High Court of Zambia - 1981

21 judgments
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Results. 21 judgments found.

21 judgments
December 1981
High Court grants damages for proven ill‑treatment but finds detention lawful under valid public‑security regulations; petition allowed in part.
  • Constitutional jurisdiction — Article 29 petitions — damages for ill‑treatment under Article 29(8) — Preservation of Public Security Regulations — validity and inheritance — police detention orders (reg.33(6)) need not be written — requirement to weigh detainee immediately — solitary confinement distinguished from separate accommodation — Article 15(3) inapplicable where no criminal charge
3 December 1981
November 1981
Interim injunction to prevent deportation denied because s.16 bars injunctions that would give relief against the State.
  • State Proceedings Act s.16 — Injunctions and specific performance barred against the State; declaratory relief allowable in lieu; no interlocutory relief that would give substantive relief against the Crown; removal of litigant from jurisdiction while proceedings pending is undesirable
24 November 1981
Once lawfully brought into Zambia and served with a detention order, the detaining authority may detain under Public Security Regulations.
  • Constitutional law — detention under Preservation of Public Security Regulations — arrest abroad and hand‑over — jurisdiction once detainee is within Zambia — effectiveness of detention upon service — validity of Regulations and state of emergency — adequacy of grounds under Art.27 — President's signature not required — court cannot probe manner of transfer from foreign state.
17 November 1981
Court upheld detention under Public Security Regulations after lawful handover from foreign custody; grounds and procedures deemed sufficient.
  • Constitutional law—detention under Preservation of Public Security Regulations—extraterritorial arrest and handover—jurisdiction once detainee brought into Zambia; effectiveness and service of detention orders; validity of Regulations/state of emergency; Article 27 grounds (signature, particularity, vagueness) and applicability of Article 15; detaining authority’s subjective satisfaction
16 November 1981
An employer who reports suspected theft is not liable for false imprisonment absent mala fides or direct causation of detention.
  • Tort — False imprisonment; unlawfulness of arrest; reporting crime to police; mere setting in motion of legal process not trespass; direct and immediate causation; mala fides
12 November 1981
October 1981
Courts should avoid imposing unaffordable maximum fines under Control of Goods Regulations that lead to default imprisonment for first offenders.
  • Control of Goods — offering goods above maximum controlled price; failure to display prices; reg.17(1) maximum penalty K2,000 or six months' imprisonment; courts should avoid fines leading to default imprisonment, especially for first offenders and guilty pleas
14 October 1981
Where the Minister alone decides registration, certiorari cannot be issued against the consultative Board.
  • Administrative law — Judicial review — Certiorari — Ministerial discretion in registration — Section 11 vests decision in Minister; section 13 grants appeal only from Board decisions — Board merely consultative — certiorari unavailable against Board
13 October 1981
September 1981
Whether a subordinate court must immediately commit accused on a DPP summary-committal certificate and may still hear complaints.
  • Civil procedure — mandamus and prohibition — High Court’s discretionary power over subordinate courts; Criminal procedure — treason — DPP’s summary-committal certificate under ss. 254–255 Criminal Procedure Code; Subordinate courts may record accused’s complaints notwithstanding certificate; Indictment must disclose an offence; Procedural flexibility where strict rules would produce injustice
5 September 1981
August 1981
Exclusion of the day of detention in computing the 14-day period meant the grounds were timely served and detention lawful.
  • Constitutional law — Detention — Computation of time for furnishing grounds under Article 27(1)(a) — Interpretation and General Provisions Act s.35(a) applies to the Constitution — exclude day of event when counting days
26 August 1981
Whether the High Court may judicially review a university senate's refusal to award a degree and the scope of "to sue and be sued".
  • Civil procedure — Certiorari — Judicial review of university senate decisions; Construction of "to sue and be sued" in s.15(2) of University of Zambia Act; High Court jurisdiction over university disputes; Natural justice/audi alteram partem considerations
20 August 1981
An 'honour-only' lottery clause barred the applicant's enforceable claim despite the respondent having taken custody of the ticket.
