Results.
107 judgments found.
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| December 1999 |
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The appellant failed to prove medical negligence against the respondent under the Bolam standard; appeal dismissed, costs shared.
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Medical negligence — Standard of care — Bolam test — Necessity of competent expert opinion — Causal link between treatment and death — Postmortem evidence insufficient to infer negligence.
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9 December 1999 |
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The respondent’s unreasonable conduct, not the applicant’s, caused his injury; appeal allowed.
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Negligence — carrier’s duty at boarding and escort — contributory negligence and last opportunity to avoid harm — appellate inference from non-demeanour evidence.
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8 December 1999 |
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Special damages unpleaded and unproven were set aside; administrators are not personally liable for a deceased’s debts; matter remitted for reassessment.
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Contract law — assessment of damages — special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved with documentary or independent evidence; evidence must be non‑speculative; administrators’ personal property not liable for deceased’s debts; reassessment of general damages ordered.
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8 December 1999 |
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Whether an applicant under the ZCCM home ownership scheme may liquidate a mortgage by instalments — appeal allowed.
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Mortgage law — ZCCM home ownership loan scheme — entitlement to apply to Mortgage Redemption Committee for instalment repayment — procedural requirements — abuse of process — appellate intervention.
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8 December 1999 |
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Conviction on an untried, more serious charge is invalid; voluntariness of confessions requires trial-within-a-trial; circumstantial evidence sustained manslaughter.
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Criminal law — Reduction of charge — cannot convict on a more serious charge not tried; Confession — voluntariness and signature — requires trial within a trial; Circumstantial evidence — sufficiency to exclude conjecture and sustain manslaughter conviction; Proviso to Section 15 — application where confession wrongly admitted.
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8 December 1999 |
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Whether 1992 ZIMCO conditions entitled retirees to 100% annual salary for transport despite later employer notices limiting benefits.
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Employment law — interpretation of collective/internal conditions of service — applicability of ZIMCO Conditions (1 Oct 1992) — entitlement to 100% annual salary for transport of personal effects — effect of subsequent employer notices and retrospective variation of accrued rights.
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8 December 1999 |
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Failure to prove firearm use to statutory standard reduced capital aggravated robbery to ordinary aggravated robbery, duress defence rejected.
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Criminal law — Armed aggravated robbery — Proof of firearm required under Firearms Act — Eyewitness and circumstantial proof vs. ballistic evidence — Defence of duress/coercion — Sentence substitution after quashing capital element.
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7 December 1999 |
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A written, conditional promise by an employer to transfer a house is enforceable; employer bears PAYE liability.
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Employment law — contractual variation and conditional grant of property — employer's PAYE obligation — enforceability of written promise; specific performance/discretion in personal service contexts.
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7 December 1999 |
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Single-witness identification may be upheld where corroborative police evidence and admissions eliminate a real risk of mistaken identity.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — single identifying witness — duty to warn of danger — corroboration by police conduct and warned-and-cautioned admission — application of proviso to uphold conviction.
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7 December 1999 |
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Conviction upheld on reliable complainant identification; sentence increased from 15 to 18 years due to severity of attack.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery; identification evidence — identification parade unnecessary where complainant apprehended accused; single-witness identification — judicial caution and assessment of possibility of mistaken identity; sentencing — minimum sentence varied upward for severe violence and injury.
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7 December 1999 |
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Joinder to an originating summons for possession to pursue a damages counter-claim was refused due to prejudice and undue delay.
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Civil procedure — Joinder of parties — Originating summons for possession — Counter-claim for damages requiring pleadings and trial — Prejudice and delay — Discontinued action better forum for damages claim.
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3 December 1999 |
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Insufficient retirement notice entitled the employee to terminal benefits recalculated on the salary increment effective during proper notice.
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Employment law — Retirement notice — Defective notice period — entitlement to benefits covering proper notice period — Effect of salary increments becoming operative during notice — Misapprehension of documentary evidence in computing terminal benefits.
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3 December 1999 |
| November 1999 |
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A High Court judge may not rehear an application refused by another; constitutional claims should proceed by Article 28 petition.
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Judicial review — renewal of application — jurisdiction of High Court judges — single High Court — Article 28 constitutional petition vs Order 53 practice — legitimate expectation/consultation in legislative process.
