Results.
3,947 judgments found.
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| May 2026 |
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Failure to consult before redundancy warrants compensation, but an appellate court rightly reduced an excessive award.
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Employment law
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Redundancy — Employer's duty to consult employees prior to redundancy — Remedies for breach of consultation obligation (Employment Code Act s.55)
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Measure of compensation — Distinction between award for wrongful termination and compensation for failure to perform contractual/statutory consultation obligation
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Civil procedure — Assessment of damages on appeal — Appellate restraint and the Kawimbe principles for interfering with trial judge's award of damages
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22 May 2026 |
| April 2026 |
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Court erred in deciding unpleaded statutory claims; section 54(1)(c) applies to fixed‑term contracts, not summary dismissals.
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Employment law — Severance pay — Applicability of section 54(1)(c) to contracts of fixed duration — Severance not payable on summary dismissal for gross misconduct
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Civil procedure — Pleadings and scope of relief — Court cannot decide unpleaded issues or grant relief not claimed — Right to be heard (Article 18)
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17 April 2026 |
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Recognition by familiar witnesses and corroboration upheld the murder conviction; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — recognition/identification evidence — factors: familiarity, lighting, distance and opportunity; corroboration of recognition; warn-and-caution statement not on record; non-production of physical evidence
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16 April 2026 |
| March 2026 |
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Failure to notify the appellant of a Director's decision precludes statutory appeal; High Court may hear the trespass action.
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Mines and Minerals Development Act — sections 96 and 97 — mandatory written notice, reasons and right of appeal — failure to notify precludes invoking 30‑day appeal — jurisdiction and mode of commencement — trespass action vs statutory appeal — remit to High Court
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31 March 2026 |
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High Court erred by deciding a petition not before it and failing to rule on the applicant's stay application.
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Constitutional law — parliamentary privilege and alleged immunity from criminal prosecution; Civil procedure — jurisdiction and competence to decide matters not formally before the court; Procedural fairness — judge’s misdirection in deciding unargued issues; Remittal to cure failure to determine application heard.
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13 March 2026 |
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Leave to appeal granted due to significant procedural and substantive errors about an unsigned memorandum and the law on guarantees.
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Civil procedure — Leave to appeal to Supreme Court under s.24(b) — Validity and effect of unsigned Memorandum of Appeal; Appellate jurisdiction and competence. Civil and contract law — Personal guarantees v performance bonds — construction of guarantees; conditional vs on-demand liability. Abuse of court process — institution of separate proceedings against guarantors. Public importance of appellate procedural regularity
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10 March 2026 |
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Leave granted to appeal to resolve whether an unsigned memorandum and mischaracterisation of guarantees affected appellate competence and law.
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Leave to appeal — procedural requirements for appellate documents — unsigned Memorandum of Appeal and competence of appeal; Civil procedure — abuse of court process and joinder of related causes; Contract law — distinction between performance bonds and personal guarantees; Guarantees — conditional versus unconditional (on-demand) liability; Rules of Court — importance of compliance and remedying defects.
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10 March 2026 |
| February 2026 |
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Applicants granted leave to appeal where proposed grounds raised legal issues, mixed questions, and procedural concerns warranting Supreme Court review.
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Leave to appeal — section 13 Court of Appeal Act — point of law of public importance — mixed law and fact — witness demeanour versus evidence — PACRA records and shareholding — fiduciary duties of directors — costs and interested parties — court practice directions (page limits)
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11 February 2026 |
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Applicants failed to show a point of public importance or reasonable prospects of success to obtain leave to appeal under section 13(3).
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Employment law — Redundancy pay — Interpretation of sections 54(1)(d), 55(3) and 67(4) of the Employment Code Act — "Other benefits" and inclusion of car allowances, talk-time and bonuses — Distinction between tools of trade and remunerative emoluments — Leave to appeal under section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act — public importance, prospects of success, compelling reasons.
