Results.
16 judgments found.
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| August 2019 |
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Appeal dismissed for six appellants; fourth appellant's dismissal wrongful and awarded 24 months' salary.
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Employment law — dismissal — summary dismissal justified where employee committed a dismissible offence despite procedural non‑compliance; union activity protection does not cover riotous or dishonest mobilisation — wrongful dismissal where charge letter lacks particulars — remedy ordinarily notice pay but enhanced damages may be awarded.
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26 August 2019 |
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Sale by a beneficiary without letters or court authority is void; appellant not a bona fide purchaser.
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Intestate Succession Act (ss.19,24,38,43) — jurisdiction of local courts in succession matters — sale of estate property — requirement of letters of administration and prior court authority — bona fide purchaser and due diligence — caveat disputes and onus of proof.
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26 August 2019 |
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Court upheld a 45-year sentence for repeated defilement of a 14-year-old stepdaughter, finding no grounds to reduce.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Sentence — Appeal against sentence — Appellate test: wrong in principle; manifestly excessive/inducing shock; exceptional circumstances — Aggravating factors: victim aged 14; step-parent relationship; repeated offences; resulting STI; occurrence at home — 45 years upheld.
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19 August 2019 |
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Circumstantial and postmortem evidence upheld a murder conviction despite absence of the pathologist's oral testimony.
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Criminal law — murder — circumstantial evidence; malice aforethought — sufficiency of inferences; postmortem evidence — desirability but not always mandatory to call pathologist (s.191A); warn-and-caution statements — requirement for vernacular and English versions.
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19 August 2019 |
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Conviction for defilement quashed due to defective voire dire, lack of corroboration, and failure to discharge the prosecution's burden.
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Criminal law — Defilement; child witness — requirements for voire dire and record of questions/answers; corroboration in sexual offences — identity evidence and 'something more'; burden of proof — prosecution's duty to disprove defences and to call material witnesses; court-ordered medical evidence.
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19 August 2019 |
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Conviction for defilement quashed where voire dire was defective, corroboration lacking and burden wrongly shifted to accused.
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Criminal law — defilement — voire dire must record questions and answers — corroboration of identity and early complaint — prosecution's duty to call material witnesses — improper shifting of burden when accused requests medical examination.
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19 August 2019 |
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Confessions must be shown voluntary before admission; excluding them, independent evidence sustained four convictions while the fifth appellant was acquitted.
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Criminal procedure — Admissibility of confessions — Trial court’s duty to test voluntariness and to invite defence objection; Evidence — Use of co-accused confession to implicate another — adoption and admissibility; Electronic evidence — phone activity reports as circumstantial linkage; Procedure — nolle prosequi where accused dies before close of prosecution.
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19 August 2019 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction based on credible civilian eyewitnesses and inferred malice aforethought.
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Death in custody — credibility of civilian versus police witnesses — danger of false implication — corroboration and assessment of bias — medical evidence on head injury — inference of malice aforethought; appellate restraint on trial judge’s credibility findings.
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13 August 2019 |
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Former employees were not to be deemed retired at 55 by the Repeal Act; benefits owed were for years actually served, plus three months' pay in lieu of deficient notice.
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Statutory interpretation — Repeal Act Section 8(2)-(3) — retirement under existing terms of service; Employment law — calculation of terminal benefits — pay for years served vs. pay for unworked years (unjust enrichment); Contractual notice — six months’ notice required, remedy salary in lieu; State proceedings — post-judgment interest ceiling.
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9 August 2019 |
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Court held non-compliance with an 'unless order' excused where parties were unaware due to missing record and lack of notification.
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Civil procedure — extension of time to comply with 'unless orders' — discretion to extend time — contumelious or intentional non-compliance — effect of missing record and lack of service/notification.
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8 August 2019 |
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Section 47 applies to land reservation claims under the Public Roads Act; appellant failed to prove nuisance, damage or loss causally linked to roadworks.
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Public Roads Act s47 — scope limited to compensation for loss of land/rights from road reservation under ss44–45; Tort — liability of statutory agency for nuisance, damage and loss of access; Evidence — appellate restraint on disturbing trial judge’s credibility findings; Causation and proof — need for concrete evidence of damage and medical causation.
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6 August 2019 |
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Whether reliance on employer tribunal records and minor procedural departures justified dismissal for dishonest conduct.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — judicial review of disciplinary decisions — court may consider employer’s disciplinary and appeals records — procedural irregularities do not vitiate dismissal where overall fairness and substratum of facts exist.
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2 August 2019 |
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Whether pension-transfer consent varied written employment terms and whether ambiguous redundancy clauses must be construed against the employer.
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Employment law — variation of written employment terms — consent vs pension transfer; redundancy — interpretation of ambiguous clauses; incorporation of statutory redundancy provisions into written contracts; contra proferentem; salary inclusive of allowances for terminal benefits; entitlement to continued wages when employer able to pay.
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2 August 2019 |
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Failure to pursue statutory appeal routes and notice requirements under customs law deprived the High Court of jurisdiction.
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Jurisdiction — failure to exhaust statutory remedies and appeal routes under Customs and Excise Act and Regulations — section 164 notice and three‑month limitation — Regulation 126 appeal to Minister — Tax Appeals Tribunal jurisdiction under s.5 of Tax Appeals Tribunal Act.
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2 August 2019 |
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Whether the Intestate Succession Act applies to customary land and whether abandonment permits reallocation of such land.
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Customary land — Intestate Succession Act inapplicability to customary land — Abandonment and reallocation of customary land — Standard and sufficiency of judicial reasoning — Appellate review of factual findings and credibility assessments.
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1 August 2019 |
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Court held acting for over six months did not automatically confer confirmation; termination by pay in lieu of notice was lawful.
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Employment law — interpretation of acting provisions — clause 5.13.2(a) not deeming confirmation after six months; grievance-procedure breach not actionable if not pleaded; lawful termination by payment in lieu of notice; no constructive/unfair dismissal without proof; entitlement to terminal benefits depends on employment status and precedent.
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1 August 2019 |