Results.
3,952 judgments found.
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| 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 |
| July 2019 |
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31 July 2019 |
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Appeal dismissed: dismissal upheld as procedurally adequate and not shown to have caused prejudice to the appellant.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal — disciplinary procedure — staff manual compliance — composition of disciplinary committee — apparent bias — right to cross-examine — sufficiency of evidence — hearsay and appellate review.
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30 July 2019 |
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Insufficient analyst and medical evidence and mis-evaluation of production safeguards defeated causation in a product-liability claim.
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Product liability; duty of care by manufacturer; causation; insufficiency of public analyst and medical reports; proper evaluation of unchallenged production and sanitation evidence.
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24 July 2019 |
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Claim failed because analyst and medical evidence did not establish causation between the drink and the respondent's fungal infection.
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Product liability/negligence — causation — adequacy of public analyst and medical reports — evidential requirements to link alleged contaminated beverage to injury — evaluation of manufacturer’s sanitization and inspection evidence.
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24 July 2019 |
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Whether a restructuring 'special dividend' was capital or revenue in nature and whether withholding tax relief under section 91 was available.
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Income Tax — Withholding tax on dividends; characterization of distributions as capital or revenue; test considers application (use) of distributed profits not solely source; section 2(3) Income Tax Act; relief under section 91; Companies Act — share premium account uses.
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23 July 2019 |
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Whether a dividend arising from restructuring is capital or revenue for withholding tax purposes.
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Tax law — withholding tax on dividends; dividend characterisation — capital v. revenue; test depends on application not solely source; restructuring transactions; s.2(3) Income Tax Act; relief under s.91.
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23 July 2019 |
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Appellant failed to prove ownership; customary alienation by chief after local consultation was valid.
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Customary land — Alienation by chief with headman and village committee — validity where local customary procedures followed; Civil standard of proof — balance of probabilities in competing oral evidence; Evaluation of witnesses — failure to call material witness may undermine claim; Distinction between alienation of State land and customary land (Lands Act provisions inapplicable).
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23 July 2019 |
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Damages for unfair dismissal reduced to 12 months due to fixed-term contract and mitigation by respondent.
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Employment law — unfair dismissal; damages for wrongful termination; fixed-term contract and mitigation; unjust enrichment; quantum of damages; interest at Bank of Zambia average deposit/lending rates; forensic exoneration.
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23 July 2019 |
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Transitional constitutional provisions can preserve appellate rights pending enactment of enabling legislation; motion dismissed, no costs.
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Constitutional transition — continuity of laws pending enactment of enabling legislation — jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal; accrued rights preserved by transitional provisions; validity and scope of Practice Directions during constitutional transition; role of Constitutional Court vs other superior courts in constitutional interpretation.
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16 July 2019 |
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Whether a permanent resident qualifies to purchase a government institutional house without presidential written consent under s3(3).
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Lands Act s3(3) — statutory construction: subsections disjunctive; permanent resident (s3(3)(a)) independently qualifies non‑Zambians to own land; Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme eligibility; presidential written consent (s3(3)(c) required and non‑delegable); evidentiary requirement for presidential consent; sale of government institutional houses.
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9 July 2019 |
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Whether section 3(3) of the Lands Act is disjunctive and whether ‘permanent resident’ status alone suffices to acquire land.
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Lands Act s.3(3) — statutory construction; subsections disjunctive; permanent resident (s.3(3)(a)) suffices to own land; presidential consent (s.3(3)(c)) requires writing under President’s hand; eligibility for government institutional house under Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme.
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9 July 2019 |
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Court held respondent was an employee (contract of service) despite lump-sum payments and lack of statutory deductions.
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Employment law — contract of service v contract for services — definition of 'employee' under Employment Act — method of remuneration not determinative — evidentiary weight of employer-originated documents — statutory deductions not conclusive.
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9 July 2019 |
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Appellant's conviction upheld where officer's eyewitness chase and capture placed him fleeing the scene despite ballistic inconsistencies.
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Criminal law — Conviction on evidence of flight and pursuit — Eyewitness police chase as direct evidence; admissibility of evidence obtained without warn-and-caution; no obligation to call s.294 evidence where credibility resolved; ballistic mismatch not fatal where presence at scene proved.
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9 July 2019 |
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Circumstantial evidence including recent possession, blood-stained clothes and flight upheld convictions; identification found reliable.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery and murder — circumstantial evidence — recent possession and flight — identification evidence — risk of mistaken identity — failure to call informants.
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5 July 2019 |
| June 2019 |
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Application for leave to appeal from an arbitral award dismissed for lacking public importance and reasonable prospects of success.
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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.
