Results.
29 judgments found.
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| December 1986 |
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Confession obtained without warn-and-caution and without defence being asked to object was inadmissible; conviction quashed.
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Evidence — Confession admissibility; duty to ask defence about objections regardless of representation; compliance with warn-and-caution (Judges' Rules); duress and medical corroboration — absence of external injuries not dispositive
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23 December 1986 |
| November 1986 |
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Whether deviation from procurement procedures during an emergency and mere accompaniment suffice to convict for abuse of authority.
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Criminal law — abuse of authority — procurement irregularities — emergency purchases — sufficiency of evidence to prove participation and causation of public loss.
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21 November 1986 |
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A second divorce petition may proceed where the first was dismissed for non-attendance and not adjudicated on merits.
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Civil procedure — Non-attendance at hearing — Order 35 r.2 — strike out versus dismissal; Divorce — res judicata — necessity of adjudication on merits before issue barred; Appeal — failure to appeal does not convert non-heard dismissal into decision on merits
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5 November 1986 |
| September 1986 |
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Appellate court affirms espionage conviction; confession admissible where objection was withdrawn and mandatory minimum sentence not appealable.
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Criminal law — Espionage — Admissibility and voluntariness of confession — Withdrawal of objection to confession to enable cross-examination — Effect — Credibility findings by trial judge — Appellate interference only if clearly erroneous — Mandatory minimum sentence not appealable.
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23 September 1986 |
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Confession and evidence supported espionage conviction; appellate court upheld conviction and mandatory minimum sentence not appealable.
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Criminal law — Espionage — Evidence of passing classified information — Confession — Voluntariness and admissibility where objection withdrawn to permit cross‑examination — Appellate restraint in overturning trial credibility findings — Mandatory minimum sentence non‑appealable
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22 September 1986 |
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Applicant who cohabited and substantially paid the mortgage acquired a one‑third beneficial interest by constructive trust.
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Trust law — Constructive/resulting trust — Cohabiting unmarried partner — Intention to provide a home and substantial contribution (including later mortgage payments) — Subsequent contributions relevant to acquisition — Equity imputes common intention
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15 September 1986 |
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A superfluous name or Special Gazette publication does not vitiate a lawful detention; habeas corpus does not award damages.
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Constitutional law — detention — identity in detention orders — effect of superfluous name; publication of detention — Special Government Gazette suffices; continued detention — role of Detainees' Tribunal versus courts; unauthorised place of detention — does not nullify detention order; habeas corpus — damages not available
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15 September 1986 |
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Res ipsa loquitur and Donoghue v Stevenson establish manufacturer liability absent probable intermediate examination; seller not shown negligent.
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Tort — Negligence; res ipsa loquitur applicable against manufacturer; manufacturer’s duty (Donoghue v Stevenson) where no reasonably probable intermediate examination; seller/repairer not liable without evidence; damages — replacement or present value accounting for inflation
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4 September 1986 |
| August 1986 |
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Identification by a single witness after a sudden nighttime attack was unsafe despite prior acquaintance.
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Identification evidence — single identifying witness — fleeting glimpse during sudden nighttime attack — poor opportunity to observe — prior acquaintance does not guarantee safe recognition
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11 August 1986 |
| July 1986 |
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Admitted misconduct warranting dismissal makes breach of non‑statutory disciplinary procedure harmless; dismissal not void.
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Administrative law — disciplinary rules of a parastatal: contractual (conditions of service) not statutory; Natural justice — right to be heard; Employment law — dismissal for admitted misconduct; Effect of non-compliance with non-statutory internal procedure (no nullity; possible contractual damages).
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10 July 1986 |
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Failure to follow non‑statutory internal disciplinary procedure does not render dismissal null where the employee is plainly guilty.
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Administrative law — Disciplinary rules of parastatal organisation — contractual conditions of service not statutory; Natural justice — right to be heard — failure to comply with non-statutory disciplinary procedure does not nullify dismissal where employee plainly guilty; Employment law — dismissal — breach of internal procedure may give damages but not automatic nullity
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9 July 1986 |
| June 1986 |
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Accused may raise non‑jurisdictional complaints at committal but cannot contest validity of High Court‑only charges.
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Criminal procedure — Committal for summary trial — ss.254–255 Criminal Procedure Code — Subordinate Court's jurisdiction ousted on presentation of DPP's certificate — accused may raise complaints but cannot challenge validity/substance of charges triable only by High Court — no conflict with constitutional right to be heard (Art.20(2)(d))
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23 June 1986 |
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A landlord is not liable for a co-tenant's nuisance causing loss unless the landlord actively participated in the nuisance.
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Landlord and tenant — quiet enjoyment — nuisance caused by co-tenant — landlord liability requires active participation; causation and misdirection; retrial ordered
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18 June 1986 |
| May 1986 |
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A perfected default judgment may be set aside; withdrawing then refiling the same summons is not automatically abusive.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Setting aside a default judgment that has been perfected — Withdrawal and refiling of summons — Abuse of process — Costs for duplicative or unreasonable conduct.
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29 May 1986 |
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Ordinary post with acknowledged receipt can be valid service; absent a proper endorsed address, filing with the Registrar suffices.