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11 February 2026 |
| January 2026 |
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Whether a disputed debt quantum defeats a winding-up petition despite admission of indebtedness, raising public-law issues.
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Corporate insolvency — winding-up petitions — disputed quantum of debt versus admission of indebtedness — leave to appeal — point of law of public importance — prospects of success — section 13 Court of Appeal Act.
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29 January 2026 |
| December 2025 |
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Arbitrator exceeded jurisdiction and departed from agreed procedure; award (including benefit to a non‑party) set aside for breach of arbitration agreement and public policy.
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Arbitration — party autonomy; scope of submission to arbitration; jurisdiction of arbitrator; strict rules of evidence vs ex aequo et bono; awards to non‑parties; public policy; setting aside under s.17 Arbitration Act; Article 28 and Article 33 Model Law.
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31 December 2025 |
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State occupation during emergency does not defeat an applicant's certificate of title; compulsory acquisition requires law and compensation.
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Land law — State occupation of privately titled land — occupation during (semi-)state of emergency does not create legal/equitable title — bona fide purchaser for value without notice — conclusiveness of certificate of title — cancellation only for fraud/mistake/impropriety — compulsory acquisition and compensation required.
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12 December 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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Whether discrimination and equal-pay claims under Employment Code s.5 are arbitrable and whether tribunals may compare non-parties' contracts.
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Arbitration — Arbitrability of employment discrimination claims under Employment Code s.5 — Overlap of civil remedies and statutory offences — Public policy and jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals — Use of non-parties' employment contracts in arbitration.
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28 October 2025 |
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Court refused to admit fresh Cadastre evidence, finding it previously available and irrelevant to the procedural appeal issue.
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Civil procedure — Admission of fresh evidence on appeal — section 25(1)(b)(i) Supreme Court of Zambia Act; Ladd v Marshall test; Order 59 r.10(18) (White Book) for post-trial evidence; relevance and availability of Cadastre documents; procedural challenge to issuance of mining licence (writ of trespass v appeal under s.97(1) Mines and Minerals Development Act; evidence of licence termination/expiry.
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27 October 2025 |
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Leave to appeal granted where appeal raises a novel, public-importance question on eminent domain and allocation to private parties.
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Appellate procedure — Leave to appeal under s.13 Court of Appeal Act — Character of appeal vs. grounds — Public importance — Novel question whether exercise of eminent domain for public purpose may be repurposed and allocated to private entities — Prima facie prospects of success — Costs awarded.
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2 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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Whether applicants in a resettlement scheme acquired proprietary land rights or only licence interests, and whether that raises public‑importance legal issues.
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Procedure — Record of motion — compliance with Rule 48; Civil appeals — Leave to appeal under s.13(3) Court of Appeal Act — point of law of public importance; Land law — nature of rights in resettlement schemes (proprietary v licence) — fact‑specific disputes; Prospects of success and compelling reasons for leave.
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19 September 2025 |
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Whether employed legal practitioners may concurrently engage in private practice under Rules 24 and 27.
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Legal Practitioners' Practice Rules — Part V (Employed Legal Practitioners) — Rule 24(2) prohibits employed legal practitioners from providing legal services other than for their employer; Rule 27 restricts practice to representing the employer and prescribes prerequisites; contract tainted with illegality — unenforceability; appellate jurisdiction — remittal of unresolved counterclaim for hearing; regulatory duty of Law Association of Zambia (LAZ).
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19 September 2025 |
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Irregular transfer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Division deprived that court of jurisdiction; matter remitted to General Division.
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Constitutional/human-rights petitions — Irregular transfer of cause — Section 23 High Court Act — Effect on jurisdiction — Remedy: remit to General Division — Appellate court may raise jurisdictional defects suo motu.
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19 September 2025 |
| August 2025 |
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Circumstantial evidence excluding reasonable alternative hypotheses warranted the appellant's murder conviction; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence — Last seen theory — Inference of guilt must exclude reasonable alternative hypotheses — Appeal challenging factual findings and credibility assessments dismissed.