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29 November 1999 |
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Failure to prove special or actionable libel at assessment defeats damages claim; costs in the lower court awarded to appellant.
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Defamation — burden of proof on damages at assessment after default judgment; special damages must be specifically proved; unsupported general damages set aside; entitlement to costs where successful in lower court.
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24 November 1999 |
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Absence of a statutory work permit does not necessarily render an employment contract unenforceable; penalties do not automatically void civil rights.
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Immigration & Deportation Act s.19(1) — work permits; enforceability of employment contracts without statutory permits; distinction between penal sanction and rendering contract void; parties’ intention and equity in contract enforcement
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24 November 1999 |
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A seconding employer retains disciplinary power; dismissal without proper charge or hearing is wrongful and attracts compensation.
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Employment law — secondment — contractual employer retains disciplinary power — jurisdiction to discipline upon surrender; natural justice — failure to charge and failure to inform of investigation outcomes renders dismissal wrongful; remedy — compensation in lieu of reinstatement.
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15 November 1999 |
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Agent entitled to ten percent commission on actual arrears recovered; aggravated robbery conviction reduced where firearm use not proved.
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Agency/Commission — Debt collection — Commission payable on actual arrears recovered, not on estimated market value; repossession entitles agent to full agreed commission. Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Distinction between s.294(1) and s.294(2); necessity to prove use of firearm; identification evidence and appropriate sentencing
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15 November 1999 |
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Appeal allowed where trial judge relied solely on a document, ignored contested oral evidence; retrial ordered with pleadings.
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Civil procedure — trial conducted without pleadings — reliance on documentary evidence to exclusion of oral testimony — misdirection by trial judge — appellate intervention — retrial ordered.
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2 November 1999 |
| October 1999 |
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Temporary injunction wrongly granted to former employee who resigned and sublet university housing; damages adequate.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — adequacy of damages; Employment/housing — resignation and non-occupation of employer-allocated house; Subletting — effect on entitlement to possession/purchase.
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21 October 1999 |
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Convictions based on suspicion, uncorroborated possession of stolen property, or lending a gun were unsafe and quashed.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — circumstantial evidence and inferences; suspicion insufficient for conviction; possession/disposal of stolen property — receiver vs thief; lending firearm — use must be proved; caution with interested witnesses and judicial warnings.
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19 October 1999 |
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Appeal dismissed: single-witness in‑court identification held reliable; passport non-production irrelevant.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence — Single-witness identification — Delay before identification parade — Reliability and cross-examination — Non-production of documents — Relevance to identification.
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19 October 1999 |
| September 1999 |
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Applicant's request for respondent's service address was frivolous; court dismissed application and made no order as to costs.
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Civil procedure — service of process — application for address for service — frivolous application — court discretion — no order as to costs.
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21 September 1999 |
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The applicant's challenge to identification failed; convictions upheld and concurrent sentences increased to 20 years.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence (single witnesses) — Recognition of known person — Identification parade irregularity — Appellate review of credibility findings — Sentencing: mandatory minimum 15 years, appellate increase to 20 years for multiple robberies.
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8 September 1999 |
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Employer cannot invoke early-retirement clause without proof of premature aging; employee's retirement under protest warrants damages.
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Employment law — Early retirement clause (Clause 7.3.3(c)) — Employer must prove premature aging and inability to perform duties — Waiver/consent — Retirement under protest — Damages and interest for wrongful early retirement.
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8 September 1999 |
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Appellate court reduces sentence for trafficking psychotropic substances due to guilty plea and first-offender mitigation.
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Criminal law — sentencing — trafficking psychotropic substances — guilty plea and first-offender mitigation — appellate reduction of sentence.
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8 September 1999 |
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Fraudulently procured land certificates can be set aside; compliant lessee entitled to renewal to a 99‑year lease under s10.
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Land law — State lease and right to renewal — s10 Lands Act (Cap.184) — Certificate of Title — s33 and s54 Lands and Deeds Registry Act (Cap.185) — fraud vitiates title — rectification of register — cancellation of fraudulently obtained certificate.
