Supreme Court of Zambia - 2026

10 judgments
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Results. 10 judgments found.

10 judgments
May 2026
Failure to consult before redundancy warrants compensation, but an appellate court rightly reduced an excessive award.
  • Employment law
    • — Redundancy — Employer's duty to consult employees prior to redundancy — Remedies for breach of consultation obligation (Employment Code Act s.55)
    • — Measure of compensation — Distinction between award for wrongful termination and compensation for failure to perform contractual/statutory consultation obligation
  • Civil procedure — Assessment of damages on appeal — Appellate restraint and the Kawimbe principles for interfering with trial judge's award of damages
22 May 2026
April 2026
Court erred in deciding unpleaded statutory claims; section 54(1)(c) applies to fixed‑term contracts, not summary dismissals.
  • Employment law — Severance pay — Applicability of section 54(1)(c) to contracts of fixed duration — Severance not payable on summary dismissal for gross misconduct
  • Civil procedure — Pleadings and scope of relief — Court cannot decide unpleaded issues or grant relief not claimed — Right to be heard (Article 18)
17 April 2026
Recognition by familiar witnesses and corroboration upheld the murder conviction; appeal dismissed.
  • Criminal law — recognition/identification evidence — factors: familiarity, lighting, distance and opportunity; corroboration of recognition; warn-and-caution statement not on record; non-production of physical evidence
16 April 2026
March 2026
Failure to notify the appellant of a Director's decision precludes statutory appeal; High Court may hear the trespass action.
  • Mines and Minerals Development Act — sections 96 and 97 — mandatory written notice, reasons and right of appeal — failure to notify precludes invoking 30‑day appeal — jurisdiction and mode of commencement — trespass action vs statutory appeal — remit to High Court
31 March 2026
High Court erred by deciding a petition not before it and failing to rule on the applicant's stay application.
  • Constitutional law — parliamentary privilege and alleged immunity from criminal prosecution; Civil procedure — jurisdiction and competence to decide matters not formally before the court; Procedural fairness — judge’s misdirection in deciding unargued issues; Remittal to cure failure to determine application heard.
13 March 2026
Leave to appeal granted due to significant procedural and substantive errors about an unsigned memorandum and the law on guarantees.
  • Civil procedure — Leave to appeal to Supreme Court under s.24(b) — Validity and effect of unsigned Memorandum of Appeal; Appellate jurisdiction and competence. Civil and contract law — Personal guarantees v performance bonds — construction of guarantees; conditional vs on-demand liability. Abuse of court process — institution of separate proceedings against guarantors. Public importance of appellate procedural regularity
10 March 2026
Leave granted to appeal to resolve whether an unsigned memorandum and mischaracterisation of guarantees affected appellate competence and law.
  • Leave to appeal — procedural requirements for appellate documents — unsigned Memorandum of Appeal and competence of appeal; Civil procedure — abuse of court process and joinder of related causes; Contract law — distinction between performance bonds and personal guarantees; Guarantees — conditional versus unconditional (on-demand) liability; Rules of Court — importance of compliance and remedying defects.
10 March 2026
February 2026
Applicants granted leave to appeal where proposed grounds raised legal issues, mixed questions, and procedural concerns warranting Supreme Court review.
  • Leave to appeal — section 13 Court of Appeal Act — point of law of public importance — mixed law and fact — witness demeanour versus evidence — PACRA records and shareholding — fiduciary duties of directors — costs and interested parties — court practice directions (page limits)
11 February 2026
Applicants failed to show a point of public importance or reasonable prospects of success to obtain leave to appeal under section 13(3).
  • Employment law — Redundancy pay — Interpretation of sections 54(1)(d), 55(3) and 67(4) of the Employment Code Act — "Other benefits" and inclusion of car allowances, talk-time and bonuses — Distinction between tools of trade and remunerative emoluments — Leave to appeal under section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act — public importance, prospects of success, compelling reasons.
11 February 2026
January 2026
Whether a disputed debt quantum defeats a winding-up petition despite admission of indebtedness, raising public-law issues.
  • Corporate insolvency — winding-up petitions — disputed quantum of debt versus admission of indebtedness — leave to appeal — point of law of public importance — prospects of success — section 13 Court of Appeal Act.
29 January 2026