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Citation
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Judgment date
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| June 2002 |
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Suo motu review without hearing and after 62 days was irregular; the transaction involved partial, not total, failure of consideration.
Sale of Goods – implied condition as to seller’s right to sell – partial versus total failure of consideration; judicial review of own judgment – suo motu review, procedural fairness and timing; Order 39 High Court Rules.
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27 June 2002 |
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Impoundment of an exchanged vehicle was a partial, not total, failure of consideration; unnotified judicial review was irregular.
Sale of Goods – implied right to sell – failure of consideration – distinction between total and partial failure – Rowland v Divall considered; Civil procedure – review of judgment by judge sua sponte – requirement to hear parties – procedural irregularity (Order 39).
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27 June 2002 |
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Challenges to single Judges are by renewal, not appeal; courts may exclude weekends/public holidays and enlarge time.
Civil procedure – Single Judge decisions – renewal/application to full court (not appeal); computation of time – exclusion of weekends and public holidays in specified cases; court’s discretion to enlarge time; dismissal for want of prosecution.
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20 June 2002 |
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Court upheld award for unserved service, quashed unexplained 10% interest, ordered short-term interest, costs, and salary-scale differential payment.
Assessment of damages – wrongful termination – compensation for unserved period of service – parties' negotiated quantum; Interest on assessed sums – need for reasons; substitution with short-term deposit rate; Costs on assessment where liability admitted; Salary scale differential (S8 v PF5) payable as part of terminal benefits.
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13 June 2002 |
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Appellants’ forgery and no-consent allegations were inadequately proved; appellee’s interest claims upheld due to defendants’ acquiescence.
Civil procedure – appeal against findings of fact – appellate restraint unless findings are perverse or unsupported by evidence; Evidence – allegations of forgery and improper acquisition of title require clear proof; Banking law – acquiescence to interest charges may be inferred from account statements and lack of timely protest; Contract – cancellation of facility for non-payment does not amount to frustration of mortgage obligation.
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11 June 2002 |
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Appeal allowed with costs because the case was identical to a recent precedent; respondent absent.
Civil appeal – reliance on recent precedent – case on all fours with earlier decision – adoption of reasoning in Choka v Chilufya – appeal allowed with costs.
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5 June 2002 |
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Appeal dismissed for lack of leave; storing Kwacha judgments in foreign currency impermissible; 100% interest awarded.
Civil procedure – appeals from interlocutory/Chambers orders – leave required under s.24(1)(e); Currency law – judgments in domestic currency – impermissibility of notionally storing Kwacha in foreign currency and reconverting; Damages/enforcement – accounting for internal devaluation and delay; interest – 100% p.a. simple interest awarded in prolonged-delay context.
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5 June 2002 |
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Whether a contractual forfeiture and repossession clause is enforceable or contrary to public policy and unjust enrichment.
Contract law – forfeiture clause in land sale – enforceability vs public policy – unjust enrichment – remedies for purchaser’s breach.
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5 June 2002 |
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An innocent purchaser cannot acquire title to a stolen vehicle; the remedy is against the seller, not retention of the vehicle.
Sale of Goods Act s.22 (market overt) — stolen goods — bona fide purchaser — nemo dat quod non habet — Rowland v Divall — remedy against seller for purchase price.
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5 June 2002 |
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Appeal allowed by application of the prior identical decision; appellants awarded costs.
Precedent – Application of a recently decided identical case (Choka v Chilufya) – Appeal allowed on same grounds – Award of costs to appellants.
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5 June 2002 |
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Order 113 summary eviction cannot be used against lawful employee-occupiers where genuine disputes with employers exist.
Civil procedure – Summary possession – Order 113 (White Book) – Whether applicable to lawful occupiers/employee-tenants – Order limited to squatters and those without genuine claim; summary procedure inappropriate where real dispute exists.
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4 June 2002 |
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Deputy Registrar lacked jurisdiction to assess pension benefits payable under the 1993 staff pension scheme; post-termination schemes do not apply.
Employment law – wrongful dismissal – pension benefits payable under employer's staff pension scheme – assessment jurisdiction; Post-termination benefits – entitlement to schemes introduced after dismissal; Interest on judgments – requirement that party was wrongfully kept out of money; Mitigation – subsequent earnings do not reduce pension benefits under the scheme.
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4 June 2002 |
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Non-production of firearm not fatal where shot fired and spent cartridge accounted for; daylight single-witness ID upheld; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Proof of firearm: hearing a shot and the presence of a spent cartridge can suffice; Identification – single-witness daylight identification and reliability; Corroboration – not required where possibility of honest mistake is excluded; Mandatory sentence – appeal against prescribed death sentence.
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4 June 2002 |
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4 June 2002 |
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Doctrine of recent possession properly applied to convict appellant for aggravated robbery based on conduct and possession evidence.
Criminal law – Aggravated robbery – Doctrine of recent possession – Circumstantial evidence and credibility findings – Whether possession weeks after theft can support inference of guilt.
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4 June 2002 |
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4 June 2002 |
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An innocent purchaser of stolen goods does not acquire title; market overt exception did not apply to a private shop sale.
Sale of Goods Act — market overt exception — acquisition of title by innocent purchaser — thief cannot pass title — remedy of action against seller for price (Rowland v Divall).
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4 June 2002 |
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Contractual conditions governed repatriation, housing and uniform entitlements; no entitlement to cash repatriation, housing or uniform refund.
Employment law — Conditions of service — Interpretation of contractual clause requiring employer to ‘bear the cost of repatriation by road or rail’ — Does not imply separate cash repatriation allowance; housing entitlement claims depend on retirement-date documentation and conduct; uniform deductions enforceable where conditions limit supplied items.
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4 June 2002 |
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Excessive force defeats provocation defence, but failed provocation can mitigate a mandatory death sentence to a fixed term.
Criminal law – Murder – Provocation – Intimate relationships outside marriage treated as equivalent to marriage for provocation – Reaction must be proportionate; excessive force defeats provocation – Failed provocation may mitigate mandatory death sentence.
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3 June 2002 |