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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1982 |
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Appellate court affirms dismissal of wrongful dismissal claim and remits unresolved goods dispute for full adjudication.
Employment law – wrongful dismissal – burden of proof on plaintiff; Civil procedure – duty of trial court to adjudicate all matters; Appeal – appellate interference with factual findings only if perverse or unsupported by evidence
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14 December 1982 |
| October 1982 |
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Absence of a specific date does not automatically make detention grounds vague; grounds must be given promptly and within fourteen days.
Constitutional law – detention – Article 27(1)(a): meaning of "as soon as is reasonably practicable" and mandatory fourteen-day limit; vagueness of grounds – test whether detainee can make meaningful representation; distinction between vagueness and alibi; duty to specify known dates
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7 October 1982 |
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Conviction unsafe where single frightened eyewitness identification and inadmissible police hearsay were relied upon.
Criminal law — Identification: single identifying witness — risk of honest mistake; necessity of searching questions and careful assessment of prevailing conditions
Evidence — Hearsay: statements to police not properly in evidence and not falling under s.4 or other exceptions are inadmissible to prove their truth. Trial judgment must demonstrate adequate consideration of defence evidence; failure is a misdirection rendering conviction unsafe
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5 October 1982 |
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Convictions quashed where single eyewitness identification and hearsay police statements were unreliable and misdirected.
Criminal law – Identification – Single identifying witness – Need for cautious evaluation and searching questioning to exclude honest mistake; Hearsay – Statements to police and recounting by officers inadmissible unless falling within statutory/common-law exceptions (Evidence Act s.4); Trial judgment must show consideration of all relevant material
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4 October 1982 |
| September 1982 |
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An appellate court may reduce libel damages where the trial court misapprehended evidence and repetition of another's defamatory words mitigates.
Defamation – assessment of damages – appellate interference where trial court misapprehends evidence – repetition of another's defamatory statement as mitigating factor – failure to sue original author not mitigatory
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23 September 1982 |
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Employer liable where servant negligently started fire without notice and failed to burn safely, causing crop damage.
Civil procedure – appeal – appellate drawing of inferences; Civil procedure – failure of defence does not automatically confer judgment; Tort – negligence for fire started by servant; Natural Resources Conservation Act s.28 – notice and duty to burn safely.
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23 September 1982 |
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Appellate court may re-draw inferences; fire ranger's failure to warn and to assess vegetation amounted to negligence causing crop damage.
Civil procedure – appellate inference-drawing; defence failure does not automatically entitle plaintiff to judgment; tort – negligence – duty to foresee and abate hazards from deliberate burning; failure to give notice under natural resources control
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22 September 1982 |
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The requirement that written grounds be in a language the detainee understands is directory and may be cured by oral explanation.
Constitutional law — detention — Article 27(1)(a) — grounds in writing "in a language he understands" — directory requirement — substantial compliance by oral explanation and certificate — distinction from mandatory time and particularity requirements.
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14 September 1982 |
| August 1982 |
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A defendant cannot invoke statutory absolute privilege by relying on an unpleaded alternative factual basis; reports must be contemporaneous, fair and accurate.
Civil procedure — pleadings — impermissible extension to unpleaded case; Defamation — libel — statutory absolute privilege (s.8) requires contemporaneous, fair and accurate report; qualified privilege not available where statutory privilege fails and is unpleaded; damages awarded
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25 August 1982 |
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Confessions improperly admitted and suspect witnesses cannot corroborate one another absent independent corroboration; identification procedures were defective.
Evidence — Confessions: voluntariness and medical reports; Evidence — Accomplices and suspect witnesses: risk of false implication; Evidence — Identification: recognition vs stranger ID; need to exclude honest mistake; necessity of proper identification parade
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23 August 1982 |
| July 1982 |
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Conviction for rape upheld where reliable identification and absence of motive to falsely implicate outweighed the trial court's corroboration misdirection.
Evidence – Corroboration required for both commission and identity in sexual offences; identification evidence; proviso/special and compelling grounds where no motive to falsely implicate; sentencing – gravity of rape.
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27 July 1982 |
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Court upheld rape conviction despite misdirection on corroboration of identity and affirmed a five-year custodial sentence.
Evidence — Corroboration in rape cases — Corroboration required for both commission and identity — Misdirection where court fails to warn on identity — Proviso applies if corroboration or 'something more' excludes risk of false implication — Absence of motive to falsely accuse as 'something more' — Sentence enhancement for brutality
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26 July 1982 |
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Where employment is a pure master-and-servant contract, wrongful termination entitles the respondent to damages, not reinstatement.
Employment law – master-and-servant contract – wrongful summary termination – natural justice and statutory procedural safeguards – damages in lieu of notice vs nullity/reinstatement
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21 July 1982 |
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An appellate court may only alter sentences for good cause; corporal punishment should be imposed very sparingly.
