Principal Registry Lusaka

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Results. 537 judgments found.

537 judgments
December 2024
Whether attestation to revised terms barred claims under earlier severance rules and whether housing allowance must be included in terminal benefits.
  • Employment law — variation of contract — consent and acquiescence via attestation — early retirement vs severance — inclusion of housing allowance in terminal benefits — limitation (six‑year) bar to contractual claims.
26 December 2024
A consent judgment alleged to have been procured by fraud may be challenged in a fresh action; res judicata does not automatically bar such a challenge.
  • Civil procedure — abuse of court process; res judicata — limits where judgment procured by fraud; setting aside consent judgment obtained by fraud; fresh action required; particularity and proof of fraud.
18 December 2024
A re-entry dispute under s13(3) of the Lands Act lies before the Lands Tribunal, not the High Court.
  • Lands Act s13(3) — Certificate of re-entry — Jurisdiction — Lands Tribunal is the proper forum; High Court’s jurisdiction in land matters limited by statute; Order 14A application to determine point of law without full trial.
18 December 2024
The plaintiff's amendments were allowed except the relief directing the Commissioner to subdivide already leased land, which was refused.
  • Civil procedure — Amendment of pleadings — Principles for allowing amendments; Competency of relief — Court cannot order the Commissioner of Lands to subdivide land already granted by lease; Cause of action — Allegations of fraudulent acquisition and liability of implicated parties; Costs in the cause; Leave to appeal granted.
17 December 2024
A claim filed after the six‑year limitation period is statute‑barred and must be dismissed, rendering preliminary pleadings challenges otiose.
  • Limitation of actions — six‑year period under Limitation of Actions Act 1939 — statute‑barred claims; limitation may be raised at any stage; striking out pleadings — scandalous/extraneous material — Order 18 Rule 19 (White Book); jurisdictional limits re Legal Practitioners Act complaints.
17 December 2024
High Court lacks jurisdiction to determine disputes over certificates of re-entry; recourse is to the Lands Tribunal.
  • Lands Act s.13(3) — Certificate of re-entry — Jurisdiction — Challenges to re-entry fall within the Lands Tribunal’s exclusive jurisdiction — High Court lacks jurisdiction to determine re-entry disputes.
17 December 2024
Applicant failed to prove respondents’ medical negligence or regulator’s statutory breach; leave to appeal granted.
  • Medical negligence — standard of care (Bolam) — peri‑operative anaphylaxis and CPR management — causation and duty to warn (Chester v Afshar considered but not applied) — weight of expert evidence — regulatory/licensing duty of Health Professions Council — absence of post‑mortem undermining causation.
10 December 2024
Court invalidated a special resolution and consequent share transfers as void, ordered reversion and equitable compensation with 1st defendant mainly liable.
  • Company law — alteration of share capital — validity of resolutions — Companies Act (sections mirroring old s.74/now s.140) — directors’ powers and requirement for member approval — subscription agreements — burden of proof for validity of meetings and resolutions — conversion and allotment of shares — transfers and assignments void for illegality — unjust enrichment and equitable restitution — apportionment of compensation.
9 December 2024
An arbitral award was set aside because the arbitrator failed to determine the applicant's counterclaim, though delay and other procedural complaints failed.
  • Arbitration Act s.17 — setting aside arbitral award; Originating summons procedure — Rule 34 Arbitration (Court Proceedings) Rules; computation of time; service on counsel; arbitrator’s procedural powers post‑hearing; denial of hearing opportunity; failure to decide counterclaim renders award invalid; delay and public policy.
9 December 2024
The applicant’s ex parte request for a stay of a Registrar directive to change its name was dismissed for lack of good and convincing reasons.
  • Companies Act s.341 — appeal against Registrar’s decision — stay of execution — discretionary remedy — requirements for grant of stay (irreparable harm, appeal rendered nugatory) — Order 59 Rule 13 — Nyampala Safaris precedent.
6 December 2024
Applicant failed to demonstrate high prospects of success to justify a stay of execution of a consent judgment.
  • Stay of execution — consent judgment — setting aside consent judgment — applicant must show high prospects of success; Order 3 r.2 HCR; legal representation undermining claim of non-comprehension.
3 December 2024
Director's Car Policy was contractual; sale price wrongly computed (20% depreciation only) and plaintiff entitled to pro‑rata bonus.