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20 August 2025 |
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Taxpayer bears burden to disprove assessment; aggregation and documentation requests permissible; comparables must be economically comparable.
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Tax — Transfer pricing: burden of proof on taxpayer; aggregation of related‑party transactions permissible where closely linked; Commissioner’s power to request transfer‑pricing documentation under s.47(1)/s.58(a); functional analysis supports low‑risk distributor classification; comparables must be economically comparable; limits on Tribunal ordering reassessments; treatment of unrealised forex losses.
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20 August 2025 |
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An administrator's challenge to a 2004 inter vivos land transfer was statute-barred; annulment of a later marriage did not revive limitation.
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Limitation of actions — accrual of cause of action — land transfer inter vivos — registered Certificate of Title — administrators' rights — effect of annulment of marriage on prior transfers — necessity to plead mistake.
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19 August 2025 |
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Whether applicants met statutory thresholds for leave to appeal and whether judicial decisions operate retrospectively.
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Appeals — leave to appeal — section 13 Court of Appeal Act — prospects of success, public importance, compelling reasons; Judicial decisions — retrospective effect; Stare decisis — Court of Appeal bound by Supreme Court; Registrar/IRD powers; Industrial relations procedure.
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14 August 2025 |
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Extension of time refused: 50-day delay and inadequate corporate explanation made extension unjustifiable.
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Civil procedure — extension of time to file renewed application for leave to appeal — discretion requires sufficient explanation and credible material — inordinate delay (50 days) fatal — corporate applicant cannot rely on single director's absence abroad.
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13 August 2025 |
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An irregular transfer to the EFCC deprived that court of jurisdiction; the judgment was quashed and remitted to the General Division.
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Constitutional jurisdiction — High Court divisions are administrative; EFCC may hear matters of the High Court — Transfer of causes between judges requires compliance with s.23 High Court Act (written order and transferee consent) — Irregular transfer deprives receiving division of jurisdiction — Quashing of judgment and remittal to original division.
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13 August 2025 |
| July 2025 |
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Appellate court erred by treating a public land‑allocation interview scheduling decision as "improper" and by directing how the Commissioner must conduct allocations.
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Land allocation — Advertisement and interviews for public land — Corporate applicants act through authorised agents — Request to reschedule interviews — Administrative discretion of Commissioner of Lands — Limits on appellate courts prescribing executive procedure — No basis to declare allocation null and void — Costs orders.
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25 July 2025 |
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Recusal requires factual proof of extra‑judicial personal bias; dissatisfaction with rulings is insufficient.
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Judicial recusal — Judicial (Code of Conduct) Act ss 4 and 6 — burden and standard of proof — reasonable apprehension of bias — extra‑judicial/personal interest required — recusal not a vehicle to reopen final Supreme Court decisions — costs for frivolous motions.
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24 July 2025 |
| May 2025 |
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A single judge lacks jurisdiction to withdraw and re-file a motion once it is pending before the full Court.
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Civil procedure — Jurisdiction of single judge — Withdrawal, amendment and re-filing of record of motion pending before full Court — Preliminary objection — Section 4 Supreme Court Act — Rules 11 and 68(1) SCR.
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21 May 2025 |
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Whether proposed grounds disclose public-law importance and good prospects to justify leave and a stay of execution.
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Civil procedure — leave to appeal — Court of Appeal Act s.13 threshold — stay of execution — prospects of success and irreparable harm — competence of renewed application — prohibition against predetermining pending appeals.
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19 May 2025 |
| April 2025 |
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Leave granted to appeal to clarify section 55 Employment Code and whether redundancy damages are based on gross/basic or net pay.
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Employment law — redundancy — interpretation of section 55 Employment Code — measure of damages for unlawful termination — severance pay: basic (gross) v net salary — leave to appeal for issues of public importance.
