Results.
75 judgments found.
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| December 1989 |
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Court upheld conviction: no dereliction for untested fingerprints without proof of opportunity, and no legal rule requiring corroboration of a single police witness.
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Evidence — identification by witnesses; fingerprints — dereliction of duty only if opportunity to obtain usable prints is shown; corroboration — no rule requiring corroboration of single police witness; comment on accused's silence — permissible factual observation; juvenile status and mandatory death sentence
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31 December 1989 |
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Section 11(1)(e) applies only to superior landlords who must prove better rental yield; five-year rule bars transfers defeating new-tenancy rights.
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Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act (Cap. 440) — s.11(1)(e) — interpretation; applies to superior landlords — must prove superior tenancy, ownership on termination, and that letting as a whole gives better rental yield; s.11(2) five‑year protection — transfers to evade tenant rights; notice to quit binds landlord to stated grounds
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31 December 1989 |
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Appeal dismissed: Board had power to dismiss and procedural defects did not cause prejudicial breach of natural justice.
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Administrative law — natural justice — adequacy of notice and opportunity to be heard; statutory power of board to dismiss employees; procedural irregularity and prejudice; discretionary remedies.
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12 December 1989 |
| November 1989 |
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Appeal against conviction for aggravated robbery dismissed; identification, possession and confession upheld; juvenile claim unproven.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identity parade — Possession of stolen property as corroboration — Admissibility and weight of confessions — Sentencing and disputed age/juvenile claim (medical report).
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21 November 1989 |
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Whether accompaniment/facilitation by a public servant suffices to convict for abuse of office in procurement irregularities.
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Criminal law — abuse of office — procurement irregularities — accomplice liability — sufficiency of evidence — mens rea — emergency purchases.
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21 November 1989 |
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Conviction for robbery upheld on reliable identification and corroboration; sentencing adjourned pending determination of appellant’s age and welfare report.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence — visual identification under electric light corroborated by getaway-driver — conviction upheld; Sentencing — statutory mandatory minimum — potential juvenile status and welfare report require inquiry before sentencing.
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21 November 1989 |
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Silence does not equal adoption of another's confession; disputed re-enactments require voluntariness and corroboration of suspect witnesses.
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Criminal law — admissions and silence — re-enactments/photographs — voluntariness of confessionary demonstrations — corroboration where witnesses may have motive to fabricate — trial without plea renders amended charge a nullity
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15 November 1989 |
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A judge may rule no-case of his own motion but should not do so without notice or hearing all evidence.
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Civil procedure — No-case ruling — Trial judge may rule on own motion but should not volunteer such ruling without notice; Order 14 permits amendment/substitution of parties; vicarious liability requires full evidence
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9 November 1989 |
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Court quashed second appellant's conviction due to improperly admitted confession; first appellant's conviction upheld on reliable eyewitness identification.
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Criminal law — admissibility of confessions — voluntariness; Identification evidence — reliability of eyewitness identification; Effect of pre-parade publicity; Leading police to scene/exhibits as evidence; Joint participation — need to show each accused's role.
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8 November 1989 |
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An estate cannot claim prospective earnings where dependants recover dependency; short‑duration pain awards must be nominal.
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Tort — Damages — Fatal Accidents Acts and Law Reform Act — Estate cannot recover prospective earnings where dependants recover dependency — Pain and suffering awards must reflect extent and duration where death is rapid — Multiplier for dependency — Apportionment between widow and children — Unpleaded insurance proceeds not recoverable in assessment — Pre‑trial and post‑trial interest considerations
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8 November 1989 |
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Provocation found sufficient to reduce a murder conviction to manslaughter; conviction and sentence substituted on appeal.
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Criminal law — Murder v Manslaughter — Provocation as ground for reduction — Appellate substitution of conviction and sentence.
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7 November 1989 |
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Evidence of sudden provocation reduced the offence from murder to manslaughter; conviction and sentence substituted on appeal.
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Criminal law — Murder vs manslaughter — Sudden provocation as partial defence — Appeal — Substitution of conviction and sentence.
