Results.
38 judgments found.
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| December 1995 |
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Court disallowed res judicata, found dismissal void for attending union meeting, but awarded damages not reinstatement.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal for attending union meeting — res judicata and availability of individual reinstatement after collective proceedings — discrimination under s.108 — discretion between reinstatement and damages
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31 December 1995 |
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Eyewitness identification in daylight, corroborated by pursuit and recovery, upheld aggravated robbery convictions; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence in daylight — Imperfect identity parade not fatal where corroborative eyewitness evidence supports identification — Appeal dismissed
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4 December 1995 |
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A guilty plea and first-offender status entitled the appellant to more mitigation than reflected in a six-year sentence for manslaughter.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter — Sentencing — Effect of plea of guilty and first offender status as mitigation balanced against seriousness of domestic violence
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4 December 1995 |
| November 1995 |
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Reinstatement is discretionary; wrongful dismissal after attending a union meeting warranted damages and terminal benefits, not reinstatement.
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Employment law — Wrongful dismissal; attendance at union meetings; res judicata; discrimination under section 108; discretionary nature of reinstatement versus damages
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30 November 1995 |
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Whether secondary school teachers may form a separate union under s.9(8)(c) despite an existing teachers’ union.
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Labour law — Trade-union registration — s.9(8)(c) Industrial and Labour Relations Act — constitutionality under Art.21(2)(d) — specific category exception — adequacy of representation — purposive construction to avoid proliferation of unions
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29 November 1995 |
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Unreliable single‑witness identification and absence of fingerprint evidence created reasonable doubt; conviction quashed.
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Criminal law — Murder — Cause of death: expert opinion as guide only; Single-witness identification — need for corroboration and warning; Police dereliction — failure to lift fingerprints creates presumption; Credibility — untruth on important matter undermines witness; Prosecution duty to call witnesses limited
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29 November 1995 |
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Agent entitled to full contractual damages for wrongful termination; successor agent not liable absent evidence of responsibility.
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Agency law — wrongful termination of agency by defective notice — liability of successor agent — quantum of damages — assessment by Deputy Registrar unnecessary — interest from writ date at average short-term bank deposit rate
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29 November 1995 |
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Interlocutory injunction pending arbitration ends with the award; extension to challenge award requires sufficient cause.
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Contract — arbitration clause — interlocutory injunction pending arbitration — continuation of injunction after arbitrator's award — Order 45 Rule 13 (time to apply to set aside award) directory not mandatory — court discretion to extend time — insufficiency of reasons for delay
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19 November 1995 |
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The appellant bank’s registered mortgage was valid; fraud not proved and the purchaser’s title is subject to the bank’s mortgage.
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Property law — writ of elegit — registration requirements; Priority of interests — registered mortgage versus unregistered writ; Proof of fraud — high burden; Sheriff’s sale — notice to interested parties and effect on title.
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9 November 1995 |
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Statutory sale under the Conveyancing Act on unpaid interest requires no notice; sale by tender valid and mortgage is extinguished.
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Conveyancing — Power of sale (Conveyancing Act ss.19, 20) — s.20(1)(ii) (interest in arrears two months) removes need for s.20(1)(i) notice — Sale by tender valid — Statutory sale extinguishes mortgage — Pleading obligations — Security for costs procedure
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8 November 1995 |
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Bank must indemnify appellant for sums unrecoverable from foreign principal after wrongfully paying out funds despite suspension instruction.
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Bank liability for wrongful payment — breach of instruction to suspend payment — nominal damages inadequate where claimant has a related successful claim against foreign principal — indemnity limited to Kwacha equivalent of $44,217.25 plus interest — entitlement to set-off
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2 November 1995 |
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Applicant challenged government’s choice to enact the constitution via Parliament; court found no justiciable illegality or irrationality, dismissing the appeal.
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Constitutional law — judicial review of executive action under the Inquiries Act; availability of certiorari and mandamus against the President and Cabinet; grounds of review — illegality, irrationality (Wednesbury), procedural impropriety; leave to apply for judicial review; standing and promptness.
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1 November 1995 |
| October 1995 |
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Leave to judicially review the Executive’s choice of parliamentary enactment over a constituent assembly was refused as legally untenable.