  • Employment law — incorporated terms — Director's Car Policy forms part of contract; interpretation of disposal formula (20% depreciation then 25% of residual); management computes sale price, Board approves; entitlement to pro‑rata bonus where employer caused lack of appraisal.
3 December 2024
Court found irretrievable breakdown due to respondent's unreasonable behaviour and granted a decree nisi, with property settlement referred to Registrar.
  • Divorce — Irretrievable breakdown — Unreasonable behaviour (physical assault, failure to provide, prolonged separation) — Section 8 and 9(1)(b) Matrimonial Causes Act — Jurisdiction (domicile/residence; one-year rule) — Objective reasonable person standard — Cumulative conduct — Decree nisi; property settlement referral; costs; leave to appeal.
3 December 2024
November 2024
Petitioner established irretrievable breakdown from respondent's cumulative unreasonable behaviour; decree nisi granted, property matters referred to Registrar.
  • Divorce — irretrievable breakdown — unreasonable behaviour (s.9(1)(b)) — cumulative conduct — denial of conjugal rights; jurisdiction — residence/domicile; proof on balance of probabilities; property settlement referral; costs — each party bears own; leave to appeal granted
29 November 2024
Default judgment set aside because defendant raised an arguable defence despite an unconvincing explanation for default.
  • Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — primary consideration is an arguable defence on the merits — explanation for default relevant but secondary — seizure under warrant of distress alleged — costs and leave to appeal.
28 November 2024
Decree nisi granted for two‑year separation; petitioner awarded custody; maintenance and property issues referred to Registrar; costs shared.
  • Family law — Divorce — Matrimonial Causes Act s.8 and s.9(1)(d) — Two years' continuous separation as ground for divorce — Decree nisi — Custody awarded to petitioner — Maintenance and property settlement referred to Registrar — Costs each party to bear.
22 November 2024
Uncontested divorce granted for two years’ separation; petitioner granted custody; property settlement referred to Registrar.
  • Family law — Divorce — Matrimonial Causes Act ss.8 and 9(1)(d) — two years’ continuous separation — decree nisi granted; Custody — petitioner awarded custody with respondent access; Property settlement — referred to Registrar where matter uncontested; Costs — each party to bear own costs
21 November 2024
Court granted an interim injunction restraining defendant's mining and use of plaintiff's titled land pending final determination.
  • Interim injunction — trespass to land — registered title as prima facie right — balance of convenience — irreparable injury — Order 27 Rule 1 High Court Rules — unopposed application/service.
21 November 2024
Divorce granted for five-year separation; petitioner awarded custody; maintenance/property matters referred to Registrar.
  • Matrimonial Causes Act — Divorce for irretrievable breakdown — Continuous separation of five years — Decree nisi — Custody of children and access — Maintenance and property settlement referred to Registrar
19 November 2024
Amendment allowed where new relief arises from the original repudiation claim based on post‑writ events; respondents awarded costs.
  • Civil procedure — Amendment of pleadings (Order 18 Rule 1) — Distinction between new cause of action and post‑writ facts giving rise to additional remedies — Prejudice, costs and relation‑back.
15 November 2024
A legal practitioner may not withhold client judgment funds to satisfy unpaid fees; must render a bill and sue.
  • Legal practitioners — withholding client funds — right of lien — prohibited; recovery of fees requires bill, one‑month wait and court proceedings (Order L Rule 2; Legal Practitioners Act); Order 14A RSC used to determine dispositive legal question.
15 November 2024
Conviction quashed where prosecution relied on inadmissible hearsay and failed to prove procurement and mens rea.
  • Criminal law — Procuring execution of documents by false pretences (s.354 Penal Code) — Mens rea and actus reus — Hearsay evidence inadmissible where witness did not personally hear or witness statements or handover — Prima facie case under s.206 Criminal Procedure Code — Conviction on single witness unsafe where evidence is hearsay and uncorroborated.
15 November 2024
Relitigation of alleged fraudulent land conversion held to be res judicata and an abuse of court process.
  • Res judicata — relitigation of land ownership and alleged fraudulent conversion; abuse of court process — multiplicity of litigation; Order 14A Whitebook — determination of questions of law without full trial; onus to prove fraudulent land conversion; injunction discharged.
4 November 2024
October 2024
Court allowed substitution of defendants sued in representative capacities with newly registered office bearers.
  • Civil procedure — alteration of parties — Order 15 Rule 1 High Court Rules; substitution of parties sued in representative capacity; reliance on Registrar of Societies records; unopposed application; costs in the cause.
