|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| June 2019 |
|
|
Application for leave to appeal from an arbitral award dismissed for lacking public importance and reasonable prospects of success.
Civil procedure – Leave to appeal – Section 13(1) and (3) Court of Appeal Act – Appeal to Supreme Court requires point of law of public importance and reasonable prospects of success; Arbitration – challenge to arbitral award – substantive impeachment of award not ordinarily public law; Public policy – denial of relief in arbitral award does not automatically engage public importance.
|
26 June 2019 |
|
A mortgagee’s lawful sale extinguishes the mortgagor’s equity of redemption; the respondent’s purchase defeats the appellants’ specific performance claim.
Contract law — good faith and fair dealing cannot override express contractual or post-agreement arrangements; Mortgage law — mortgagee in possession’s right to sell under court consent order; Equity of redemption — extinguished upon lawful sale by mortgagee in possession; Specific performance — unavailable where entire property sold to third party purchaser; Recovery of deposit — failure of consideration and unjust enrichment.
|
11 June 2019 |
|
Appellant failed to prove respondent sold goods beyond those listed; respondent entitled to repossess under retention-of-title; appeal dismissed.
Contract law – Sale and Purchase Agreement with retention-of-title (Romalpa) clause; distraint and execution; onus of proof in allegations of wrongful sale/removal of goods; appellate review of factual findings.
|
11 June 2019 |
|
Appeal dismissed where grounds failed to challenge dismissal and extension issues could not affect the outcome.
Civil procedure — extension of time — restoration to active cause list — dismissal for want of prosecution — appellate jurisdiction — appeal must challenge operative dismissal order.
|
11 June 2019 |
|
Order 113 summary ejectment appropriate where documentary evidence shows no real or serious dispute of title.
Civil procedure – Order 113 summary possession proceedings; when summary procedure inappropriate – court may examine affidavits and documents to determine if dispute is real; conversion under Order 28 discretionary; proof required to establish claim of right.
|
11 June 2019 |
|
Court finds no provocation or extenuating circumstances; murder conviction and death sentence affirmed.
Criminal law – Provocation – Elements: act of provocation; actual and reasonable loss of self‑control; proportionate retaliation – Insults by a child not sufficient provocation – Extenuating circumstances not made out – Murder conviction and mandatory death sentence upheld.
|
10 June 2019 |
|
Whether acting six months creates automatic confirmation and whether contract termination by payment in lieu was wrongful.
Employment law – acting appointments – clause 5.13.2(a) does not automatically deem confirmation; Employment law – termination – payment in lieu under contract lawful absent proven malice; Industrial relations – applicability of precedent limited by differing employment status; Damages – mental anguish claims require pleading and evidential proof.
|
10 June 2019 |
|
Appellate court reduced an excessive 25-year manslaughter sentence to five years, giving weight to the appellant’s guilty plea and first-offender status.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Sentencing – Manifestly excessive sentence – Trial judge’s misdirection by relying on facts not in agreed statement – Mitigation: guilty plea, first offender and remorse – Appellate interference and reduction of sentence.
|
10 June 2019 |
|
The appeal alleging a defective s169(1) CPC judgment failed; convictions upheld and aggravated robbery sentence increased.
Criminal procedure – sufficiency of judgment under s169(1) CPC – appellate discretion to decide on record; Evidence – eyewitness identification; confession statements; possession of recently stolen property presumption; Sentence – variation of inadequate mandatory minimum for aggravated robbery.
|
10 June 2019 |
|
Whether statutory retirement benefits vested as accrued rights and whether employment contract incorporated statutory minimum terms.
Contract interpretation – clause deeming original contract to apply to continued employment; statutory incorporation – whether a general choice‑of‑law clause imports specific statutory minimums; accrued statutory rights – section 14(3)(c) preserves only specific rights whose conditions were satisfied pre‑repeal; proof of entitlement to housing allowance.
|
7 June 2019 |
|
Transfer reversed where director acted personally; Turquand rule cannot be used to bind the Minister—appeal dismissed.
Mining law — transfer of mining licence (Mines and Minerals Development Act s61) — Company law — director’s authority and limits (Companies Act s216(1)(a)) — Indoor management/Turquand rule not enforceable against administrative decision-maker — Natural justice/consultation (s150) and subsequent right of appeal.
|
7 June 2019 |
|
A broadcaster cannot rely on justification or public interest where it conceals medical evidence and denies the subject a right to reply.
Defamation — alleged defilement broadcast; justification (truth) — failure where medical report known but omitted; right to be heard — failure to obtain comment; public interest/qualified privilege — Reynolds factors and responsible journalism; repeated broadcasts and malice/recklessness.
|
7 June 2019 |
|
A broadcaster’s failure to verify, seek comment, and disclose medical findings defeated its justification and public-interest defences.
Defamation – defamatory meaning – justification (truth) – public interest/reynolds qualified privilege – responsible journalism – failure to verify/seek comment – omission of medical evidence – opportunity to be heard.
|
7 June 2019 |
|
Defective trial judgment; evidence did not prove murder beyond reasonable doubt; conviction reduced to common assault.
Criminal law – Murder – Defective written judgment (s.169 Criminal Procedure Code) – Supreme Court’s section 15 jurisdiction to determine merits – Causation and reasonable doubt where multiple assaults occurred – Identification evidence – Res gestae inadmissible.
|
5 June 2019 |
|
A guilty plea must admit sufficient facts; a bare admission of the offence label is insufficient and warrants acquittal.
Criminal law – Plea of guilty – Requirement to admit sufficient facts under section 204 CPC – Plea must disclose elements of indecent assault – Inadequate plea and statement of facts render conviction unsupported.
|
5 June 2019 |
|
Trial court erred rejecting a reasonable explanation for possession of recently stolen property; conviction and sentence set aside.
Criminal law — Recent possession of stolen property — Duty to give reasonable explanation — Court's assessment of demeanour — Identification evidence — Alternative conviction for receiving stolen property.
|
5 June 2019 |
|
|
4 June 2019 |
|
|
4 June 2019 |
|
Wrongful dismissals upheld; reinstatement/re-engagement denied; two months' pay in lieu of notice awarded; no costs ordered.
Labour law — Collective bargaining and strike procedure — Whether a staff gathering amounted to a strike; burden of proof on employer to show who withdrew labour; remedies for wrongful dismissal — reinstatement exceptional; re-engagement procedural/practical limits; damages measured by reasonable notice period; costs discretionary.
|
4 June 2019 |
|
Across‑the‑board dismissals for alleged strike were wrongful; two months' pay awarded, reinstatement and re‑engagement not ordered.
Labour law — strike definition and ballot legality — burden to prove participation in strike lies with employer alleging misconduct — reinstatement rare, re‑engagement discretionary and practicability‑dependent — damages for wrongful dismissal usually measured by notice period — costs discretionary.
|
4 June 2019 |
|
|
4 June 2019 |