Results.
89 judgments found.
|
|
|
| June 2004 |
|
|
The appellant's intoxication did not amount to extenuating circumstances; conviction and death sentence were upheld.
-
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
|
1 June 2004 |
|
Drunkenness may mitigate murder liability in some cases, but factual circumstances can negate extenuation, upholding the death sentence.
-
Criminal law — Murder — Sentencing — Mandatory death penalty — Whether intoxication/drunkenness constitutes extenuating circumstances — Distinction from cases of general drunkenness where moral culpability is reduced
|
1 June 2004 |
|
Production of a Speaker’s certificate and affidavit requires courts to stay libel proceedings for publications under parliamentary authority.
-
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.
|
1 June 2004 |
|
Applicant's claims for housing allowance and pro rata gratuity dismissed under written voluntary retirement terms.
-
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).
|
1 June 2004 |
|
Written retirement terms and Clause 29.4 precluded housing allowance and pro rata gratuity; parol evidence inadmissible.
-
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).
|
1 June 2004 |
|
A statutory research institute providing ancillary medical services is not automatically an essential service; no unsigned collective agreement can be enforced.
-
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.
|
1 June 2004 |
|
Whether the applicant is an essential-service provider and whether an unsigned collective agreement could be enforced; award set aside.
-
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.
|
1 June 2004 |
|
A unionized permanent employee who satisfies the Collective Agreement's eligibility is entitled to long service bonus under Circular B2 of 1997.
-
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.
|
1 June 2004 |
| May 2004 |
|
|
Interim injunction refused where a provisional housing offer was revoked and damages were an adequate remedy.
-
Interlocutory injunction — provisional offer and its revocation — sitting-tenant purchase rights — adequacy of damages — balance of convenience — assessment of affidavit evidence and distinguishing authorities.
|
27 May 2004 |
|
Circumstantial evidence with unresolved discrepancies about recovered remains rendered the murder conviction unsafe; appeal allowed.
-
Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — sufficiency; forensic discrepancies regarding recovered remains; failure to call initial finders — conviction unsafe.
|
18 May 2004 |
|
No binding contract existed because acceptance predated incorporation, but appellants recover on quantum meruit for services the respondent accepted.
-
Contract formation — offer and acceptance; incorporation and capacity to accept; statutory conditions precedent (ministerial approval; tender procedures) — illegality of appointment; quantum meruit recovery where services accepted and respondent acquiesced; estoppel against reliance on illegality.
|
6 May 2004 |
|
No binding contract existed because acceptance preceded incorporation and statutory approvals, but appellants recover on quantum meruit for work performed.
-
Contract formation — offer and acceptance — acceptance by non-existent company — statutory preconditions (ministerial approval and tender regulations) — illegality — quantum meruit and restitution where party has performed and recipient accepted benefits — estoppel against reliance on illegality.
|
6 May 2004 |
| April 2004 |
|
|
Letter of offer plus acknowledged part payment can satisfy Statute of Frauds; specific performance appropriate despite lack of immediate title.
-
Contract for sale of land — letter of offer and part payment as memorandum under Statute of Frauds — part performance — lack of title or State consent not pleaded or proved — specific performance preferred to damages.
|
30 April 2004 |
|
Part payment and a written offer constituted a binding sale of land; specific performance granted despite lack of signed contract or registered title.
-
Contract for sale of land — Statute of Frauds (s.4) — letter as sufficient memorandum — part performance — specific performance vs damages — nemo dat quod non habet — State consent to assign not established.
|
30 April 2004 |
|
Whether the wildlife authority, not the tender board, had power to award hunting concessions; lease options frustrated.
-
Administrative law — Judicial review — Procurement and delegation — Statutory authority to grant concessions vested in wildlife authority — Tender board’s role to process/approve and grant authority — Lease frustration by executive ban — Evaluation and natural justice in tendering.
|
26 April 2004 |
|
Slip-rule correction granted to add pleaded interest; Kwacha and dollar interest rates and commencement dates specified.
-
Civil procedure — Slip Rule (Rule 78/Order 20 Rule 11) — correction of judgment to include pleaded interest; interest on damages — commencement date and applicable rates for Kwacha and foreign currency.
|
19 April 2004 |
|
Demotion lacking rational grounds or fair hearing is wrongful; reinstatement may be ordered in public-company employment disputes.
-
Employment law — wrongful demotion — rational basis for adverse action — natural justice/hearing before demotion — remedies: reinstatement versus damages — applicability in public companies/conglomerates.
|
7 April 2004 |
|
Complainant's visual identification upheld; appeal against aggravated robbery conviction dismissed.
-
Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Visual identification — Identification parade — Weight and reliability of identification evidence — Appellate review — Acquittal of co‑accused not determinative for other accused.
|
6 April 2004 |
|
|
6 April 2004 |
|
|
6 April 2004 |
|
A review court may not increase sentences beyond a trial court's jurisdiction; concurrent sentences apply for a single course of conduct.
-
Criminal law — Sentencing on review — Improper to enhance a sentence merely because the reviewing court would have imposed a greater sentence — Review court cannot exceed trial court's sentencing jurisdiction; Criminal law — Multiple offences constituting a single course of conduct — Sentences should normally run concurrently; appellate intervention where sentence shocks the conscience.
|
6 April 2004 |
|
Whether purported renewals were genuine employment contracts or sham documents to procure immigration permits.
-
Employment law — validity of contract renewals — alleged sham contracts to procure immigration permits — credibility of witnesses and payroll records — appellate restraint on factual findings; Employment Act s.48 (wages).
|
2 April 2004 |
|
The appellant’s alleged contract extensions were invalid, intended to secure an immigration permit, leaving only the first contract entitlements enforceable.