30 October 2024
A stay pending appeal requires filed appeal documents and affidavit evidence showing prospects of success and irreparable harm.
  • Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Requirement to file notice and memorandum of appeal — Applicant must show prospects of success and irreparable harm supported by affidavit evidence — Court may preview appeal prospects but needs proposed grounds of appeal.
23 October 2024
Decree nisi granted after two-year separation; custody awarded to petitioner; property and maintenance referred for separate determination.
  • Matrimonial Causes Act — two-year separation and consent to divorce — decree nisi — custody awarded to petitioner — property settlement and maintenance referred to Deputy Registrar — each party bears own costs.
23 October 2024
Second Deputy Speaker's declaration of parliamentary vacancies was ultra vires, sub judice and quashed on certiorari.
  • Judicial review — ultra vires and Wednesbury unreasonableness — sub judice rule — Speaker's decision-making process — Article 72(5) & (8) — Order of certiorari.
23 October 2024
The applicants' leave claims are statute-barred; damage claims precluded by the statutory pension enforcement regime.
  • Limitation of actions (six-year rule) — breach of statutory duty — statutory remedy under National Pension Scheme Authority Act — Order 14A summary determination — cause of action in employment claims — prerogative of Authority to recover pension contributions.
14 October 2024
Post-judgment joinder of beneficiaries denied where no appeal/review and applicants slept on their rights; stay and set-aside claims dismissed.
  • Joinder post-judgment — jurisdiction to join interested parties pre-hearing (Order 14(5)(1) HCR) — requirement for appeal or review to justify post-judgment joinder — stay of execution (Order 47) — charging orders and enforcement — beneficiaries' notice and laches; multiplicity/abuse of process.
9 October 2024
An aggrieved bidder must pursue arbitration under the Public Procurement Act; judicial review leave discharged for lack of jurisdiction.
  • Public Procurement Act s99—arbitration as statutory remedy for suspension decisions; judicial review—lack of jurisdiction where alternative remedy not exhausted; discharge of leave to apply for judicial review; Court cannot itself refer matter to arbitration absent application.
9 October 2024
Order 113 summary possession is inappropriate where occupiers assert a genuine competing claim or disputed transaction requiring trial.
  • Civil procedure — Order 113 summary possession — Narrow scope; not appropriate where occupier asserts competing ownership or dispute as to sale versus mortgage; contested factual issues require trial; dismissal of originating summons; costs to respondents; leave to appeal.
7 October 2024
Court held only the Registrar could appoint advocates after the injunction and expunged unauthorized firm's filings.
  • Cooperatives law — interlocutory injunction vesting control in Registrar — exclusive power to appoint legal practitioners; admissibility of affidavits — hearsay and personal knowledge requirements; expungement of unauthorized filings; leave to appeal.
7 October 2024
Whether bail should be reduced despite the applicant's prior elusiveness and significant flight risk.
  • Criminal procedure — Bail pending trial — Application to vary bail under s.126(3) — Factors: seriousness of offence, flight risk, prior elusiveness, fixed abode, medical needs — Variation refused; original cash bail upheld.
3 October 2024
Court refused to pierce the corporate veil under s175 because fraud was not specifically pleaded or proven.
  • Company law — Corporate veil — Section 175 Corporate Insolvency Act — Piercing corporate veil requires specific pleading and proof of fraudulent purpose; default judgment/execution difficulties and PACRA search insufficient; disclosure under Banking and Financial Services Act s111(2) denied where veil not pierced.
3 October 2024
September 2024
Service out of jurisdiction requires prior court leave; process issued without leave was set aside for irregularity.
  • Civil procedure — service out of jurisdiction — Order 10 r.16 — leave must be obtained before issuing writ — affidavit requirements — irregularity — originating process set aside.
30 September 2024
An interlocutory injunction was granted to preserve disputed land where title is contested and damages are inadequate pending trial.
  • Interlocutory injunctions — serious question to be tried — adequacy of damages — balance of convenience — preservation of status quo — disputed customary/statutory land and competing title allegations — certificate of title versus allegations of fraud.
30 September 2024
Court dismissed challenge to arbitral procedural ruling, holding it was not an "award" under section 17 and thus not set aside.
  • Arbitration — Procedural orders v. awards — Definition of "award" (Arbitration Act s.2) — Limited court intervention — Setting aside under s.17 — Finality/functus officio — Public policy and misrepresentation raised but not reached where ruling is procedural.
