Results.
166 judgments found.
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| December 2003 |
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Mere knowledge of a distribution of election goods without proof of candidate consent and constituency‑wide effect does not void the election.
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Electoral Act s.18(2)(c) — corrupt and illegal practices — knowledge versus consent/approval of candidate — government distribution of goods — requirement that misconduct affect result (s.18(4)) before nullification.
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23 December 2003 |
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Appellant paid purchase price; court held a valid sale (not lease), ordered specific performance and title transfer.
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Property law — Sale versus lease — evidentiary weight of agent documents and purchaser’s witness; Specific performance — purchaser who paid through agent; Fraud allegations and effect on title transfer; Registrar empowered to cancel and reissue certificate of title.
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23 December 2003 |
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Higher civil standard required; court found ECZ actions lawful and affirmed the appellant's election.
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Electoral law — standard of proof in election petitions higher than balance of probabilities; Election irregularities — polling-hour extensions and relocation of polling stations; Regulation 21(1) — electoral officer powers; Section 18(2)(a) and (b) and Section 18(4) — corrupt/illegal practices and substantial compliance; Bribery and treating — proof to a high civil standard.
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23 December 2003 |
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Appellate court substituted a global, unrealistic damages award with an itemised valuation totalling £4,225 due to inadequate proof.
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Assessment of damages — Loss of goods in custody — Measure of damages is value at time of loss — Burden on claimant to prove special loss — Where proof incomplete court may make an intelligent estimate — Absence of purchase date affects precision — Appellate substitution of itemised valuation.
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17 December 2003 |
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An employer may validly rely on a contractual notice clause; statute only requires an opportunity to be heard, not reasons for termination.
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Employment law — Termination — Statutory right to be heard does not equate to a requirement to give reasons — Valid exercise of contractual notice clause — Suspension on suspicion of fraud — Remedies for wrongful dismissal
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16 December 2003 |
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Appeal dismissed: reliable identification and recent possession supported aggravated robbery convictions.
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Criminal law — Identification evidence — reliability of identification parade; Criminal law — Recent possession of stolen property — inference of guilt under Penal Code s.4; Distinction between thief and receiver — requirement for definitive findings; Appellate intervention — application of proviso to s.15(1) Supreme Court Act.
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4 December 2003 |
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Sitting tenancy alone does not create a legal right to purchase absent an express offer or contractual first refusal.
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Property law — sitting tenants and right to purchase under government/parastatal empowerment policy — entitlement requires more than mere tenure; evidence of offer or contractual right of first refusal required; sale to employee who pays price upheld; no conflict between Muimui v Chunda and Kangwa v ZCCM.
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4 December 2003 |
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4 December 2003 |
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Appellate court allowed appeal after finding trial court misapprehended evidence and improperly rejected defendant eyewitnesses.
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Road traffic accident — appellate review of trial court findings — misapprehension and unbalanced evaluation of evidence — credibility of eyewitnesses — assessment of skid marks, vehicle positions and damage — determination of negligent driving.
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3 December 2003 |
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2 December 2003 |
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A union leader’s protected union activity did not justify reinstatement after failure to engage disciplinary procedures; compensation awarded instead.
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Industrial relations — section 85(3) time limit procedural; protection of union officials for legitimate union functions under collective agreement; disciplinary liability of union leaders; reinstatement versus compensation.
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2 December 2003 |
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Bill of lading and red book evidenced company ownership; appellant failed to prove private ownership.
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Motor vehicle ownership — importation and consignee — bill of lading as proof under Customs and Excise Act s.30 — red book/registration issued on rebate as evidence of ownership — Kearney principle (registration book not conclusive) — police seizure lawful following theft report.
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2 December 2003 |
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2 December 2003 |
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An appeal was dismissed for non-compliance with procedural rules, ineffective extension of time, and an improper attempt to reopen a finalized judgment.
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Civil procedure — Appeal — Extension of time to appeal — Where appeal period has lapsed there is nothing to extend; procedural non-compliance with Rules — dismissal under Rule 68(2) — Finality of judgments — stay of execution cannot reopen finalized matters.
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2 December 2003 |
| November 2003 |
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Appeal dismissed: first lease allowed compound interest, second did not; no penal interest, recomputation ordered, costs to respondent.
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Contract law — finance leases — interpretation of lease terms — compound interest versus contractual interest on arrears; penal interest — identification and permissibility under Banking and Financial Services Regulations; appellate review of factual findings and costs discretion.
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26 November 2003 |
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Court affirmed mother's custody, prioritizing the child's welfare and continuity over applicant's request to relocate the child abroad.
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Child custody — welfare principle paramount; Social Welfare reports and guardian ad litem evidence; continuity of care; jurisdictional limits on supervision; discretion to review custody and effect of non-attendance.
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24 November 2003 |
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Respondent's summary dismissal for passing unendorsed cheques was negligent not grossly negligent; accrued benefits awarded as damages.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal — negligence versus gross negligence — interpretation of disciplinary code requiring loss for gross negligence — entitlement to accrued long-service benefits and pension as damages.
