Results.
16 judgments found.
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| December 2001 |
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A written exculpatory letter can satisfy hearing requirements; failure to communicate absence may justify summary dismissal.
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Employment law — dismissal — disciplinary hearing — written exculpatory letter as hearing — natural justice — failure to communicate absence — gross negligence — summary dismissal — procedural irregularity not prejudicial.
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28 December 2001 |
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Acceptance of a council's offer to purchase converted the tenancy into a vendor–purchaser relationship, entitling the applicant to specific performance.
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Property law — council housing — offer to purchase; effect on existing tenancy; vendor–purchaser relationship; subletting; Rent Act s13(1)(g); specific performance.
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28 December 2001 |
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Appeal dismissed: trial court rightly found defendant caused collision and defamed plaintiff; travel-costs award set aside.
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Road traffic accident — causation and credibility determinations; Defamation — allegation of corruption, publication and damages; Special damages — proof by quotations and foreseeability; Appellate review of factual findings.
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28 December 2001 |
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Eviction upheld where statutory notice existed and tenants failed to challenge arrears or call key witnesses.
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Tenancy law — Eviction and distress — Validity of notice (letter dated 19/12/1994) — Rent arrears — Burden of proof and adverse effect of failing to call key witnesses — Act No.12 of 1994 empowering levy of distress.
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28 December 2001 |
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Acceptance of a council’s offer to sell (deposit paid) converts landlord–tenant into vendor–purchaser; sale governed by the offer’s terms.
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Property law — Offer to purchase municipal house — Effect of payment of deposit — Whether tenancy conditions and Rent Act continue to apply after acceptance of offer — Vendor–purchaser relationship superseding landlord–tenant relationship — Rescission and specific performance
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27 December 2001 |
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An accepted offer to purchase supersedes tenancy; sale creates vendor‑purchaser relationship and can only be rescinded for breach.
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Land law — Offer to purchase superseding tenancy — Effect of payment of deposit — Vendor–purchaser relationship arising on acceptance — Subletting and applicability of tenancy conditions — Rescission only for breach of sale terms — Specific performance
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27 December 2001 |
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Whether a Lands Tribunal could order specific performance and allow a non‑Zambian civil servant to buy a government pool house under a policy empowering Zambians.
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Land law — Sale of government pool houses — Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme — Eligibility restricted to Zambian nationals by Cabinet circulars — Lands Tribunal jurisdiction limited to land disputes under the Lands Act — Specific performance against the State prohibited by State Proceedings Act s.16(1)
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17 December 2001 |
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Well-lit eyewitness identification and medical evidence upheld convictions for aggravated robbery and attempted murder; appeals dismissed.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery and attempted murder — eyewitness identification — adequacy of opportunity to observe in well-lit conditions — fairness of identification parade — sufficiency of evidence despite absence of recovered stolen money or cartridge.
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16 December 2001 |
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A bank circular limiting bureau transactions did not bar the applicant’s claim for repayment; ex turpi causa was inapplicable.
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Bank regulation — Bureau de change transaction limits — Illegality and ex turpi causa — Restitution of payments — Agency/vicarious liability — Regulatory circular addressed to institutions not the public — Fraud: insufficiency of evidence.
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13 December 2001 |
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Bank may recover fraudulently credited interest where evidence shows customers did not innocently rely on mistaken credits.
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Banking law — fraudulent crediting of interest by bank employees — recovery of overpayments — distinction between mistake and fraud; change-of-position/estoppel defence; necessity of evidence to support factual findings
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12 December 2001 |
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A purchaser may recover funds paid despite a regulatory breach unless both parties shared knowledge or intent of illegality.
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Contract — Illegality — Application of ex turpi causa where both parties aware of illegality — Regulatory circular limiting bureau de change transactions — Recovery of money paid where purchaser unaware of directive — Employee acting in course of employment binds employer
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12 December 2001 |
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Remaining judges may deliver a majority judgment after a colleague’s death unless the surviving judges are evenly divided.
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Civil procedure — Effect of a judge’s death before judgment — Majority rulings by remaining judges — Rehearing required only if remaining judges are evenly divided — Supreme Court Act s.3(2)
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12 December 2001 |
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An existing hotel must obtain a separate licence to operate a discotheque under the Tourism Act.
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Administrative law — Licensing — Tourism Act (ss.2, 13, 22) — Definition of tourist enterprises includes discotheques — Whether existing hotels exempt from separate disco licences — Discotheque not integral to hotel management — Grace period for existing tourist enterprises
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12 December 2001 |
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A central bank directive limiting exchange transactions did not make the whole sale illegal; purchaser could recover his money.
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Contract/Restitution — Illegality — Bank of Zambia circular limiting bureau de change transactions to US$5,000 — whether circular renders whole transaction illegal — ex turpi causa non oritur actio inapplicable where parties not both aware or intending illegality — unjust enrichment prevented
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12 December 2001 |
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An electricity supplier is not strictly liable for equipment damage from power fluctuations; consumers must take protective precautions.
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Tort — negligence — electricity supplier’s duty — supplier not an insurer; duty co‑extensive with consumer’s duty to protect equipment; strict liability (Rylands) inapplicable; appellate restraint on findings of fact
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12 December 2001 |
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Counter-offer rejected original offer so no binding sale; redundancy amendment not retrospective; hearing in defendant's absence permissible.
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Contract law — offer and acceptance; counter-offer rejects original offer; court cannot impose new contractual terms. Employment law — amendment not retrospective; s.26B(3) of Employment (Amendment) Act 1997 inapplicable to pre-enactment redundancies. Civil procedure — absence of defendant; Order 35 Rule 3 permits hearing in defendant's absence; failure to attend does not automatically invalidate judgment
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6 December 2001 |