction.
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30 May 2025 |
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Counsel's mistaken legal advice does not excuse disobedience of court orders; fines with alternative imprisonment imposed for contempt.
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Contempt of court — disobedience of court order — counsel's mistaken advice not a defense — mitigation considered (rectification, brevity, age, medical condition) — fine imposed with alternative short imprisonment — imperative of unreserved compliance with court orders.
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29 May 2025 |
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A renewal to the full Court under section 9(b) must rehear the same application with the same materials; fresh evidence is inadmissible.
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Court of Appeal procedure — Renewal under section 9(b) and Order X r.2(8) — Renewed application must rehear same grounds and use same materials as before single judge — Fresh evidence/exhibits not before single judge inadmissible — Motion incompetent and dismissed with costs.
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28 May 2025 |
Martin Siame and 3 Ors v the People (Appeal No. 53, 54, 55, 56/ 2021; Appeal No. 53, 54, 55, 56/ 2021; Appeal No. 53, 54, 55, 56/ 2021; Appeal No. 53, 54, 55, 56/ 2021) [2025] ZMCA 98 (23 May 2025)
Whether identification and uncautioned admissions supported convictions and whether multiple robbery sentences should run consecutively.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — uncautioned admissions — admissibility and reliance — circumstantial evidence (recovery of stolen property) — sentencing principles — first offender credit — consecutive sentences for distinct offences.
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23 May 2025 |
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Writ and statement of claim set aside for being issued without leave to serve abroad and for defective service on advocates.
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Civil procedure — Service of process — Mandatory leave for service out of jurisdiction (Order X r16); personal service and advocates' written undertaking (Order X rr5–6); company service (Companies Act s34(1)); breach of mandatory rule fatal; irregular writ set aside
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19 May 2025 |
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Unchallenged witness testimony and emails established contractual breach; corporate veil not pierced; applicant awarded costs.
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Contract — Agent Authorization Agreement — breach of contractual obligations to provide marketing and technical assistance — standard of proof in civil cases — unchallenged oral evidence and emails sufficient on balance of probabilities; Evidence — Browne v Dunn — failure to cross-examine a witness undermines ability to discredit evidence; Company law — corporate veil — mother-subsidiary relationship does not automatically justify piercing the veil; Costs — successful party entitled to costs absent good reason
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19 May 2025 |
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Leave to appeal refused: Article 118(2)(e) does not excuse non‑compliance with mandatory procedural filing rules.
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Constitutional law — Article 118(2)(e) (justice without undue regard to procedural technicalities) — Court procedure — mandatory compliance with filing rules — leave to appeal — section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act — procedural non‑compliance not excused by constitutionally stated principle.
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14 May 2025 |