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7 November 1989 |
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Court upheld convictions for armed/aggravated robbery despite inability to prove the recovered firearm was the exact weapon used.
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Criminal law — Armed/aggravated robbery — sufficiency of evidence — identification and participation — role of admissions by co-accused — proof of weapon not always required to sustain conviction.
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7 November 1989 |
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The appellant cannot rely on a vaguely worded exemption clause to escape liability for its negligence.
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Contract — exemption clause — construction — whether clause covers negligence of proferens — Canada Steamship principles applied; credibility; waiver; 'fundamental breach' terminology criticised
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1 November 1989 |
| October 1989 |
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Registrar erred by limiting compensation to blindness; appellate court awarded K200,000 for blindness, brain injury, disfigurement and lost prospects.
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Torts — Personal injuries to a child — Assessment of damages: pecuniary and non-pecuniary heads, 'guesstimate' of future earnings, brain injury, disfigurement, interest on award
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31 October 1989 |
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Appeal allowed; district registrar erred by limiting damages to blindness—court increased global award to K200,000 with interest and costs.
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Tort — personal injury; damages quantum — appellate interference where award is inordinately low or based on error; assessment of non-pecuniary loss by what the ordinary person would regard as fair; consideration of brain injury, disfigurement, pain, loss of amenities and future earning capacity; interest and costs
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31 October 1989 |
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Summary judgment inappropriate where defendant raises triable issues including lack of required State consent for a land sale.
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Civil procedure — summary judgment — triable issues warrant refusal and leave to defend; Land law — Land (Conversion of Titles) Act — contracts conditional on State/Presidential consent; Specific performance — may be competent where performance requires subsequent application for consent; Distinction from contracts performed without consent (Mutwale)
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19 October 1989 |
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Identification evidence sustained one appellant's robbery conviction; firearm not proved, leading to substituted convictions and sentences.
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Criminal law — Robbery and aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identification parade — Admissibility and sufficiency of witness identification — Definition of firearm under Firearms Act — Substitution of convictions on appeal — Receiving stolen property.
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12 October 1989 |
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Tossing a person from a moving train with foresight of probable grievous harm can amount to murder under section 204(b).
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Criminal law — Murder — Malice aforethought under s.204(b) — Knowledge that tossing a person from a moving train would probably cause death or grievous harm — Credibility and identification — Admissibility of post‑mortem report
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1 October 1989 |
| September 1989 |
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Application for leave to appeal out of time refused for inordinate unexplained delay and weak prospects on the merits.
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Civil procedure — Application for leave to appeal out of time — Inordinate and unexplained delay — discretion to extend time requires satisfactory explanation and arguable prospects of success — Misleading ex parte stay does not excuse absence of an appeal — Squatters’ lack of legal title.
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19 September 1989 |
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Appeal allowed: preliminary point set aside and reopened; evidence must determine if the President effected the dismissals before courts are ousted.
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Administrative law — challenge to termination of military commissions — Regulation purporting to make cancellations final — Justiciability — Whether President effected cancellations — Preliminary objection requiring factual inquiry and admission of evidence.
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13 September 1989 |
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Delay and prejudice to third parties justified refusal to set aside default judgment; specific performance confined to payment conditions.
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Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — delay and promptness — bona fides — prejudice to third parties — variation/confined specific performance — conditions precedent (payment, occupation monies, interest).
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13 September 1989 |
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Court upheld identification and witness credibility; convictions and concurrent 16-year sentences affirmed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identification parade — Witness credibility — Failure to call every potential witness — Delay in reporting — Weight of circumstantial/physical evidence.
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12 September 1989 |
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Appeal allowed: vending agreement and undisclosed liabilities defeated respondents’ monetary and wrongful dismissal awards.
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Contract/Company law — Vending (share purchase) agreement — effect of agreement on parties’ rights and obligations — undisclosed liabilities diminishing purchaser’s payment obligation — counterclaim — proof of damages — wrongful dismissal where officers vacate under share sale agreement.
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12 September 1989 |
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An employee’s unauthorised taking of employer’s money, even if intended to be repaid, can justify summary dismissal.