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7 September 1999 |
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The High Court retains jurisdiction over individual master‑and‑servant employment claims despite s85 amendments limiting Industrial Relations Court to collective matters.
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Employment law — Jurisdiction — Industrial and Labour Relations Act s85 — "Industrial relations matters" construed to cover collective disputes and agreements, not routine individual master‑and‑servant claims — High Court retains jurisdiction over individual employment disputes
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6 September 1999 |
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High Court retains jurisdiction over individual master-and-servant employment claims despite ILRA amendments limiting Industrial Relations Court jurisdiction to collective matters.
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Labour law — jurisdiction — meaning of "industrial relations matters" under s.85(9) ILRA — collective disputes vs individual master-and-servant claims — High Court retains jurisdiction over pure employment contract disputes
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6 September 1999 |
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Judicial review cannot enforce state judgment debts; public officers cannot be committed personally for the State's non-payment.
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State Proceedings Act — enforcement of judgments against the State — Section 21(3) and (4) — prohibition on execution or attachment against the State — no personal liability of public officers — judicial review not a means to enforce judgment debts — committal of public officer for State debt impermissible.
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2 September 1999 |
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Insufficient evidence of firearm use means s.294(2) convictions substituted to s.294(1); some appellants acquitted or resentenced.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — distinction between s.294(2) (use of firearm) and s.294(1) — proof of firearm use (ballistics/spent cartridges) — possession of recently stolen property and inferences — requirement that inference be the only reasonable one — admissibility of statements without warn-and-caution — confessions and trial-within-trial.
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1 September 1999 |
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Judicial review cannot be used to enforce State judgment debts, nor to commit public officers personally.
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Administrative law — Enforcement of judgments against the State — Judicial review not a method for enforcing judgment debts — State Proceedings Act s.21(3)–(4) — Protection from individual liability and committal of public officers
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1 September 1999 |
| August 1999 |
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A stay of execution of a writ of possession requires prospects of success on appeal; none were shown, so the stay was refused.
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Civil procedure — stay of execution — writ of possession — consent judgment and foreclosure under equitable mortgage — prospect of success on appeal as prerequisite for stay — dispute over interest calculations insufficient to justify stay
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24 August 1999 |
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On divorce, family assets must be apportioned under s.5(1) of the 1970 Act considering contributions, resources and obligations; respondent awarded three-eighths of the matrimonial home.
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Family law — division of family assets on divorce — application of Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act 1970 s.5 — consideration of contributions, earning capacity, financial resources and obligations — division of matrimonial home and revenue-producing assets; appellate review of trial court’s credibility findings.
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22 August 1999 |
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A party who consents to a summary judgment cannot later compel a pre-judgment full account; the consent judgment is final.
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Company law — Consent summary judgment (Order 13) — Finality of consented judgments — Applicant’s inability to obtain retrospective full account under Order 43 R.S.C. — Equity cannot be used to override consent judgment — Proper remedies: appeal or separate action
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15 August 1999 |
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Convictions for aggravated robbery upheld; trial court's order sending juveniles to Subordinate Court for sentencing was a nullity.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identification parades — Vehicle identification and recovery of stolen property — Evaluation of alibi and credibility — Sentencing procedure; trial court cannot validly order juveniles to be sentenced by Subordinate Court (order nullity)
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11 August 1999 |
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Convictions for aggravated robbery upheld; trial judge's order sending juveniles to Subordinate Court for sentencing was a nullity.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification evidence and identification parade — Sufficiency of evidence for conviction; Criminal procedure — Sentencing — Convicting court must sentence; order sending juveniles to Subordinate Court was nullity
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11 August 1999 |
| July 1999 |
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A stay of execution of a writ of possession requires prospects of success on appeal; none were demonstrated by the applicant.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Writ of possession — Consent judgment and foreclosure under equitable mortgage — Stay pending appeal requires prospects of success on appeal
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31 July 1999 |
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Whether a redundancy claim qualifies as a preferential debt under Companies Act s346 when winding-up occurs years later.
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Company law — Winding-up and preferential claims — Section 346 Companies Act — Priority for wages/entitlements within statutory look-back periods — Redundancy occurring years before winding-up does not confer secured (preferential) status — Assessment of nominal damages inappropriate post-execution.