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Constitutional reform — judicial review of Executive decision on mode of adopting constitution — leave to apply for review — grounds: illegality, irrationality (Wednesbury), procedural impropriety — scope of Inquiries Act — standing and promptness
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31 October 1995 |
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Supreme Court precedent binds lower courts; discrimination alone does not justify reinstatement under the Industrial Relations Act.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — misconduct: giving false information against subordinate and misuse of company property; Discrimination — meaning of 'social status' under s.198 Industrial Relations Act; Stare decisis — lower courts bound by Supreme Court precedent; Remedy — discrimination alone does not automatically justify reinstatement; Entitlement to pay in lieu of notice where wrongful dismissal established
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30 October 1995 |
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Court permits lump-sum damages including interest, sets aside ineffective Fatal Accidents award for a toddler, and reduces excessive damages to K300,000.
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Damages — quantum and interest — permissibility of lump-sum damages including interest; Fatal Accidents Act damages inappropriate for very young child; excessive award reduced to aggravated damages; specified interest rate
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19 October 1995 |
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Appellant's unchallenged confessions were held voluntary; conviction for murder and death sentence affirmed.
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Criminal law — Murder — Confession — Admissibility and voluntariness of confession — Failure to object at trial — Conviction on own confession upheld.
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15 October 1995 |
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Reinstatement for dismissal related to union activity is discretionary and will not be ordered absent exceptional circumstances.
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Industrial Relations Act — dismissal and trade union activities — reinstatement as discretionary remedy — reinstatement ordered only in exceptional circumstances (grossly unfair/vindictive dismissal) — remedies where pay in lieu of notice was given.
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12 October 1995 |
| September 1995 |
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The respondent may obtain an interim injunction to protect company operations; damages are inadequate.
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Interim injunctions — party may apply for injunction though not pleaded in writ — preservation of status quo — balance of convenience — adequacy of damages — protection of company operations by director/shareholder.
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14 September 1995 |
| July 1995 |
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Appeal against aggravated robbery conviction and 20-year sentence dismissed; identification and recent possession evidence upheld.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — reliability of ocular identification and identification parade — recent possession of stolen property as corroboration; Sentence — appropriateness of 20 years imprisonment given brutal assault.
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14 July 1995 |
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Statutory prohibitions on bail are constitutional so long as accused are tried within a reasonable time; constitutional bail arises only after unreasonable delay.
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Constitutional bail — Article 13(3) — unreasonable delay in trial — statutory prohibition on bail (s.43 Narcotics Act; s.123 CPC) — lawful pre-trial detention — limits on right to bail
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9 July 1995 |
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Statutory prohibition of bail is constitutional unless the accused is not tried within a reasonable time, in which case constitutional bail applies.
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Bail — Cognisable offences under Narcotic Drugs Act — s.43 and s.23(1) — Article 13(3) constitutional bail where trial unreasonably delayed — statutory prohibitions on bail permissible if trial within reasonable time — presumption of innocence does not guarantee bail
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9 July 1995 |
| June 1995 |
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A stay in judicial review is not an injunction and may be granted despite statutory prohibitions on injunctive relief against the State.
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Practice — Stay of proceedings in judicial review — Distinction between stay and injunction — State Proceedings Act prohibition on injunctions against the State — Order 53 (judicial review) — Interim relief pending appeal
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21 June 1995 |
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Section 24 bars appeals to the Supreme Court from a High Court judge's grant of unconditional leave to defend.
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Civil procedure — Appeals — Effect of section 24 of the Supreme Court Act — Bar on appeals from a High Court judge's grant of unconditional leave to defend — Finality of judge's discretionary order.
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20 June 1995 |
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Damages must be assessed by reference to the vehicle's value at the date of the accident; reassessment ordered.
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Damages assessment — motor vehicle — correct date for valuation (date of accident v. date of assessment) — insufficiency of valuation evidence — remittal for reassessment — costs reserved.
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8 June 1995 |
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A party regulation imposing a residential qualification was ultra vires the applicant's constitutional right to be elected; declarations and injunction granted.
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Party constitution — construction of Article 9(d) — ordinary meaning vs. implied residency qualification — Regulation 4(m) ultra vires — provincial chairmen ex officio membership of National Executive Committee — golden rule of statutory construction
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7 June 1995 |
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Retrospective salary increases do not alter a settled payment in lieu of notice absent fresh consideration.
