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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2024 |
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Whether a High Court may extend time for an appeal previously dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Civil procedure – jurisdiction – extension of time to appeal – effect of a Court of Appeal single-judge dismissal – resuscitation of a dismissed appeal – permission to appeal – public importance – mootness.
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8 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Whether the Director of Mining Cadastre may grant mining access over surface rights without notice, and jurisdictional consequences.
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23 October 2024 |
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Turquand rule inapplicable where respondent had actual knowledge of evident internal irregularities in the vendor company.
Company law – Turquand/Indoor Management Rule – exceptions where suspicious circumstances or notice exist – purchaser’s duty to make minimum enquiries – Members' resolution required for disposal of company assets – title cancellation for fraud/irregularity.
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7 October 2024 |
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Renewed application for permission to appeal refused: applicant failed to meet statutory threshold of public importance, prospects, or compelling reasons.
Appellate procedure – Permission to appeal to Supreme Court – Section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act – tests: point of law of public importance; reasonable prospects of success; other compelling reasons – BIDVEST principles applied. Civil procedure – renewed applications – confined to grounds raised below. Affidavit practice – interlocutory proceedings permit statements of information or belief with source; evidence must be properly served; skeleton arguments cannot substitute affidavit evidence. Res judicata – settled law, not raising public importance.
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4 October 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Whether the Supreme Court may entertain applications for leave to appeal despite Article 131(2) vesting leave in the Court of Appeal.
Constitutional law — Jurisdiction of superior courts — Whether Supreme Court may entertain applications for leave to appeal — Interaction of Articles 125 and 131 — Role of other written laws (Supreme Court Act, Rules) in conferring jurisdiction.
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15 August 2024 |
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Failure to serve a required demand letter on every defendant renders a writ incompetent and cannot be cured by registry acceptance.
Civil procedure — Order VI High Court (Amendment) Rules 2020 — Requirement to serve letter of demand on each defendant before issuing writ — Writ unsupported by prescribed documents not to be accepted — Registry acceptance does not cure jurisdictional defect — Imputed notice to related companies insufficient.
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15 August 2024 |
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Appellant's failure to plead and prove public-policy grounds under Rule 23 rendered its challenge to the arbitral award incompetent.
Arbitration — setting aside award under s.17 — public policy; Arbitration (Court Proceedings) Rules r.23(2)(c) — affidavit must state facts relied upon; Limited judicial review — courts may examine due process and jurisdiction, not merits; Pleading and proof obligations — grounds not raised in High Court cannot be first advanced on appeal.
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7 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
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An equitable contractual lien and a restored possession order entitled the respondents to be joined to the mortgage action.
Equitable (contractual) lien under construction contract – sufficiency for joinder to mortgage action; mechanic’s (statutory) lien not applicable in Zambia; prior restored judgment granting possession reinforces interest; joinder appropriate where decision affects non-party’s interest; registration under Lands and Deeds Registry Act not necessarily fatal to equitable lien.
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24 July 2024 |
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Applicant's renewed leave to appeal denied; no novel point of law and factual findings on title and fraud upheld.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal – Section 13 Court of Appeal Act – question of law of public importance; Order 28 RSC (White Book) – originating summons deemed writ – directions; Pleading of fraud – particularity v. reliance on unopposed evidence; Property law – bona fide purchaser for value and due diligence; Appellate restraint on findings of fact; Costs – award to non-attending party.
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24 July 2024 |
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Supreme Court holds Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction over substantive Article 28 appeal and vacates its judgment.
Constitutional law – Article 28 appeals – appellate route and jurisdiction – interlocutory versus substantive appeals – Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction – decision void and vacated; procedural commencement (petition vs writ) noted.
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23 July 2024 |
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The Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to hear a substantive Article 28 appeal; its judgment was vacated.
Constitutional law — Article 28 appeals — jurisdictional route for appeals from High Court on Bill of Rights — Kabwe Order; Hakainde Hichilema clarification — decision without jurisdiction void — mode of commencement of constitutional claims.
