Results.
14 judgments found.
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| June 2004 |
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Respondent found a dependant entitled to intestate share; Local Court administration void for lack of jurisdiction; appeal dismissed.
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Intestate succession — definition of 'dependant' (s.3) — maintenance and cohabitation as criteria; Local Court jurisdictional limit and validity of letters of administration; revocation/removal of administrator (s.29(2)); proof of paternity — passport applications and official consular letter; reassembly and redistribution of estate.
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11 June 2004 |
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In civil wrongful dismissal claims, confessions and video evidence are admissible and employer may dismiss successors for predecessor's employee theft.
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Employment law — successor employer's power to investigate and dismiss for predecessor-era theft; Evidence — civil admissibility of confessions and video recordings; Standard of proof — balance of probabilities in civil claims involving alleged criminality; Voluntariness/trial within a trial not required in civil proceedings.
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3 June 2004 |
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Civil courts admit relevant statements and videotapes regardless of how obtained; standard is balance of probabilities.
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Evidence admissibility in civil cases — illegally or unfairly obtained evidence — standard of proof in civil actions — voluntariness and trial-within-a-trial limited to criminal procedure — admissibility of videotape recordings — employer succession and disciplinary jurisdiction.
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3 June 2004 |
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First appellant acquitted because a reasonable innocent explanation for recent possession existed; second appellant's daylight identification affirmed.
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Criminal law — recent possession of stolen property — inference of guilt not mandatory; accused's reasonably possible explanation entitles to acquittal; single-witness identification — reliability over honesty; daylight and prolonged observation plus fair identification parade can exclude honest mistake.
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1 June 2004 |
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Applicants’ dismissals were wrongful; court reversed factual findings and awarded six months’ salary each.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal — appellate interference with trial findings of fact — identification and credibility — use of extrajudicial statements of uncalled witnesses — damages for loss of employment; future earnings not recoverable.
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1 June 2004 |
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Failure to explain the statutory defence and to establish the victim’s age invalidated the defilement conviction.
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Criminal law — Defilement (s138 Penal Code) — Proviso (honest belief age 16+) must be explained to unrepresented accused — Victim’s age is essential ingredient — Failure to explain or establish age fatal to conviction — Sentencing: appellate/review court should not impose sentence beyond trial magistrate’s jurisdiction.
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1 June 2004 |
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The appellant's intoxication did not amount to extenuating circumstances; conviction and death sentence were upheld.
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Criminal law — Murder — Eyewitness evidence — Sufficiency of evidence to support conviction; Sentencing — Drunkenness as extenuating circumstance — Whether intoxication reduces moral culpability — Mandatory death sentence — Distinction from Bwalya v. The People
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1 June 2004 |
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Drunkenness may mitigate murder liability in some cases, but factual circumstances can negate extenuation, upholding the death sentence.
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Criminal law — Murder — Sentencing — Mandatory death penalty — Whether intoxication/drunkenness constitutes extenuating circumstances — Distinction from cases of general drunkenness where moral culpability is reduced
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1 June 2004 |
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Production of a Speaker’s certificate and affidavit requires courts to stay libel proceedings for publications under parliamentary authority.
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Defamation Act ss.16–17; National Assembly (Powers & Privileges) Act ss.31–32 — Speaker's certificate and verifying affidavit — statutory stay of libel proceedings for publications made by order or under authority of Parliament — court may not look behind certificate.
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1 June 2004 |
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Applicant's claims for housing allowance and pro rata gratuity dismissed under written voluntary retirement terms.
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Employment law — voluntary early retirement — written retirement terms — sale of employer housing — rent-free occupation and purchase by deduction from terminal benefits — housing allowance entitlement; Evidence — parol evidence rule — inadmissibility to vary written agreements; Employment benefits — long service gratuity — clause 29.4 — partial years excluded (no pro rata payment).
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1 June 2004 |
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Written retirement terms and Clause 29.4 precluded housing allowance and pro rata gratuity; parol evidence inadmissible.
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Voluntary early retirement — written retirement terms and acceptance letters — parol evidence rule — housing allowance and rent‑free occupancy — sale of corporation houses with purchase price deducted from gratuity — Clause 29.4 restricting long service gratuity to whole years (no pro rata).
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1 June 2004 |
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A statutory research institute providing ancillary medical services is not automatically an essential service; no unsigned collective agreement can be enforced.
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Industrial and labour law — Essential services — meaning of "hospital or medical service" — statutory research institution providing ancillary medical services not necessarily an essential service; Collective bargaining — requirement of a concluded, signed agreement before enforcement; Judicial review of Industrial Relations Court — findings must be supported by evidence; Funding constraints — relevance to bargaining but not a substitute for a signed agreement.
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1 June 2004 |
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Whether the applicant is an essential-service provider and whether an unsigned collective agreement could be enforced; award set aside.
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Industrial relations law — Essential service definition — Whether a research institution providing ancillary medical services qualifies as a hospital or medical service — Collective bargaining — Effect of unsigned/unsanctioned collective agreement — Enforcement of negotiated but unsigned salary increases — Award set aside where no binding agreement exists.
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1 June 2004 |
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A unionized permanent employee who satisfies the Collective Agreement's eligibility is entitled to long service bonus under Circular B2 of 1997.
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Labour law — Collective Agreement interpretation — "Eligible employee" under ILR Act — Long service bonus entitlement — application of Government Circular B2 of 1997 — repatriation allowance not payable to a resignee.
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1 June 2004 |