Principal Registry Lusaka - 2017

21 judgments
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Results. 21 judgments found.

21 judgments
December 2017
Search and continued occupation of premises without produced warrant or court order was unlawful; prohibition and vacation ordered.
  • Constitutional and criminal procedure law — search and seizure — requirement for search warrant and police procedural records (Section 15 Police Act; Section 118 Criminal Procedure Code) — unlawful occupation of private property without court order — judicial review: illegality, procedural impropriety, irrationality, legitimate expectation — remedies: prohibition granted, certiorari and mandamus refused/unsuccessful.
29 December 2017
Applicant’s missing spouse presumed dead after 11 years’ absence; applicant may seek letters of administration.
  • Presumption of death — seven‑year absence rule — High Court inherent jurisdiction — adequacy of inquiries (police report, family enquiries, newspaper advertisement) — Non‑Contentious Probate Rules (Rule 53) distinction.
19 December 2017
Applicant's title valid but possession denied due to bona fide purchaser; State ordered to provide alternative land.
  • Land law — title description — certified survey diagram prevails over inconsistent certificate wording; erroneous issuance of subsequent title; bona fide purchaser for value without notice protected; remedy by State allocation of alternative land and rectification of register; failure to prove damages for improvements.
6 December 2017
November 2017
Habeas corpus unavailable once detainee is charged and produced in court; application dismissed as overtaken by events.
  • Habeas corpus — purpose to produce detainee and test legality of detention; not available after production/release; civil court must not re‑hear criminal merits; limits of remedy under Order 54.
29 November 2017
Plaintiff's writ and statement set aside for missing mandatory endorsements and for pleading evidence instead of material facts.
  • Civil procedure — Irregularity — Originating process — Failure to endorse mandatory details (occupation, postal and electronic address) — Pleadings — Rule that pleadings must state material facts not evidence — Setting aside writ and statement of claim — Self‑represented litigant not excused from Rules of Court — Leave to amend and proper procedure.
29 November 2017
An applicant cannot secure the full disputed sum where the debtor validly assigned receivables to third-party creditors acknowledged by the debtor.
  • Arbitration — interim measures — Court may grant orders securing amounts in dispute — Assignments of receivables — validity and effect upon notice to debtor — priority of competing assignments — limitation on court deciding substantive issues pending arbitration.
22 November 2017
Court declared applicant male on medical evidence and ordered amendment of birth and examination records; deed-poll order refused.
  • Sex determination — criteria (chromosomal, gonadal, genital, psychological, secondary sexual characteristics); evidence-based declaration of legal sex; limits on court-ordered deed poll; amendment of birth and examination records; High Court jurisdiction and proper commencement.
8 November 2017
October 2017
Court invalidated derogatory definitions in the Mental Disorders Act, upheld need for humane treatment and urged statutory reform while declining wholesale repeal.
  • Constitutional law — Mental health legislation — Derogatory statutory language and discrimination — Involuntary detention and procedural safeguards — Humane treatment and standards of care in psychiatric institutions — Scope of judicial relief versus legislative reform — Supervisory enforcement orders against statutory agencies.
9 October 2017
Decree nisi granted for irretrievable breakdown under unreasonable behaviour; custody to petitioner, maintenance/property referred.
  • Family law — Divorce — Irretrievable breakdown of marriage under Matrimonial Causes Act Sections 8 and 9(1)(b) — Unreasonable behaviour — Custody of minor children — Referral of maintenance and property settlement.
4 October 2017
September 2017
Online publisher liable for defamatory allegations; apology by broadcaster mitigated damages.
  • Defamation — libel — truth/justification; fair comment; qualified privilege and responsible journalism; mitigating effect of apology; damages assessment.
20 September 2017
Court confirmed a two-year sentence, holding sentencing disparity justified by plea and mitigation, not a miscarriage of justice.
  • Criminal procedure — Revisionary powers of the High Court — Review of sentence in joint enterprise — Differential sentences justified by plea and mitigation — Appellate interference only for manifestly excessive, wrong in principle, illegal or substantial miscarriage of justice — Right to be heard in revision discretionary.
11 September 2017
August 2017
A habeas corpus application must be personal and strictly comply with Order 54; joint/class communal affidavits are impermissible.
  • Habeas corpus — personal nature of the writ; Order 54 (White Book) — affidavit requirements; joint/class applications impermissible; procedural compliance mandatory; absence of opposing affidavit not determinative; English Habeas Corpus Acts not part of Zambian written law.
17 August 2017
The applicant failed to prove alleged fraudulent share alterations; the respondent confirmed as bona fide shareholders and directors.
  • Company law — increase of share capital and allotment of shares — validity and procedural compliance; transfer of shares — effect of voluntary signed transfer forms; fraud and undue influence — burden of proof on alleging party; embezzlement allegations — requirement for accounting and audited evidence; directors’ rights — entitlement to remuneration/dividends and right to an accounting.
9 August 2017
July 2017
The court awarded the plaintiff US$10,743,414 for unpaid 23% foreign-currency entitlement and 5% interest per annum.
  • Contract law — express terms enforceable — 23% foreign-currency repatriation entitlement — sufficiency of documentary evidence for alleged payment/reconciliation — interest on foreign-currency debt; contractual rate absent, court awarded 5% per annum — counterclaim for overpayment unproven.
19 July 2017
High Court may grant interim ex-parte temporary permits to secure an applicant’s attendance and fair hearing despite immigration officers’ powers.
  • Immigration law; judicial review; interlocutory/ex-parte relief; temporary permit under section 27; right to a fair hearing; court’s power to summon witnesses; contempt for non-compliance with court orders.
7 July 2017
May 2017
Applicant failed to show exceptional expatriate skills; minister rightly refused employment and spouse permits under Zambianisation rules.
  • Immigration law — Employment permits — Zambianisation and requirement for exceptional expatriate skills — Spouse permits — definition of established resident — statutory appeal time‑limits (s.10) not dispositive where substantive grounds fail.
3 May 2017
April 2017
28 April 2017
Minimum-wage arrears awarded from July 2012; all other statutory and damage claims dismissed for lack of proof.
  • Employment law — Minimum wages (SI No.1 of 2011; SI No.47 of 2012) — entitlement to statutory allowances (transport, lunch, housing, repatriation) — employer remittance obligations (NAPSA, PAYE) — burden of proof — resignation v. termination — award of minimum-wage arrears.
27 April 2017
March 2017
A Local Court customary marriage certificate proves marital status; dowry non-payment did not prevent equal division of matrimonial property.
  • Customary marriage — Local Court marriage certificate; admissibility and evidentiary weight — dowry non-payment not dispositive; matrimonial property — acquisition during subsistence; division of assets — contributions and court’s discretion; stewardship claim raised late.
29 March 2017
Specific performance granted where valid sale existed, time was not of essence, vendor failed to deduce title, and fraud not proven.
  • Contract of sale — offer and acceptance; time of essence — when time becomes essential; failure to deduce title; authenticity of payment ledger; fraud and conversion — burden and standard of proof; mesne profits — status change from tenant to purchaser; specific performance as equitable remedy.
27 March 2017
Chewa matrilineal succession and Mbumba selection confirmed; respondent rightly installed as Chief; applicant disqualified.
  • Customary law — chieftaincy succession — Chewa matrilineal system; electoral college (Mbumba) — role of Paramount Chief in recognition and installation; genealogical evidence and customary inquiry; disqualification of patrilineal descendants.
17 March 2017