Supreme Court of Zambia - 2008 January

16 judgments
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Results. 16 judgments found.

16 judgments
January 2008
Rule 42 is discretionary; debarment for default is exceptional and triable issues should ordinarily be decided on their merits.
  • Industrial Relations Court Rule 42 — discretion to debar or make other orders; default and triable issues — right to hearing; debarment a drastic remedy requiring mala fides or unreasonable delay.
31 January 2008
Clerical error corrected under Rule 78 to award Stand No. 1001, Lilanda, to the applicant; no costs.
  • Civil procedure — Rule 78 — correction of clerical error; Appeal — restoration of lower court award; Property award — Stand No. 1001, Lilanda; Costs — no order.
31 January 2008
An appellate court will not decide legal issues not raised in the lower court; appeal dismissed with costs.
  • Administrative law — Statutory instruments vs Acts of Parliament — Issue of whether a statutory instrument can alter an Act — Appellate procedure — New issues not raised in the lower court cannot be raised for the first time on appeal — Abandonment of unargued grounds.
31 January 2008
Lands Tribunal lacks jurisdiction over District Council allocations; appellant who did not apply had no cause of action.
  • Lands Act — jurisdiction of Lands Tribunal — section 15 and 22 — Tribunal’s review confined to decisions of President/Commissioner, Minister or Registrar — District Council allocations not within Tribunal’s jurisdiction; locus standi/causa of person who did not apply for subdivision
30 January 2008
High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear committal where appeal and partial stay by Supreme Court had ousted that jurisdiction; committal notice also defective.
  • Civil procedure — contempt/committal — jurisdiction of inferior court where matter is pending before superior court with stay of execution; requirement of specificity in orders before contempt proceedings; procedural particularity in committal notices (Order 52 r.4(2) RSC); statutory powers of regulator (s.84B(a))
30 January 2008
Director-General may issue fresh restriction notices and direct rental payments pending corruption investigations, subject to refund if exonerated.
  • Anti-Corruption Commission Act s24(1) — Restriction notices; investigation (not necessarily prosecution) sufficient — Fresh notices after expiry valid — "Dispose of or otherwise deal with" includes managing property (collecting rent) — Certificate of title defeasible for fraud — High Court review powers under s24(5)/(7)
29 January 2008
A labour complaint filed nine years late without statutory leave is statute-barred and properly dismissed.
  • Industrial Relations Act s85(3) — mandatory 30-day filing period — limited three-month extension after exhaustion of administrative channels — no discretion to entertain claims filed nine years late; ignorance/misadvice by court official not an excuse; non-compliance with Supreme Court Rules for additional grounds noted.
29 January 2008
Complaint filed nine years after dismissal was statute-barred under section 85(3); appeal dismissed, no costs awarded.
  • Industrial and Labour Relations Act s.85(3) — statutory 30-day filing period — complaint filed out of time — no discretion to hear plainly time-barred complaint absent application for extension — misadvice by court official does not cure failure to seek leave.
29 January 2008
A labour complaint filed nine years after dismissal without statutory leave is time-barred under section 85(3) and dismissed.
  • Industrial and Labour Relations Act s85(3) — statutory 30-day limit for filing complaints — mandatory time bar — no discretion to hear out-of-time complaints without statutory extension — effect of mistaken advice by court official.
29 January 2008
Deportation for a satirical article was held disproportionate and unreasonable despite statutory breadth and no statutory right to prior hearing.
  • Immigration law — section 26(2) Deportation — scope not confined to national security; Freedom of expression — Article 20(3) limits and permissible restrictions; Procedural fairness — no statutory right to prior hearing under s26(2) in these facts; Judicial review — Wednesbury/unreasonableness and disproportionality can invalidate deportation
23 January 2008
Dismissal for undisclosed conflict of interest and dishonest procurement upheld despite no specific disciplinary code listing.
  • Employment law — dismissal for misconduct; conflict of interest and undeclared personal interest; discrimination in disciplinary sanctions; implied contractual duties permitting dismissal for dishonest conduct.
17 January 2008
Court affirmed petitioner’s locus standi and correct petition procedure, dismissing injunction issue as moot and both appeals.
  • Constitutional law — Article 28(1) petitions — locus standi of corporate/associational applicants (Article 139) — mode of commencement of constitutional applications (Protection of Fundamental Rights Rules/Statutory Instrument No.156 of 1969) — interpretation of Electoral Act Section 25(1) vis-à-vis Article 76(1) — injunctions against the State/President and interplay with State Proceedings Act Section 16 — mootness of interlocutory constitutional relief
15 January 2008
Appellant’s title and caveat were upheld; forgery defence inadequately pleaded and proved, appeal allowed and possession granted.
  • Land law — title and caveats — effect of removal of caveat by ex parte order — rectification of register — proof and pleading of fraud/forgery in title disputes — prima facie status of register entries and certificates of title
15 January 2008
Court upheld award of contractual terminal benefits as wages; late subpoena to obtain handbook was proper; appeal dismissed.
  • Employment law — terminal benefits — whether terminal benefits constitute "wages" under section 3 of the Employment Act; evidence — reliance on employer handbook not produced and use of subpoena duces tecum after close of evidence; resignation and forfeiture of terminal benefits; limited scope of appellate review on findings of fact (s97 Industrial Relations Act).
11 January 2008
Failure to notify the union of redundancies attracts statutory penalties but does not automatically invalidate a substantively justified redundancy.
  • Employment law — redundancy — failure to give union 30 days' notice under s26B(2) and collective agreement — procedural breach punishable under s77 — procedural non-compliance does not render a substantively justified redundancy null and void
10 January 2008
Commissioner could lawfully allocate State land during de-gazettement; allocations after re‑gazettement required statutory authority.
  • Forest law — de-gazettement and re-gazettement — State land — Commissioner of Lands’ power to grant — necessity of presidential statutory instrument for prohibited acts — judicial review — declaratory relief on counter-claim
9 January 2008