Supreme Court of Zambia - 2001 May

10 judgments
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Results. 10 judgments found.

10 judgments
May 2001
Dismissal for proven gross misconduct not rendered unfair by a technical lacuna in the disciplinary code.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — disciplinary code lacuna — common law right to dismiss for gross misconduct — procedural protections under Employment Act (right to be heard) — standard of review of penalty.
23 May 2001
Vendor's voluntary sale of same property to different buyers entitles purchaser to loss-of-bargain damages despite third-party bona fide purchaser's title.
  • Contract law — vendor unable to pass title — vendor voluntarily causing inability — bona fide purchaser for value without notice — damages for loss of the bargain (Bain v Fothergill inapplicable where vendor at fault)
22 May 2001
Month-to-month tenants are protected by Rent Act s13(1)(e); insufficient notice entitles them to injunctive relief.
  • Rent Act s.13(1)(e) — protection of sitting/periodic tenants from eviction — requirement of 12 months' notice — adequacy of damages — quia timet injunction.
18 May 2001
An applicant’s early retirement in the public interest was lawful where disciplinary records justified it and procedural fairness was observed.
  • + Public service law — retirement in the public interest — Regulation 43(1) — procedural fairness and right to be heard
  • +
  • Industrial Relations Court — evidentiary rules — forum for substantial justice not strictly bound by High Court rules of evidence
  • + Admissibility — consideration of antecedent disciplinary records and surrounding circumstances
  • + Discrimination — burden to prove political, tribal or social bias in administrative decisions
  • + Particulars — sufficiency of disciplinary charge particulars via Permanent Secretary’s letter
18 May 2001
Claims of bad faith and adverse possession rejected; certificate of title stands absent proven fraud.
  • Land law — grazing lease and discretionary renewal; adverse possession precluded by tenancy and payment of rent; certificate of title impeachable only for fraud; administrative allocation — bad faith/ procedural fairness; appellate deference to factual findings.
18 May 2001
No contract existed due to lack of offer and acceptance, but court granted equitable declaration allowing purchase opportunity at K13.5m.
  • Contract law — offer and acceptance — absence of consideration — no concluded contract; Equity — Section 13 High Court Act — declaratory and equitable relief to regulate sale by liquidator and afford appellant opportunity to purchase at price offered to third party.
18 May 2001
Whether a termination letter delivered at gunpoint amounted to unlawful summary dismissal warranting aggravated damages to the respondent.
  • Employment law — summary dismissal — manner and circumstances of termination (forcible removal) — failure to follow disciplinary code — aggravated damages for mental distress — measure of damages where contract contains termination clause.
18 May 2001
Damages for wrongful termination are limited to the contractual notice period (three months) rather than the unexpired contract term.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — remedies — damages for wrongful termination of ordinary employment contract limited to contractual notice period; reinstatement versus notice-period compensation.
10 May 2001
Statutory appeal procedure under Lands and Deeds Registry Act overrides judicial review; affidavits can constitute a hearing.
  • Practice and procedure — Mode of commencing proceedings determined by statute — Lands and Deeds Registry Act ss.87, 89 prescribe appeal procedure — Judicial review improper where statute provides appeal — English White Book secondary — Affidavit evidence can satisfy hearing requirement
9 May 2001
Appeal against life sentences allowed; life replaced with 25 years for a brutal, paid domestic murder despite alleged extenuating circumstances.
  • Criminal law — Murder — Sentence — Extenuating circumstances in domestic homicides — Whether petty family thefts mitigate moral gravity — Paid murder and brutality as aggravating factors — Substitution of life imprisonment with determinate term.
8 May 2001