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23 July 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Whether a one-year delay for power connection was reasonable under the contract and Regulation 14.
[Contract law] Reasonable time for performance; interpretation of 'at the earliest possible time' and Regulation 14; notice making time of the essence; judicial notice of a party's status as sole national supplier; assessment of procurement and COVID-19 delays.
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19 June 2024 |
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Conviction upheld where voluntary confession and recent possession proved guilt; second appellant's appeal abated on death.
Criminal law – Confession admissibility – Burden to prove voluntariness – Trial-within-a-trial credibility assessment – Recent possession doctrine – Appeal abatement on death of appellant.
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11 June 2024 |
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Admissions to village headmen or neighbourhood watchmen are admissible absent coercion; voluntariness is a credibility issue.
Criminal law – admissibility of confessions – Judges' Rules apply to persons in authority only – admissions to village headmen/neighbourhood watchmen admissible absent coercion – voluntariness and credibility – afterthoughts – failure to produce postmortem not fatal where evidence cogent.
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11 June 2024 |
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Conviction unsafe where prosecution failed to rule out accidental fire despite voice-identification and threats evidence.
Criminal law – murder by arson – circumstantial evidence – necessity to exclude accidental fire where no eyewitness; voice-identification and Turnbull guidance; relatives as potentially suspect witnesses – bias must be evidenced.
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11 June 2024 |
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Detention with an accused does not make a witness an accomplice; motive and corroboration determine testimonial reliability.
Criminal law – suspect witnesses – distinction between accomplice and witness with interest; motive to give false evidence required before special caution; detention with accused not determinative; corroboration and unchallenged evidence may render conviction safe.
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10 June 2024 |
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Last‑seen circumstantial evidence and witness credibility upheld as sufficient to sustain a murder conviction; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — 'Last seen with' principle — Admissibility and weight of statements to private witnesses — Credibility assessments — Non‑investigation and dereliction of duty — Murder; malice aforethought.
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10 June 2024 |
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Whether provocation or false implication excused a fatal stabbing; court found no heat of passion and dismissed the appeal.
Criminal law – murder – provocation – elements: sudden grave provocation, loss of self-control, proportionate retaliation; witness credibility – interested witnesses and need for corroboration; fals e implication – danger where witnesses have interest; sentence – failed provocation does not constitute extenuating circumstances for mandatory death penalty.
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6 June 2024 |
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Provocation and self‑defence not established; corroboration of suspect witness upheld murder conviction and death sentence.
Criminal law – murder; provocation; self‑defence and defence of property; suspect witness caution and corroboration; mandatory death sentence; extenuating circumstances for sentencing.
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6 June 2024 |
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Appellant's self-defence and provocation defences rejected; murder conviction and 45-year sentence upheld.
Criminal law – murder – self-defence – provocation – proportionality of force – appellate deference to trial findings – sentencing discretion – appeal determined on judgment-only record.
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6 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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Appeals dismissed: identification, recent possession and ballistic evidence sufficiently proved armed robberies.
Criminal law – identification evidence – single and multiple identifying witnesses – recent possession doctrine – recoveries and scene reconstruction – definition and proof of firearm under the Firearms Act – appellate interference with trial findings of fact.
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21 May 2024 |
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Whether denial or suspension of driving licences for deaf persons breaches constitutional rights to freedom of movement and non-discrimination.
Constitutional law — Road Traffic Act (ss.59,62,68) — Licensing and suspension of drivers with hearing impairment — Article 11 (protection of the law) — Article 22 (freedom of movement protects liberty to move, not means) — Article 23 (entrenched text did not expressly include disability) — Persons with Disabilities Act and UNCRPD as alternative remedies.
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16 May 2024 |
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Denial or suspension of driving licences for deaf persons did not, per se, violate Articles 11, 22 or 23 of the Constitution.