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29 April 2025 |
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Irregular transfer of a constitutional petition to another division without lawful order renders proceedings a nullity.
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Constitutional jurisdiction — Part III (Article 28) petitions — transfer of causes between judges — Section 23 High Court Act — requirement of formal transfer order — irregular transfer renders proceedings a nullity — preservation of petition character when reallocated — Economic and Financial Crimes Division jurisdiction.
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17 April 2025 |
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Whether a civil appellate finding or a previous nolle prosequi bars subsequent criminal prosecution arising from the same facts.
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Judicial review appeals — procedural requirements for appeals — applicability of English RSC provisions versus domestic Supreme Court Rules; nolle prosequi and section 81(1) CPC — effect on subsequent prosecutions; res judicata/issue estoppel — limits of civil judgments to bar criminal proceedings; distinction between civil and criminal standards of proof.
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8 April 2025 |
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Leave granted to determine whether the regulator had authority under the repealed Securities Act to authorise mergers and charge fees.
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Securities law — Authority to authorise mergers and takeovers under repealed Securities Act Cap. 354 — Lawfulness of charging authorisation fees — Point of law of public importance (s.13 Court of Appeal Act) — Effect of statutory repeal on justiciability.
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3 April 2025 |
| March 2025 |
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Whether Article 28(1) confines Part III enforcement to petition proceedings or permits alternative procedural routes; leave to appeal granted.
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Constitutional law — Article 28(1) — mode of commencement of Part III claims — petition v writ; leave to appeal — point of law of public importance; access to justice; jurisdiction — procedural bars and Order 14A preliminary issues.
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28 March 2025 |
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Application for leave refused: factual disputes made summary determination improper and no real prospects of success for appeal.
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Intestate Succession Act s19(2) — sale of estate property; beneficiaries’ power to sell; Order 14A summary determination — suitability where facts are contentious; leave to appeal — reasonable prospects and compelling reasons; mesne profits; stay of execution
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11 March 2025 |
| February 2025 |
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A High Court can enforce a registered arbitral award but cannot pierce the corporate veil to create third‑party liability.
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Arbitration Act — effect of arbitral award (finality and parties bound) — registration and enforcement in High Court; Court’s complementary/supportive role (Section 14(4), Section 17) vs limited supervisory powers; Enforcement mechanisms — writs of fieri facias, garnishee, charging orders, receiver, committal, sequestration (Order 45 White Book); Piercing the corporate veil — substantive remedy and standalone action, not an execution mechanism; Procedural requirements for veil piercing; Improper use of interlocutory summons to enforce award.
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21 February 2025 |
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Whether "salary" includes allowances for computing retirement benefits and whether interpretation can reopen settled awards.
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Employment law — retirement benefits — construction of "salary" — whether allowances form part of salary for gratuity — interpretation versus review of judgments — effect of appellate reversal on assessment of awards.
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12 February 2025 |
| January 2025 |
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Murder conviction quashed: prior inconsistent statement inadmissible, res gestae not established, causation unproven.
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Criminal law — Murder — Admissibility of hostile witness's prior inconsistent statement — res gestae and hearsay — suspect witnesses and corroboration — causation between assault and death — burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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16 January 2025 |
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Leave granted to appeal because reasonable doubt exists whether lender consent and corporate formalities validated the liability transfer.
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Company and contract law — transfer of liability under loan agreement requiring lender's written consent — validity of shareholder resolutions and corporate authority — potential conflict of roles of director representing multiple corporate interests — leave to appeal granted.
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15 January 2025 |
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Whether Legal Practitioners' Practice Rules prohibit simultaneous private practice and full‑time in‑house employment.
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Legal Practitioners' Practice Rules (Rules 24(2) & 27) — in-house counsel v private practice — whether simultaneous private practice and full-time/part-time in‑house employment is prohibited; procedural fairness — appellate court resolving factual contractual issues without retrial; leave to appeal under s.13(3) Court of Appeal Act.