  • Lottery rules — rule 12(6) (original ticket to be lodged within designated security area); 'honour-only' contractual clause — no intention to create legal relations; enforceability of exclusion of legal liability; agent/collector custody and proof by till roll; reliance on Jones v Vernon's Pools and Appleson v H. Littlewood
11 August 1981
July 1981
Prosecution must be allowed to prove alleged prior conviction before sentencing when the accused denies it.
  • Criminal law — Sentencing — Alleged prior conviction — Accused's denial — Prosecution must be afforded opportunity to prove prior conviction beyond reasonable doubt — Duty to hear evidence before treating offender as first-time
21 July 1981
Court reduced an excessive sentence, holding sentencing must be proportionate and not punish the exercise of trial rights.
  • Sentence — Proportionality of punishment — Deterrence vs. gravity of offence — Sentencing must not penalise exercise of right to trial — Review and substitution of excessive sentence under s.338(1)(a)(ii) Criminal Procedure Code
20 July 1981
Failure to slow and be prepared to stop at a zebra crossing, and not anticipating child folly, constitutes dangerous driving.
  • Road traffic — Dangerous driving — Disobedience of road traffic signs; Interpretation of Rules of the Road Regs, Cap.766, reg.13 — mutual obligations at uncontrolled zebra crossings; Negligence — Elevated duty of care towards children; Failure to anticipate child’s sudden movement as negligence
13 July 1981
June 1981
A company under receivership lacks independent locus to sue its receiver; the receiver alone may sue or defend in the company's name.
  • Civil procedure — Receivership — Receiver/manager appointed under debenture — Locus standi of company under receivership — Whether company may sue its receiver — Receiver acts for debenture holder; only receiver may sue or defend in company’s name.
24 June 1981
A company under receivership lacks independent locus standi and cannot sue its receiver; the receiver alone sues or defends.
  • Company law — Receivership — Receiver appointed under debenture — Agency of receiver for debenture holder — Locus standi of company under receivership — Company cannot sue its receiver; receiver sues/defends in company's name
23 June 1981
Forfeiture of a third party's firearm set aside where owner was not given a right to be heard and discretion was improperly exercised.
  • Forfeiture of firearms — distinction between mandatory forfeiture under National Parks and Wildlife Act s.145(1) and discretionary forfeiture under Firearms Act s.54(2); third-party ownership — requirement to afford owner right to be heard; judicial exercise of discretion
14 June 1981
An applicant cannot recover under a contract void for contravening exchange control law; judgment set aside for illegality.
  • Contract law — Illegality — Exchange Control Act contravention — ex turpi causa non oritur — agreement void ab initio — recovery of consideration barred — inherent power to set aside default judgment — garnishee order refusal confirmed.
4 June 1981
January 1981
Detention under Reg. 33(1) upheld where grounds were sufficiently detailed, served within 14 days, and no presidential mala fides proved.
  • Constitutional law — Preventive detention under Reg. 33(1) — Article 27(1)(a) ‘grounds in detail’ — vagueness is relative; must enable meaningful representation — 14‑day limit for serving grounds — mala fides burden on detainee to prove presidential bad faith/non‑application of mind — police mala fides insufficient to invalidate Presidential detention — Article 15(3) not applicable to Regulation 33(1) public security detentions
19 January 1981
Article 15(3) does not apply to Regulation 33 preventive detentions; executive discretion to detain may supersede prosecution.
  • Constitutional law — Detention without trial — Preservation of public security — Regulation 33 — Meaning of "detained" in Articles 15 and 27 — Detaining authority's discretion to detain rather than prosecute — Article 15(3) inapplicable to Regulation 33 detentions (Kapwepwe; Sharma).
14 January 1981
Preventive detention under Regulation 33 is outside Article 15(3); the detaining authority may detain instead of prosecuting.
  • Constitutional law — Detention without trial — Preventive detention under Preservation of Public Security Regulations (reg. 33) — Meaning of "detained" in Articles 15 and 27 — Detaining authority's discretion to detain or prosecute — Article 15(3) inapplicable to reg. 33 detentions
13 January 1981