30 September 2024
An agent who negotiated and concluded a sale with a defective title held liable to refund the applicant; purported seller also liable.
  • Property law — sale of land — forged/defective certificate of title — agency — agent liability despite naming principal — restitution and unjust enrichment — recovery of mistaken payments — interest and costs.
26 September 2024
Whether disputed advocate‑own‑client bills under a retainer should be referred to taxation and who bears costs.
  • Taxation of bills — Retainer agreement — Advocate‑own‑client bills — Order 50 Rule 4 High Court Rules — Whether practitioner acted without instructions — Referral to taxation — Costs awarded.
25 September 2024
Court granted a s.14 vesting order where a subordinate court awarded the house and no evidence of encumbrance existed.
  • High Court Act s.14 — Vesting orders to pass legal title in lieu of conveyance; enforcement of subordinate court property awards; absence of evidence of mortgage/encumbrance; Registrar empowered to execute documents to effect vesting.
25 September 2024
Leave to appeal denied where intended appeal lacked realistic prospects and no compelling reasons justified granting permission.
  • Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Court of Appeal Rules Order 10 Rule 4 — Test for leave: realistic prospects of success and compelling reasons — Joinder application appeal — Improper merits argument at leave stage.
25 September 2024
The court allowed the State to enter appearance out of time due to defective service on the Attorney‑General, varying directions accordingly.
  • Civil procedure — Extension of time to enter appearance and file defence — Court’s discretion under High Court Rules Order 2 r.2 and Order 3 r.2 — Service on the State — Section 13 State Proceedings Act — Effect of defective service on close of pleadings — Variation of directions and timetable.
25 September 2024
A registered proprietor holding a Certificate of Title is entitled to vacant possession and mesne profits absent proof of fraud.
  • Property law — Contract of sale versus loan — Effect and conclusiveness of Certificate of Title (Lands and Deeds Registry Act) — Right to vacant possession — Recovery of mesne profits — Proceeding in absence of defendants under civil procedure rules
24 September 2024
Interlocutory injunction refused and suit dismissed because a Power of Attorney cannot ordinarily confer standing to litigate.
  • Civil procedure — interlocutory injunctions — requirements of arguable case, irreparable injury and balance of convenience; Standing — inability to conduct litigation by Power of Attorney; necessity of principal’s personal availability; court’s power to determine parties for interlocutory relief.
23 September 2024
High Court lacked jurisdiction over planning dispute in a statutory improvement area; both claim and counterclaim dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
  • Jurisdiction — Urban and Regional Planning Act — Statutory Improvement Areas: Subordinate Court is court of first instance; res judicata and abuse of process bar re‑litigation; demolition/enforcement under planning law; counterclaim independent but constrained by prior proceedings.
20 September 2024
Leave to appeal and a stay of execution were refused because the proposed grounds lacked realistic prospects of success.
  • Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Applicant must show realistic prospects of success; Stay of execution — not automatic pending appeal; applications on affidavit permitted.
20 September 2024
Ex-parte interim injunction granted to restrain construction pending inter-parte hearing; title and irreparable harm justified relief.
  • Interim prohibitory injunction — ex parte application — certificate of title as evidence of ownership — American Cyanamid principles: serious question, adequacy of damages, balance of convenience — preservation of status quo — costs in the cause — leave to appeal granted.
16 September 2024
A 'without prejudice' label does not automatically bar a document from evidence; privilege requires genuine settlement negotiations and may be forfeited by failure to object during discovery.
  • Evidence — Without prejudice communications — Heading alone not conclusive — Court must examine document to determine if privilege applies — Privilege only where negotiations/offers to settle exist — Waiver by failure to object during discovery/orders for directions.
14 September 2024
Interlocutory injunction to halt church inductions dismissed for failure to show irreparable harm; balance of convenience favors defendants.
  • Interlocutory injunction — preservation of status quo — irreparable harm — balance of convenience — internal church elections and governance — admissibility of constitutional provisions in affidavits.
14 September 2024
Stay of proceedings refused where no special circumstances and set-aside application lacked reasonable prospects due to delay.
  • Civil procedure — interlocutory relief — stay of proceedings under Order III Rule 2 High Court Act — exceptional circumstances required — stay refused where no real risk of conflicting decisions and set-aside application lacking prospects due to admission of liability and undue delay.
12 September 2024