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15 January 2025 |
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Whether the corporate veil can be lifted by joinder after judgment and the appropriate procedure and proof required.
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Company law — Lifting the corporate veil — Whether veil may be lifted by joinder post-judgment — Procedure and burden of proof — Asset hiving to defeat execution — Leave to appeal and stay of execution.
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15 January 2025 |
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Local Court lacked jurisdiction; conveyancing void; transaction was a loan, appellant liable for ZMW300,000 plus interest.
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10 January 2025 |
| November 2024 |
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Whether a High Court may extend time for an appeal previously dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
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Civil procedure — jurisdiction — extension of time to appeal — effect of a Court of Appeal single-judge dismissal — resuscitation of a dismissed appeal — permission to appeal — public importance — mootness.
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8 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Whether the Director of Mining Cadastre may grant mining access over surface rights without notice, and jurisdictional consequences.
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23 October 2024 |
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Turquand rule inapplicable where respondent had actual knowledge of evident internal irregularities in the vendor company.
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Company law — Turquand/Indoor Management Rule — exceptions where suspicious circumstances or notice exist — purchaser’s duty to make minimum enquiries — Members' resolution required for disposal of company assets — title cancellation for fraud/irregularity.
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7 October 2024 |
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Renewed application for permission to appeal refused: applicant failed to meet statutory threshold of public importance, prospects, or compelling reasons.
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Appellate procedure — Permission to appeal to Supreme Court — Section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act — tests: point of law of public importance; reasonable prospects of success; other compelling reasons — BIDVEST principles applied. Civil procedure — renewed applications — confined to grounds raised below. Affidavit practice — interlocutory proceedings permit statements of information or belief with source; evidence must be properly served; skeleton arguments cannot substitute affidavit evidence. Res judicata — settled law, not raising public importance
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4 October 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Whether the Supreme Court may entertain applications for leave to appeal despite Article 131(2) vesting leave in the Court of Appeal.
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Constitutional law — Jurisdiction of superior courts — Whether Supreme Court may entertain applications for leave to appeal — Interaction of Articles 125 and 131 — Role of other written laws (Supreme Court Act, Rules) in conferring jurisdiction.
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15 August 2024 |
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Failure to serve a required demand letter on every defendant renders a writ incompetent and cannot be cured by registry acceptance.
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Civil procedure — Order VI High Court (Amendment) Rules 2020 — Requirement to serve letter of demand on each defendant before issuing writ — Writ unsupported by prescribed documents not to be accepted — Registry acceptance does not cure jurisdictional defect — Imputed notice to related companies insufficient.
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15 August 2024 |
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Appellant's failure to plead and prove public-policy grounds under Rule 23 rendered its challenge to the arbitral award incompetent.
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Arbitration — setting aside award under s.17 — public policy; Arbitration (Court Proceedings) Rules r.23(2)(c) — affidavit must state facts relied upon; Limited judicial review — courts may examine due process and jurisdiction, not merits; Pleading and proof obligations — grounds not raised in High Court cannot be first advanced on appeal.
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7 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
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An equitable contractual lien and a restored possession order entitled the respondents to be joined to the mortgage action.
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Equitable (contractual) lien under construction contract — sufficiency for joinder to mortgage action; mechanic’s (statutory) lien not applicable in Zambia; prior restored judgment granting possession reinforces interest; joinder appropriate where decision affects non-party’s interest; registration under Lands and Deeds Registry Act not necessarily fatal to equitable lien.
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24 July 2024 |
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Applicant's renewed leave to appeal denied; no novel point of law and factual findings on title and fraud upheld.
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Civil procedure — leave to appeal — Section 13 Court of Appeal Act — question of law of public importance; Order 28 RSC (White Book) — originating summons deemed writ — directions; Pleading of fraud — particularity v. reliance on unopposed evidence; Property law — bona fide purchaser for value and due diligence; Appellate restraint on findings of fact; Costs — award to non-attending party.
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24 July 2024 |