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Employment law — summary dismissal — unauthorised appropriation of employer’s money replaced by IOU — whether intent to repay negates theft/fraud — applicability of criminal principles in civil wrongful dismissal claims — court’s inability to substitute a lighter penalty for employer’s dismissal.
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7 September 1989 |
| August 1989 |
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Detention under Regulation 33(1) is unlawful if grounds are unsupported or are introduced after the detention order was made.
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Constitutional law — detention without trial — Preservation of Public Security Regulations (Reg. 33(1)) — Habeas corpus — Grounds for detention must exist and be supported by material at time of detention — No addition of fresh grounds post-detainment
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31 August 1989 |
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Whether a seller of recovered goods was an innocent receiver or exercised control sufficient for criminal liability; appeal dismissed for the second appellant.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Recovery and identification of stolen property — Seller's control and dominion over goods — Innocent receiver defence — Appellate review of alleged trial misdirection.
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8 August 1989 |
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Appellants’ convictions for aggravated robbery upheld where ample opportunity to observe and corroboration made identification reliable.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — opportunity to observe and corroboration — weight of inconsistent witness evidence — identification parade not always essential — alibi displaced by strong corroborated identification.
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8 August 1989 |
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No evidence that the firearm met the statutory definition; ordinary aggravated robbery conviction upheld.
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Criminal law — sufficiency of evidence — whether the firearm alleged met the statutory definition — appeal where firearm element unsupported but ordinary aggravated robbery sustained.
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8 August 1989 |
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Appellant’s careless driving conviction upheld; other driver’s contributory negligence not a defence in criminal traffic charge.
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Roads and Road Traffic Act — careless driving — whether conduct amounted to offence; Traffic law — contributory negligence by other driver — not a defence in criminal charge; Evidence — causation and adequacy of steps taken to warn/identify oneself; Police procedure — pursuit of offending vehicle and expectations of compliance.
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8 August 1989 |
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Appeal allowed: cumulative consecutive sentences for offences forming a single course of conduct were excessive and replaced by concurrent terms.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Multiple offences forming a course of conduct — Overall assessment of punishment versus cumulative consecutive sentences; aggravating factor: impersonation in police/security uniform; excessive cumulative sentence set aside.
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8 August 1989 |
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Originating summons was inappropriate to determine disputed contractual and factual issues; matter must proceed to full trial.
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Civil procedure — Originating summons inappropriate where disputes of fact and contractual breach require oral evidence; contract — repossession of equipment and entitlement to equitable relief; retrial ordered with pleadings and evidence.
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3 August 1989 |
| July 1989 |
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Recent possession plus suspicious features can establish guilty possession, warranting conviction for retaining rather than theft.
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Criminal law — Recent possession of stolen property — Inference of guilt only if sole reasonable inference; lies not conclusive — Distinction between receiving (guilty at receipt) and retaining (guilty knowledge acquired after receipt) — Substitution of conviction for retaining where theft not proved
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27 July 1989 |
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Application to arrest judgment refused; trial judge may complete proceedings and sentence; irregular-appeal rules inapplicable.
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Criminal procedure — arrest of judgment (s298) — duty of trial court after unsuccessful motion — section 299 empowers proceeding to sentence — irregular appeals under Supreme Court Rules inapplicable where no appeal exists.
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25 July 1989 |
| June 1989 |
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Conviction quashed where complainant’s recognition evidence failed to exclude honest mistake.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification/recognition evidence — Requirement to exclude honest mistake — Benefit of doubt — Conviction unsafe and quashed.
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13 June 1989 |
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Group possession of stolen property does not automatically convict each accused absent positive individual identification.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — possession of stolen property — group presence insufficient to convict absent individual identification — presumption of innocence — circumstantial evidence.
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13 June 1989 |
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Aggravated robbery conviction and eighteen-year sentence upheld where appellant was identified and violence was overwhelming.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification at scene — Violent gang conduct elevating theft to aggravated robbery — Sentence for gang-related violent robbery.