Constitutional law — Part III rights — protection of the law, freedom of movement and non-discrimination — scope of Articles 11, 22 and 23; Road Traffic Act — fitness to drive and public safety; Persons with Disabilities Act and UNCRPD — alternative remedies.
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16 May 2024 |
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The State successfully appealed: extenuation lacked evidential basis and the six-year sentence was quashed for mandatory death.
Criminal law – Murder – Extenuating circumstances must be evidence-based – Defence of property cannot be raised for first time at sentencing – Appellate power to quash and substitute sentence where substantial miscarriage of justice – Substitution of mandatory death despite sentence served.
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16 May 2024 |
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Conviction based solely on circumstantial coincidence and lack of identification was unsafe; appeal allowed and acquittal ordered.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – sufficiency of coincidence of injuries as incriminating link – identification parades – police dereliction of duty – reasonably possible defence creates reasonable doubt.
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15 May 2024 |
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Conviction overturned for reliance on uncorroborated interested witnesses and improperly admitted confession evidence.
Criminal law – murder; corroboration of interested witnesses; hearsay; caution over evidence of detained/suspect witness; admissibility of confessions — court must ask defence to object; ballistic evidence not conclusive.
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14 May 2024 |
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The Supreme Court held it may determine its own jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal and need not refer that question to the Constitutional Court.
Constitutional jurisdiction — Whether Supreme Court may grant leave to appeal to itself after Court of Appeal refusal — Article 131 interpretation — Article 128(2) referral to Constitutional Court — Mandona precedent.
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8 May 2024 |
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Termination by notice communicated via a group HR officer was valid; wrongful dismissal yields damages, not nullity, and entitlements lacked proof.
Employment law – validity of termination by notice communicated by parent-group official – master-and-servant relationship – wrongful termination is breach (damages) not nullity; delving behind termination requires evidence of improper motives; acting allowance and salary increase require clear proof or formal contract amendment.
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6 May 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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Application for leave to appeal dismissed; filing was timely and counsel wrongly condemned, but proposed grounds failed statutory threshold.
Civil procedure — leave to appeal to Supreme Court — computation of time under Supreme Court Rules (public holidays) — mischaracterisation of ruling dates and counsel misconduct — section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act threshold for leave (point of law of public importance, prospects of success, compelling reasons) — appellate power under section 24 to grant relief necessary for justice — no novel unjust enrichment issue.
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25 April 2024 |
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Whether a Director may authorise use of government vehicle and driver for private consultancy and whether that constitutes abuse of office.
Abuse of authority of office – authorisation of government vehicle and driver for private consultancy – Director of Geological Survey powers under s124 Mines and Minerals Development Act – credibility of administrative witnesses – sentencing for misdemeanour; fine preferred for first offender.
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19 April 2024 |
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Whether the appellant proved a statutory honest-belief defence as to age, and whether the 40-year sentence was excessive.
Criminal law – Defilement – Statutory defence of honest belief as to age under s.138(1) – requirement of reasonable cause and actual belief – sentencing discretion for defilement (15 years to life) – appellate interference only if sentence shocks court.
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19 April 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Whether Bundabunda chieftaincy is rotational and whether the Kashimbi lineage is entitled to the next succession.
Customary law – chieftaincy succession – rotation among matrilineal lineages; probative weight of family trees and contemporaneous joint reports; admissibility and weight of oral/traditional evidence (shrine clay pots); appellate interference with trial findings of fact where documentary inconsistencies and absence of verification exist.
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20 March 2024 |
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Evidence of telephone confirmations and corroborating call-back stamps upheld a court-martial conviction despite a harmless misdirection about producing signature comparisons.
Criminal law – Courts-martial appeal – Defence Act s.138 – proof of handwriting/signature by witness confirmation and corroborative documentary evidence; burden of proof – misdirection harmless where independent evidence supports conviction; disclosure obligations – prosecution not required to produce comparative signatures when accused effectively admits or confirms authorship; procedural irregularity – failure to deliberate in private requires shown prejudice.
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6 March 2024 |