Results.
16 judgments found.
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| July 1991 |
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Accused who sought provocation and failed to prove diminished responsibility cannot avoid murder conviction; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Provocation — accused who induces or seeks provocation cannot rely on it; Diminished responsibility — burden on defence; no substantial impairment proved; Non-retrospectivity — s.12A Penal Code (Act 3 of 1990) not retrospective; Sentence — no extenuating circumstances, death sentence affirmed
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31 July 1991 |
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A plaintiff claiming damages for breach of a restraint of trade may also obtain an injunction under Order 27 Rule 4.
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Contract law — restraint of trade — injunctions — Order 27 Rule 4 High Court Rules permits injunctions in suits restraining breach of contract even where damages are claimed; defendant's intention to breach raises a serious question to be tried; High Court jurisdiction to grant injunction affirmed.
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30 July 1991 |
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Whether justification defeats a libel claim where evidence shows title irregularities and alleged antecedent fraud.
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Defamation — defence of justification — pleader’s role and permissible variation/development of pleadings; evidentiary challenge to title transfers and antecedent fraud; assessment of damages — publication, causation and remoteness.
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26 July 1991 |
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Court allowed variation of pleading to uphold justification based on title irregularities; damages award for libel upheld.
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Defamation (libel) — justification defence — permissibility of variation/development of pleadings — challenge to title and irregularities in chain of title — causation and remoteness of damages — assessment of quantum.
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26 July 1991 |
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Appeal allowed where supporting police witnesses lacked credibility and corroboration, rendering manslaughter convictions unsafe.
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Criminal law — manslaughter; credibility of prosecution witnesses; requirement of credible evidence before corroboration; corroboration and identification of assailants in custody-related deaths; unsafe conviction.
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23 July 1991 |
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Convictions quashed where key police witnesses lacked credibility and corroboration on timing and identity.
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Criminal law — Credibility of prosecution witnesses — Corroboration — Identification — Unsafe convictions where key witnesses lack credibility and corroboration.
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23 July 1991 |
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Conviction for false pretences and unauthorized requisition upheld; 41-year custodial sentence quashed as grossly excessive and replaced with absolute discharge.
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Criminal law — Obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretences; making a document without authority — Sufficiency of evidence to sustain convictions — Sentencing: manifestly excessive sentence, proportionality, minor monetary value and refund as mitigating factors — Substitution of sentence with absolute discharge.
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23 July 1991 |
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Court dismissed challenge to parliamentary summons and related disciplinary consequences, holding Assembly acted within its statutory powers.
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Parliamentary privileges — Power to summon witnesses — National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act (Cap. 17) — Sections 10, 14 and 19 — Civil servant’s duty to give evidence — Contempt — Vires review — Judicial non-interference with lawful parliamentary or employer action — Remedy against officers disrupting court proceedings.
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16 July 1991 |
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Counsel's in‑court consent to discharge an injunction binds the client absent a demonstrated mistake.
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Civil procedure — Consent orders; Counsel's authority and agency — Statement by counsel in court that matter is settled binds client where no mistake between counsel and client — Lusaka West Development Co. v Turnkey Properties Ltd.
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16 July 1991 |
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Repeal of the one‑party provision revived fundamental rights; MPs who left UNIP may remain, and existing nominated MPs continue until dissolution.
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Constitutional law — interpretation of "the Party" in transitional provision (art. 4A) — repeal of one‑party provision reviving fundamental rights — arts. 67(c) and 71(2)(b) discriminatory and ineffective — status of existing nominated MPs preserved until dissolution or revocation
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10 July 1991 |
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Following repeal of the one‑party provision, MPs who resigned UNIP may sit as independents; party‑membership conditions became discriminatory and ineffective.
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Constitutional law — interpretation of "the Party" in transitional Article 4A — effect of repeal of one‑party Article on Articles 67(c) and 71(2)(b) — discrimination and fundamental rights — status of existing nominated members after repeal of Article 64 — eligibility of independents and barred new parties before dissolution
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10 July 1991 |
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Intoxication raised reasonable doubt on murderous intent; murder conviction quashed and substituted with manslaughter and seven-year sentence.
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Criminal law — murder substituted with manslaughter — effect of intoxication on dolus — assessment of alleged witness bias (relatives of victim) — accidental discharge defence — appellate substitution of conviction and sentence.
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9 July 1991 |
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Appeal dismissed where eyewitness and ballistic evidence conclusively established the applicant's guilt; no appeal lies against mandatory death sentence.
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Criminal law — Armed aggravated robbery — Use of firearm — Ballistic evidence — Eyewitness identification — Apprehension shortly after offence — Mandatory death sentence — Appealability.
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9 July 1991 |
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Intoxication raised reasonable doubt on intent; murder conviction substituted with manslaughter and seven-year sentence.
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Criminal law — murder v. manslaughter — intoxication and mens rea — biased witnesses — res gestae — accidental discharge defence.
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9 July 1991 |
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The appellant’s conviction was quashed for factual misdirections and unresolved credibility conflicts concerning cheque transactions.
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Criminal law — Theft by public servant — Credibility assessment and burden of proof — Misdirection on facts (cheque register maintenance, supporting vouchers) — Disputed cancelled cheque counterfoil — Proviso to s.15(1) not applicable.
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7 July 1991 |
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Wrong statutory citation did not invalidate measures; declared threatened emergency derogation ousted audi alteram partem.
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Administrative law — incorrect statutory citation does not invalidate executive action if a valid enabling provision exists; natural justice — rebuttable presumption of audi alteram partem where livelihood or property affected, but article 26 derogation during declared emergency/threatened emergency can exclude prior hearing
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4 July 1991 |