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13 June 1989 |
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Whether a late-filed defence discloses a defence warranting setting aside a default judgment and the admissibility of related criminal admissions.
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Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — late-filed defence disclosing contributory negligence — admissibility of criminal conviction/admission in civil proceedings — consent to assessment of quantum not consent to judgment — discretion to hear out-of-time appeal.
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8 June 1989 |
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Consent to damages assessment does not equal consent to judgment; a genuine defence merits trial.
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Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment — bona fide defence (contributory negligence) warrants trial; consent to assessment of damages ≠ consent to judgment; criminal conviction inadmissible in civil proceedings; leave to appeal out of time within court's discretion
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7 June 1989 |
| May 1989 |
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A conviction founded solely on an erroneous credibility inference about how a person falls when pushed is unsafe and will be quashed.
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Criminal law — Appeal — Credibility findings — Misdirection — Incorrect inference that a person pushed from the front must fall on their back — Conviction unsafe and quashed.
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23 May 1989 |
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Appellant's mistaken-identity defence rejected; eyewitness identification and weapon possession upheld; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence — Mistaken identity — Corroboration by possession of weapon — Appellate review of trial judge’s factual findings.
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17 May 1989 |
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Supreme Court has limited inherent jurisdiction to protect its orders but must remit factual or originating-summons disputes to the High Court.
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Civil procedure — jurisdiction of appellate court — inherent jurisdiction to protect its orders versus limitation in deciding disputed facts — interlocutory injunctions remitted to High Court — enforcement of appellate orders through High Court procedures
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17 May 1989 |
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Appeal examines misdirections, identification and corroboration; first appellant’s conviction upheld by proviso, second appellant’s conviction quashed.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence and dock identification — hearsay and corroboration — co‑accused’s statements inadmissible against another — application of proviso — mandatory minimum sentence substituted.
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9 May 1989 |
| April 1989 |
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Court confirmed principal appellant's aggravated robbery conviction, allowed second appellant's appeal, finding identification evidence reliable.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — visual and voice identification — reliability where complainant previously knew accused — intoxication — effect of police investigative shortcomings on safety of conviction.
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18 April 1989 |
| March 1989 |
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Appeal allowed and counter-claim remitted for retrial due to contradictory findings and unclear pleadings.
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Civil appeal — counter-claim — goods sold overseas — deterioration in transit — contradictory trial findings — insufficiency of pleadings — remittal for retrial — liberty to file fresh pleadings — costs to abide event.
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30 March 1989 |
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Whether an interlocutory injunction barring registration of undisputed 60% shareholding should be varied to allow registration.
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Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunctions — Entitlement to relief and balance of convenience — Registration of shares — Power to vary interlocutory orders where part of claimed interest is undisputed.
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30 March 1989 |
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Appellant's summary dismissal upheld: procedural fairness observed, collective agreement not proved, union chairmanship no immunity.
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Employment law — summary dismissal for gross insubordination — procedural fairness and natural justice — obligation to produce collective agreement — union office does not confer immunity from personal disciplinary action — appellate review of credibility findings.
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21 March 1989 |
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Failure to notify the proper officer after a justified misconduct dismissal yields penal liability but does not void the dismissal.
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Employment law — Employment (Special Provisions) Regulations — Regulation 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(b)(ii) — dismissal for misconduct — failure to notify proper officer — penal sanction does not invalidate justified dismissal
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20 March 1989 |
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Prerogative relief becomes academic once respondents rescind the impugned decision; courts will not grant nugatory orders, but costs may be awarded.
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Administrative law — prerogative orders (certiorari) — discretionary relief — mootness/academic appeals where respondents rescind action — costs awarded despite mootness.
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16 March 1989 |
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A landlord is bound by notice grounds and must prove all s.11(1)(e) elements to oppose a new tenancy.
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Real property law — landlord bound by grounds stated in notice to terminate — section 11(1)(e) requires superior tenancy, ownership on termination, better rental yield for whole‑letting and requirement of possession — post‑notice transfers cannot defeat section 11(2) five‑year restriction — statutory, not equitable, grounds govern opposition to new tenancy
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14 March 1989 |