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15 November 2003 |
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Documentary title evidence established sole ownership; lower courts erred in finding equal contributions and sharing the property.
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Property law — ownership evidence — weight of documentary evidence proving purchase and change of ownership; contributions to construction — when oral assertions and plans do not rebut documentary proof; appellate interference where trial court ignores material documents (Nkhata principle); intestate succession implications.
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11 November 2003 |
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The appellant's council title documents established sole ownership; lower courts wrongly found equal spousal contribution.
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Family law — Property ownership — proof of title; municipal registry documents as prima facie evidence
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10 November 2003 |
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A 20-year sentence for violent aggravated robbery with an imitation firearm was upheld on appeal.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Use of imitation firearm and violence — Severity of sentence — Appellate interference only if sentence wrong in principle or shocking.
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4 November 2003 |
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Failed defences of provocation and intoxication pleaded at trial can amount to extenuating circumstances reducing a death sentence.
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Criminal law — sentencing — death penalty — extenuating circumstances — failed defences of provocation and intoxication — appellate consideration of points not raised below — Jack Chanda precedent.
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4 November 2003 |
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4 November 2003 |
| October 2003 |
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Appellate court upheld conversion finding; ordered refund, interest from writ, and remitted business-damage assessment.
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Conversion of goods; agency and shipment; appellate review of findings of fact (perversity/absence of evidence); interest from date of writ; remittal for assessment of damages.
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31 October 2003 |
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Advance rent formed valid consideration; sale contract enforceable but specific performance denied on equitable grounds; damages awarded.
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Contract law — sale of land — advance rent and payments held as part of same transaction and valid consideration; Statute of Frauds compliance; equitable relief — specific performance refused on grounds of justice and conduct; purchaser's title subject to prior equitable interest; mesne profits reversed.
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31 October 2003 |
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Court granted interlocutory injunction where triable issues (lease v licence) and irreparable business loss made damages inadequate.
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Interlocutory injunctions — discretion and principles — irreparable injury and difficulty of assessing damages — balance of convenience — lease versus licence — application of Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act — status quo pending trial.
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29 October 2003 |
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The Court held "no order on costs" referred only to appellate costs and affirmed the respondent must pay the lower-court costs, plus motion costs.
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Costs — Interpretation of appellate judgment language — Whether "no order as to costs" on appeal affects costs awarded by the lower court — Appellate jurisdiction to make orders as to costs in lower courts — Rule 48(5) application for interpretation.
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28 October 2003 |
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Appellant’s post-judgment Presidential consent could not revive purchase rights because the property had already been sold.
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Property law — Purchase of government pool house — Established resident and civil servant’s entitlement subject to Presidential consent — Effect of caveat on sale and registration — Interpretation and enforcement of prior appellate judgment — Possession orders.
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28 October 2003 |
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Appellant's purchase right contingent on Presidential consent could not override a prior completed sale to an innocent third party.
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Land law — Sale of Government pool houses — Established resident and confirmed civil servant — Purchases subject to Presidential consent — Prior sale to innocent third party — Effect of caveat (prevents registration but not conclusion of sale) — Interpretation and application of appellate judgment.
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28 October 2003 |
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Rule 78 permits only correction of clerical slips; it cannot be used to reopen or rehear a concluded appeal.
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Civil procedure — Supreme Court Rules, Rule 78 — Scope limited to correction of clerical errors and accidental slips — Not available to reopen, rehear or review final judgments — Finality of litigation.
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28 October 2003 |
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The court held that "no order on costs" applied only to the appeal, leaving the High Court's costs award intact; respondent condemned in costs.
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Civil procedure — Interpretation of appellate judgments — Rule 48(5) Supreme Court Rules — "No order as to costs" construed as applying to costs of appeal only, not to costs awarded by the court below — Court’s power to interpret and order costs under Rule 77
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27 October 2003 |
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Police unlawfully rejected a procession notification, infringing assembly and expression rights; petitioners awarded damages.
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Constitutional law — Freedom of expression and assembly — Generous, purposive interpretation — Public Order Act: invalid police rejection of notification — Unlawful criminalisation of peaceful assembly — Damages for false imprisonment and humiliation
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27 October 2003 |
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Whether an interlocutory injunction should preserve the applicant's occupation pending trial after employer's tenancy expired.
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Interlocutory injunctions — preservation of status quo pending trial — occupation by virtue of employment after employer's tenancy expiry — irreparable harm test.
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27 October 2003 |
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Whether identification evidence at a prolonged, well-lit home invasion eliminated the possibility of mistaken identity.
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Criminal law — Visual identification — Reliability of identification in prolonged, well-lit home invasion; effect of pre-parade photographs; contradictions in witness accounts; alibi rejected; convictions for murder and aggravated robbery upheld; mandatory death sentence confirmed.
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21 October 2003 |
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Zambia may try Pedicle offences; convictions can stand on a reliable single identifying witness with corroboration.