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Contract law — damages on breach — computation of salary in lieu of notice where employer later grants a retrospective pay increase; payment in lieu discharges liability; notice cannot be backdated
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6 June 1995 |
| May 1995 |
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Wrongful dismissal after lawful union meeting attendance warrants damages, not reinstatement; res judicata did not bar individual relief.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal — permission to attend union meeting — res judicata — section 108 discrimination — discretion to order reinstatement or damages.
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12 May 1995 |
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Damages for conversion are assessed at judgment/assessment date; interest above the statutory 6% cap is ultra vires.
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Civil damages — detinue/conversion — valuation assessed at date of judgment/assessment; Interest on judgment debts — Judgment Act 6% cap cannot be exceeded by statutory instrument (ultra vires); unjust enrichment and need for evidence of goods' condition when awarding replacement value
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9 May 1995 |
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Invalid acting appointment meant wrongful dismissal; discrimination on political grounds warranted compensation (one year’s salary), not reinstatement.
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Employment law — Industrial and Labour Relations Act s108 — Political opinion/affiliation discrimination — Validity of acting appointment to dismiss — Discretion as to reinstatement — Duty to mitigate and assessment of damages
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9 May 1995 |
| April 1995 |
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Employee's refusal to attend disciplinary hearing forfeited challenge to termination; employer need not give reasons for termination.
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Employment law — disciplinary proceedings — right to be heard — natural justice observed where employee refuses to attend disciplinary hearing; termination versus dismissal — employer need not give reasons for termination; improper labelling of misconduct ('riot') without evidential foundation.
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20 April 1995 |
| March 1995 |
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Court upholds damages for false imprisonment and police assault (torture), rejects intimidation and unpleaded exemplary damages.
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Damages — Assault/torture by police — False imprisonment — Intimidation head inappropriate — Exemplary/punitive damages not permitted if unpleaded — Aggravated damages available — Quantum assessed with reference to precedent and inflation
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21 March 1995 |
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A court may join a party before judgment under Order 14(5) and Section 13 to ensure complete adjudication and avoid multiplicity.
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Civil procedure — Joinder of parties — Order 14 Rule 5 construed to permit joinder before judgment delivery; Section 13 and inherent jurisdiction used to avoid multiplicity of litigation
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1 March 1995 |
| February 1995 |
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Probationary fixed-term employment cannot be terminated by notice in breach of employment regulations; discrimination not established under section 129.
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Employment law — probationary fixed-term contracts — Employment (Special Provisions) Regulations 4(1) — dismissal without prior approval of proper officer — discrimination under s129 (sex, social status) — remedies: damages v reinstatement
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27 February 1995 |
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Commissioner’s intention controls first land grants to squatters; erroneous first certificates may be rectified under s.11.
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Land law — disposition to squatters — power of Commissioner of Lands to determine allocation and limit extent of grants — first certificate of title — rectification of register under s.11 Lands and Deeds Registry Act — effect on rights of other squatters
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22 February 1995 |
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Interim injunctions restraining employer repossession of company house and car were discharged; reinstatement unlikely and damages adequate.
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Employment law — interim injunctions — reinstatement as exceptional remedy — irreparable harm — company housing and vehicle not necessarily non-compensable; procedural complaints deferred to final judgment
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22 February 1995 |
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Oral notice of a reinstatement claim can waive pleading defects, but reinstatement requires exceptional circumstances and was not ordered.
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Employment law — Wrongful dismissal — Reinstatement — Pleading requirements under Order 18 — Oral notice and waiver of objection — Exceptional circumstances required for reinstatement
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15 February 1995 |
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Judicial review inappropriate for private political-party tribunals; relief should be sought by writ for declaration and injunction.
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Civil procedure — judicial review — scope limited to tribunals exercising public-law functions — political party domestic tribunals are private — challenge to expulsion seeking declaration/injunction should be by writ — court may order proceedings to continue as if begun by writ
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2 February 1995 |
| January 1995 |
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Interim injunction to halt party elections denied where applicant failed to show clear right and balance of convenience.
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Interim injunctions — political party internal elections — requirement of clear right and irreparable injury — balance of convenience — ex parte applications — incompetence of pleading amendment at interlocutory stage — distinction from Nkhoma.
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29 January 1995 |