Sentence — appellate interference: permissible only for good cause (error in law, fact or principle; manifestly excessive/inadequate; exceptional circumstances). Corporal punishment — inhuman/degrading, to be imposed very sparingly and only for grave brutality or serious outbreak of crime; prevalence of crime insufficient; uncalled for when a long custodial sentence is passed. Credit for guilty plea — must be given and failure to do so renders sentence wrong in principle
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16 July 1982 |
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Appellate interference requires good cause; corporal punishment sparingly used and set aside with substantial imprisonment.
Sentence appellate review – interference only for good cause; corporal punishment (caning) – to be used very sparingly, only for grave brutality or serious outbreak of crime; guilty-plea credit affects sentence
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15 July 1982 |
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An appellate court may not impose a sentence exceeding the trial court's statutory sentencing power; excessive sentences are invalid.
Criminal law — Appeal — Appellate court’s sentencing power limited by the trial court’s statutory maximum; enhancement beyond trial court’s power is ultra vires and invalid; original lawful sentence reinstated.
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13 July 1982 |
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Conviction based on glossed-over evidence and isolated credibility findings was quashed for prejudice and misassessment.
Criminal law – Exchange Control Act s.6 – Producing false documents – Evidence – Refusal to produce material documents – Glossing over conflicting testimony – Credibility assessment must consider all conflicting witnesses; appellate quashing where conviction rests on finding contrary to overwhelming evidence
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12 July 1982 |
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An appellate court cannot increase a sentence beyond the trial court's statutory sentencing power.
Criminal law – Appeal against sentence – Appellate court has no power to impose a sentence exceeding the trial court's statutory maximum (s.7(iv) Penal Code) – Enhancement ultra vires and invalid
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12 July 1982 |
| June 1982 |
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Appellate court upheld the false-imprisonment award but increased police assault damages due to aggravating conduct.
Damages — Appeal — standard for appellate interference; False imprisonment — factors for assessment (duration, indignity, manner of detention); Police assault — aggravating factor in quantum; Quantum adjusted upward for police brutality
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7 June 1982 |
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A charge under s.319 must be precisely framed using the first schedule wording so the accused knows what prosecution must prove.
Criminal procedure – Drafting of charge – Need to use the prescribed wording and format in the first schedule to the Criminal Procedure Code – Construction and recommended wording for s.319 Penal Code
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7 June 1982 |
| May 1982 |
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A misdescription (money instead of cheque) is curable where substance unchanged and no prejudice to the accused.
Criminal law – Particulars of offence – Defect in description of thing obtained (money vs cheque) – Defect curable by amendment – Proviso to s.15(1) Supreme Court Act where no prejudice – Knowledge element in obtaining by false pretences.
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28 May 1982 |
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A descriptive error charging cash instead of a cheque is curable where it causes no prejudice; conviction upheld.
Criminal law — Particulars of offence — Obtaining by false pretences — Cheque v. cash — Descriptive defect curable by amendment — Proviso to s.15(1) Supreme Court Act applicable where no prejudice
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27 May 1982 |
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Procedure and admissibility when treating a witness as hostile and using prior inconsistent statements to impeach credibility.
Criminal evidence — Hostile witness — Procedure for treating a witness as hostile under s.3 Criminal Procedure Act 1865 — Court's common-law discretion to declare hostility — Prior inconsistent statements admissible to impeach credibility only, not as proof of truth
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20 May 1982 |
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Purchase of all issued shares can create a beneficial interest enabling lodging of a caveat under s.76.
Company law – acquisition of issued share capital conferring control; constructive/resulting trust; beneficial proprietary interest; caveat under s.76 Lands and Deeds Registry Act; piercing corporate veil (D.H.N. authority)
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15 May 1982 |
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Interlocutory injunctions cannot be used to grant final relief; contested matters should not rest on hearsay affidavits.
Civil procedure – Interlocutory injunction – Interim application treated as interim; final relief (perpetual injunction, vacant possession, damages) cannot be granted on interlocutory application absent consent – Evidence – Affidavits – Contested matters should not be decided on hearsay affidavits
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9 May 1982 |
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Appellate reduction of libel damages where trial court considered extraneous events and failed to mitigate due to reputable source.
Defamation — assessment of damages — appellate interference standard — presumption of plaintiff’s good character — mitigation where statement sourced from reputable government official — impermissible consideration of extraneous events.
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4 May 1982 |
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Appellate court reduced libel damages after finding extraneous considerations influenced the trial judge and source credibility mitigated harm.
Libel – assessment of damages – appellate interference standard; presumption of good character; mitigation where report derived from reputable government source; inadmissible extraneous matters in quantum assessment
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3 May 1982 |
| February 1982 |
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Accused must prove insanity on the balance of probabilities with medical evidence; bare blackout assertions are insufficient.
Criminal law — Defence of insanity/automatism — Burden on accused to prove insanity on balance of probabilities — Medical/scientific evidence ordinarily required to displace presumption of mental capacity — Accused’s bare claim of ‘blackout’ insufficient
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15 February 1982 |
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Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to hear a High Court reference under s.20(1) absent enabling legislation; appeal falls away.
Civil procedure — Jurisdiction — Reference by High Court to Supreme Court — s.20(1) Supreme Court Act — Article 29(3) Constitution — Pardon plea under Criminal Procedure Code
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8 February 1982 |