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Jurisdiction — Extraterritorial application of Penal Code s.6(1) — Pedicle offences — Single identifying witness — Corroboration and safety of conviction — Police investigation objections
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20 October 2003 |
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Management-implemented conditions of service applied; post-retirement board nullification was not retrospective and respondent entitled to purchase vehicle.
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Employment law — conditions of service — management implementation of conditions — effect of subsequent board nullification — retrospective effect — entitlement to purchase personal-to-holder vehicle.
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17 October 2003 |
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The respondent was entitled to buy his employer‑allocated vehicle under implemented 1999 conditions despite later nullification.
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Employment law — conditions of service — implementation by management vs Board approval — estoppel and bad faith nullification — retroactivity — entitlement to purchase employer‑allocated vehicle on retirement.
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17 October 2003 |
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Entry and seizure by tax officers without a s.38(2) warrant constituted illegal search and trespass, entitling respondents to damages.
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Tax law — Value Added Tax Act s.38(1) v s.38(2) — requirement of magistrate-issued warrant for searches — seizure of documents — trespass and damages; statutory interpretation — singular includes plural (Interpretation and General Provisions Act s.4(3)); assessment of quantum before Deputy Registrar.
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17 October 2003 |
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15 October 2003 |
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Multiple consistent eyewitness identifications and corroborating recoveries sustained the robbery conviction; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — eyewitness identification — identification parade — reliability and opportunity to observe — evaluation of totality of evidence — effect of flawed witness evidence on conviction.
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7 October 2003 |
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Applicant’s challenge to interlocutory orders dismissed for insufficient material; executed judgment stands until varied on review or appeal.
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Civil procedure — stay of execution — execution already carried out; nothing to stay — Order 39 review powers — re-opening and receiving fresh evidence — defective affidavits by counsel and insufficiency of notice for preliminary objection.
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1 October 2003 |
| September 2003 |
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Consent order limited to that cause does not bar fresh claims for mesne profits or rent where defendant remained in occupation until court order.
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Procedure — Consent order — Effect of consent order limited to the cause in which made; does not bar fresh action on matters not consented to. Landlord & tenant/Property — Mesne profits/occupation charges — entitlement where defendant remains in possession until court-ordered vacation despite lack of new lease. Civil procedure — Order 113 not a bar to subsequent remedies not agreed in consent order
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26 September 2003 |
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Consent order for possession did not bar subsequent claim for mesne profits; plaintiffs entitled to occupation charges for period of continued occupation.
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Civil procedure — consent order — scope and effect of consent orders; property law — mesne profits/occupation charges — recoverability where occupant remains after change of ownership; tenancy — absence of fresh lease does not bar claim for occupation charges where possession retained without payment to new owner.
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26 September 2003 |
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Appellant’s election annulled for committing an illegal practice by publishing false statements that the rival party had dissolved.
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Election law — illegal practice — Regulation 56(1) (publication of false statement of withdrawal/party dissolution) — attribution to candidate/agents — procedural fairness in election petitions — Article 72(2) limit to appeals (questions of law only).
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24 September 2003 |
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Proof of a single corrupt or illegal practice, shown above balance of probabilities, can void the applicant's election.
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Election law — Election petitions — Standard of proof higher than balance of probabilities but less than beyond reasonable doubt; proof of any one corrupt or illegal practice sufficient to void an election — Misuse of public resources (medical drugs, Constituency Development Fund) — Use of government transport and facilities for campaign — Electoral (Conduct) Regulations contraventions
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23 September 2003 |
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Whether breaches of electoral law and an agent’s alleged intimidation nullified the respondent’s election under section 18.
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Electoral law — section 18(2)(b) & (4) — non‑compliance and ‘substantial conformity’ doctrine — effect on election result; Electoral law — section 18(2)(c) — corrupt/illegal practices and agent intimidation; Standard of proof in election petitions — higher standard; Appellate jurisdiction — Article 72 limits review of factual findings.
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23 September 2003 |
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The appellant's use of government drugs, transport, facilities and CDF to influence voters voided the election.
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Electoral law — Election petition — Standard of proof higher than balance of probabilities but less than beyond reasonable doubt — Misuse of public resources (drug kits, Constituency Development Fund, government transport and facilities) — Misconduct under s.18(2)(a) Electoral Act — Admissibility of public circulars — School authorities cannot authorize prohibited political use of government property
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23 September 2003 |
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A company in liquidation cannot be subjected to execution before liquidation concludes; writs against the liquidator are improper.
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Liquidation — Execution stayed until completion of liquidation; writs of fifa against a liquidator improper; creditor ranking and priority; unlawful seizure of non-company property.
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23 September 2003 |
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Compound interest requires express agreement or acquiescence; regulations bar penal charges on borrowers.
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Banker and customer law — Compound interest requires express agreement, consent/acquiescence, or proven custom; vague "bank practice" clauses insufficient — Banking regulations prohibit penal charges on late repayments — Court-guided interest to reflect prevailing commercial practice
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18 September 2003 |
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17 September 2003 |
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17 September 2003 |