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29 July 1999 |
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An employee redundant long before winding-up cannot be a secured creditor under s.346; nominal damages were set aside.
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Companies law — winding-up — priority of employee claims under section 346 — wages, leave and severance pay accrue within prescribed periods before commencement of winding-up — timing critical to secured creditor status; Civil procedure — assessment of damages — inappropriate award of nominal damages after execution.
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29 July 1999 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove that the disputed plot formed part of his customary grant; appeal dismissed.
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Land law — Customary acquisition and extent of grant — Burden and sufficiency of proof of customary boundaries — Role of traditional witnesses in demarcation — Orders in Council/State Lands and Reserves: exceptions permitting non-native grants with traditional and State consent — Locus standi where disputed land is not proved to be applicant’s
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28 July 1999 |
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An earlier Industrial Relations Court finding that an illegal strike occurred operates as res judicata and bars re-litigation.
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Res judicata — Industrial Relations Court — Whether a subsequent court may re-determine issues already decided by another court of competent jurisdiction — Illegal strike — Dismissal for misconduct — Rules of natural justice — Credibility and admissions.
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26 July 1999 |
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Whether the applicant, a non‑citizen permanent resident, could hold permanent, pensionable public service status.
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Public service — Eligibility for permanent, pensionable appointment — Non‑citizen permanent residents — Interpretation of statute according to parliamentary intent rather than strict literalism
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21 July 1999 |
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Absence of an Investor’s Licence makes a land sale unenforceable but curable; specific performance may follow once licence obtained.
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Land law — Contract of sale of land — Specific performance — s.13A(2)(a) Investor’s licence — absence renders contract unenforceable not void — curable irregularity
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21 July 1999 |
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Police unlawfully detained a mother to compel her son’s production; State liable and K15,000,000 damages upheld.
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Human rights — False imprisonment and unlawful detention — Cruel and inhuman treatment — Police powers limited to arrest for offences — Police may not detain persons to compel suspects’ production — State vicarious liability for police misconduct — Exemplary damages and lump-sum awards
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21 July 1999 |
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No triable issues; appeal dismissed; body corporate must be represented by an advocate unless exceptional leave granted.
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Contract — agreement to renovate premises; Summary judgment — absence of triable issues for leave to defend; Company law — body corporate representation in civil litigation; Legal Practitioners Act and Supreme Court Rules limiting corporate self-representation
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21 July 1999 |
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Regulator may lawfully attempt to rescue a bank; a third‑party charge was not invalidated by alleged undue influence.
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Banking law — regulator’s discretion to attempt rescue of distressed bank; Companies Act/Turquand protection of third parties; undue influence/duress — nominee/principal relationships; validity of securities and enforcement.
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14 July 1999 |
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The appellant's rescue efforts did not invalidate the respondent's charge; the security was enforceable and judgment entered for the appellant.
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Banking regulation — regulator's discretion and lawful rescue attempts; Companies Act (ss.23–25) — protection of third parties from internal irregularities; undue influence — nominee/principal relationship; enforcement of security/mortgage.
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14 July 1999 |
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Aggravated robbery by firearm, forced retirement versus retrenchment remedies, and mandatory death for firearm-related aggravated robbery.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Use of firearm and verbal threats constitute force for aggravated robbery; Employment law — Forced retirement v retrenchment — entitlement to redundancy and correct calculation of arrears; Sentencing — Section 294(2) Penal Code — mandatory death where firearm used unless specific exceptions established.
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13 July 1999 |
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An appeal does not automatically stay execution; a stay pending appeal requires good grounds, especially for consent judgments.
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Civil procedure — Appeal — Stay of execution — An appeal does not automatically stay execution; stay requires good and sufficient grounds — Consent judgments final when pronounced in open court — Court may preview prospects of proposed appeal — Leave to appeal where statutory restriction applies
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3 July 1999 |
| June 1999 |
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Liability for assault by a State agent affirmed; excessive general and exemplary damages reduced and interest awarded.
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Civil liability — Assault by State agent — Personal injury — Assessment and quantum of general damages (hearing loss) — Exemplary damages against State for agents’ conduct — Effect of delay and inflation on quantum — Special damages not proved — Interest on awards.
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22 June 1999 |