-
Employment law — validity of purported contract extensions; credibility of payroll and corporate records; contracts used to obtain immigration permits; Employment Act s.48 and requirement for wage payment.
|
2 April 2004 |
|
Court dismissed appeal, restored Deputy Registrar's property awards and set aside vague equal-sharing and building orders.
-
Family law — Matrimonial property settlement; characterization of matrimonial home; division of sold/consumed assets; restoration of Deputy Registrar's awards; vagueness of building order; credibility findings on alleged substance abuse.
|
2 April 2004 |
| March 2004 |
|
|
Whether one‑off fringe payments form part of salary for terminal benefit calculations and whether interest accrues despite consent orders.
-
Industrial relations — assessment of terminal benefits — inclusion of fringe benefits (club membership, social tour) in salary calculations — effect of one‑off payments — interest on late payments despite multiple consent orders — appellate review of Registrar's assessment.
|
9 March 2004 |
|
Whether a regulation protecting fringe benefits during appeal conflicts with statutory rules on wages on summary dismissal.
|
4 March 2004 |
|
Regulation protects non‑wage fringe benefits during appeal but does not require payment of salary pending appeal.
-
Employment law — Statutory instrument interpretation — Inconsistency with Act — Fringe benefits (perquisites) distinguished from wages — Entitlement to salary pending appeal not created by Regulation 35(4)
|
3 March 2004 |
|
|
2 March 2004 |
|
Rule 78 cannot be used to reopen an appeal or introduce unrelated fresh evidence to reverse a final judgment.
-
Civil procedure — Rule 78 — fresh evidence — slip or clerical error — reopening appeal — review of judgment — parastatal housing sale — procedural finality
|
2 March 2004 |
| February 2004 |
|
|
Court reversed last-opportunity apportionment, holding employer 75% liable and awarding adjusted damages to dependants and estate.
-
Employer liability — breach of statutory duty equates to negligence; apportionment of fault in workplace deaths; "last opportunity" rule not decisive; assessment of damages under Fatal Accidents Act and Law Reform Act; remittal for distribution to dependants.
|
9 February 2004 |
|
A contractual mortgagee’s power of sale (excluding Section 20) can be exercised without Order 30 Rule 14; bona fide purchaser protected.
-
Conveyancing — mortgagee’s contractual power of sale excluding Section 20 — Order 30 Rule 14 not mandatory; Bona fide purchaser — protection where purchaser not concerned to enquire into propriety of sale; Sale under mortgage — interference only where collusion, corruption or price so low as to evince fraud; Civil procedure — joinder of caveator under Order 15 of Supreme Court Rules.
|
9 February 2004 |
|
Appeal allowed and retrial ordered because purported agreed facts were not genuinely agreed, necessitating evidence on who employed the respondents.
-
Employment law — redundancy payments — validity of trial on agreed facts — when Amended Statement of Agreed Facts is not truly agreed — necessity for viva voce evidence on identity of employer(s) — retrial ordered.
|
4 February 2004 |
|
Appellants liable for negligent overtaking; a release without consideration did not bar the respondent's damages claim.
-
Road traffic law — negligent overtaking; duty to ensure overtaking is safe — Accord and satisfaction — release without valuable consideration ineffective — Civil procedure — adverse inference where defendants decline to give evidence.
|
3 February 2004 |
| January 2004 |
|
|
Applicant must establish to the High Court that venue change is warranted; assertions alone are insufficient; appeal dismissed.
-
Criminal procedure — Change of venue under Section 80 — ‘‘made to appear’’ requires establishment to court’s satisfaction; Article 18(1) — fair trial guaranteed in all courts; questions of fact (e.g., public‑servant status) are evidence issues for trial; National Assembly resolution lifting immunity permits prosecution; potential prejudice to co‑accused relevant to transfer.
|
27 January 2004 |
|
Statute against retrospective application: retrenchees not entitled to Section 26(B)(3) benefits; repatriation capped at 50%; interest per Judgment Act.
-
Employment law — retrospectivity of statute — Section 26(B)(3) Employment (Amendment) Act — presumption against retrospective application; Notice period and Lukama principle; Computation of terminal benefits on conditions and salary at termination; Repatriation allowance capped at statutory/contractual rate; Interest under Judgment Act (Bank of Zambia deposit then lending rate).
|
21 January 2004 |
|
A replaced "cleaned up" document altering quantity amounted to a counter-offer, so no contract arose and silence was not acceptance.
-
Contract law — offer and acceptance — counter-offer rejects original offer (Hyde v Wrench) — silence not acceptance — appellate deference to trial findings (Nkhata) — quantity as fundamental term.
|
13 January 2004 |
|
Specific performance granted where purchaser had priority and buyer’s notice imputed via shared advocates; appeal dismissed.
-
Property law — sale of land and specific performance; constructive/agency notice where same advocate acts for both sides; disposal of an interest by a tenant; procedure—trial in absentia and counsel's responsibility; pleadings—claim for improvements must be pleaded.
|
13 January 2004 |
|
Specific performance affirmed where later purchaser had constructive notice via shared solicitors; advocates' conflict condemned and costs ordered.
-
Land law — caveat and equitable interests — constructive notice imputed to agents; specific performance for sale of land; vendor as sitting tenant disposing of an interest; professional ethics — solicitors' conflict of interest; costs against advocates
|
12 January 2004 |
|
Failure to state reasons does not automatically void termination; employee must be given opportunity to be heard; notice clause may be validly exercised.
-
Employment law — Section 26A Employment Act and ILO Convention No.158 — requirement to afford opportunity to be heard, not to give reasons — exercise of contractual notice clause — suspension on suspicion of fraud — termination lawful.
|
12 January 2004 |