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Civil procedure — Service of pleadings — Ordinary (unregistered) post sufficient if receipt acknowledged; registered post not exclusive — Proof of service; Endorsement of address for service — Filing with Registrar as alternative; District registrar's duty to hear default judgment applications
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28 May 1986 |
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A perfected default judgment can be set aside; withdrawing and refiling the same summons is not automatically an abuse.
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Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — effect of execution/'perfected' judgment; withdrawal and refiling of summons — abuse of process; costs and delay considerations
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28 May 1986 |
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Whether a disciplinary body's secretary may present complaints and whether certiorari can challenge sanction severity.
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Administrative law — certiorari — appropriateness for severity of sanction
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Legal Practitioners Student Rules — Rule 26 complaints; secretary as presenter of complaint; Council as direct complainant; suspension pending disciplinary proceedings; natural justice
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27 May 1986 |
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Prosecution without the DPP's statutory consent under the Corrupt Practices Act is jurisdictionally invalid; conviction quashed.
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Criminal law — Corrupt Practices Act s.43 — Written consent (fiat) of the Director of Public Prosecutions required for prosecutions under Part IV — Absence of consent is jurisdictional and renders trial a nullity
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19 May 1986 |
| April 1986 |
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Conviction for stock theft upheld; caning set aside and imprisonment reduced; courts must be cautious when exceeding mandatory minimum sentences.
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Criminal law — Stock theft — Corroboration of interested witnesses by contemporaneous business records — Sentencing — Caution in exceeding statutory mandatory minimum — Corporal punishment only in exceptional, outbreak conditions
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10 April 1986 |
| March 1986 |
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Law Reform Act damages must be deducted from Fatal Accidents Act awards; court reduced excessive awards and recalculated dependants’ compensation.
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Damages — Fatal Accidents Acts — assessment of future loss of earnings (multiplier, deduction for deceased’s own maintenance) — Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act damages must be deducted from Fatal Accidents Acts award — apportionment to widow and children — costs payable from estate
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10 March 1986 |
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A monthly tenancy can be a "term of years certain" and a tenant served with notice to quit may apply to court for a new tenancy.
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Landlord and tenant — Meaning of "term of years certain" — Periodic (monthly) tenancy begins with an initial definite period and may be a protected term — s.3(2)(g)(ii) — Right to apply to court after notice to quit under s.4; s.6 does not bar application
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10 March 1986 |
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Under the Inquiries Act, an implicated person is entitled to representation by counsel, including the right to cross-examine witnesses in public inquiries.
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Inquiries Act — s.12(1) entitlement to representation; meaning of "representation" to include legal practitioners; public inquiries and witness privilege (s.14(3)); right to cross-examination despite s.13 (commissioners not bound by rules of evidence); distinction from private inquiry authorities (Pergamon)
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5 March 1986 |
| February 1986 |
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Self‑defence rejected on medical evidence; cumulative provocation insufficient; similar fact evidence and unlisted witness admissions irregular but not fatal.
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Criminal law — murder; self‑defence — requirement of reasonable necessity and role of medical evidence; provocation — need for act, loss of self‑control and proportionate retaliation; similar fact evidence — admissible only in discretion where probative value outweighs prejudice; non‑compliance with s.258 CPC and calling unlisted witness is irregular
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24 February 1986 |
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Calling witness to rebut accused's credibility and admitting spouse's evidence made murder convictions unsafe; reduced to receiving stolen property.
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Evidence — Trial within trial — Calling witness to rebut accused's credibility improper; Evidence — Spouse of accused — Inadmissible against accused under Criminal Procedure Code s151; Criminal law — Recent possession of stolen goods supports conviction for receiving stolen property (s318 Penal Code) not necessarily murder; Confession — Improperly admitted where trial judge's calling of magistrate led to misdirection
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24 February 1986 |
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An honest and reasonable mistake of fact can exculpate a police officer who fatally shot an innocent person believed to be an armed robber.
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Criminal law — Mistake of fact — Honest and reasonable belief negates mens rea — Section 10 Penal Code — Application to police shooting in darkness
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10 February 1986 |
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Appellate court may overturn credibility-based findings if a trial judge's reasons are unsatisfactory and order a retrial.
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Civil procedure — Appeal against factual findings — Credibility — Grounds for disturbing trial judge’s findings (Nkhata) — False imprisonment/ unlawful arrest — Missing police records — Retrial where credibility central
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4 February 1986 |
| January 1986 |
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Appeal allowed: unproven aggravated-robbery facts cannot justify a maximum sentence for a reduced theft conviction.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Reduction of charge — Unproven aggravating facts excluded from sentencing — Theft of motor vehicle — Requirement to state reasons for maximum sentence.
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26 January 1986 |
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An appeal to a judge in chambers is an actual rehearing and supplementary affidavits must be considered.
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Civil Procedure — Appeal to judge in chambers treated as actual rehearing — Admissibility of supplementary affidavits on such appeal — Summary judgment (Order 13) — Ambiguity in affidavit and right to adjourn — Triable issue disclosed
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21 January 1986 |
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The applicant (surviving spouse) is entitled to a rebate equal to half the duty rate payable on the whole estate.
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Estate Duty — s.9 remission to surviving spouse — calculation of rebate by reference to duty chargeable on aggregated estate — no fragmentation for rebate; sections 4 and 12 require aggregation and single rate
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5 January 1986 |