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26 June 2019 |
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A mortgagee’s lawful sale extinguishes the mortgagor’s equity of redemption; the respondent’s purchase defeats the appellants’ specific performance claim.
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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.
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11 June 2019 |
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Appellant failed to prove respondent sold goods beyond those listed; respondent entitled to repossess under retention-of-title; appeal dismissed.
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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.
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11 June 2019 |
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Appeal dismissed where grounds failed to challenge dismissal and extension issues could not affect the outcome.
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Civil procedure — extension of time — restoration to active cause list — dismissal for want of prosecution — appellate jurisdiction — appeal must challenge operative dismissal order.
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11 June 2019 |
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Order 113 summary ejectment appropriate where documentary evidence shows no real or serious dispute of title.
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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.
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11 June 2019 |
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Court finds no provocation or extenuating circumstances; murder conviction and death sentence affirmed.
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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.
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10 June 2019 |
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Whether acting six months creates automatic confirmation and whether contract termination by payment in lieu was wrongful.
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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.
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10 June 2019 |
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Appellate court reduced an excessive 25-year manslaughter sentence to five years, giving weight to the appellant’s guilty plea and first-offender status.
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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.
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10 June 2019 |
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The appeal alleging a defective s169(1) CPC judgment failed; convictions upheld and aggravated robbery sentence increased.
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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.
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10 June 2019 |
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Whether statutory retirement benefits vested as accrued rights and whether employment contract incorporated statutory minimum terms.
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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.
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7 June 2019 |
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Whether an unauthorised director’s transfer of a mining licence can be validated by the Turquand rule.
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Mines and minerals law — Transfer of mining licence — Validity where purportedly effected by director acting personally — Requirement of licence‑holder authorisation
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Company law — Directors’ authority and third‑party protection — Application and limits of section 216(5) (good faith protection)
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Administrative law — Turquand/indoor‑management rule — Inapplicability to bind an administrative decision‑maker exercising statutory powers
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7 June 2019 |
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Transfer reversed where director acted personally; Turquand rule cannot be used to bind the Minister—appeal dismissed.
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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.
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7 June 2019 |
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A broadcaster cannot rely on justification or public interest where it conceals medical evidence and denies the subject a right to reply.
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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.
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7 June 2019 |
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A broadcaster’s failure to verify, seek comment, and disclose medical findings defeated its justification and public-interest defences.
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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.
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7 June 2019 |
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Defective trial judgment; evidence did not prove murder beyond reasonable doubt; conviction reduced to common assault.
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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.
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5 June 2019 |
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A guilty plea must admit sufficient facts; a bare admission of the offence label is insufficient and warrants acquittal.
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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.
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5 June 2019 |
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Trial court erred rejecting a reasonable explanation for possession of recently stolen property; conviction and sentence set aside.
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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.
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5 June 2019 |
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4 June 2019 |
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4 June 2019 |
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Wrongful dismissals upheld; reinstatement/re-engagement denied; two months' pay in lieu of notice awarded; no costs ordered.
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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.
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4 June 2019 |
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Across‑the‑board dismissals for alleged strike were wrongful; two months' pay awarded, reinstatement and re‑engagement not ordered.
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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.
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4 June 2019 |
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4 June 2019 |
| May 2019 |
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Whether a pay‑slip gross‑up for tax creates an accrued contractual service‑allowance right for computing retirement benefits.
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Employment law — service allowance — whether pay‑slip grossed up for tax creates accrued contractual entitlement — employer grossing up to cushion tax does not alter contractual percentage used to compute terminal benefits; appellate review of perverse or misapprehended factual findings.
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29 May 2019 |
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High Court retains concurrent jurisdiction to hear counterclaims challenging re-entry, cancellation and renumbering of land despite Lands Act provisions.
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Lands Act ss.13(3) & 15(1) — High Court and Lands Tribunal have concurrent jurisdiction; certificate of re-entry; cancellation and renumbering of title; jurisdictional objections; allegations of fraud; section 34 Lands and Deeds Registry Act — remedy for irregular repossession.
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28 May 2019 |
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High Court retains concurrent jurisdiction with Lands Tribunal; fraud allegations permit land disputes to be tried in High Court.
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Lands Act — sections 13(3) and 15(1) — permissive jurisdiction; High Court and Lands Tribunal have concurrent jurisdiction in land disputes; allegations of fraud justify High Court proceedings; jurisdictional objections may be raised at any stage.
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28 May 2019 |
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Whether statutory minimum wages/allowances apply and if appellants, not being casuals, were entitled to allowances and notice pay.
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Employment law — definition of ‘casual employee’ — continuous service exceeding six months removes ‘casual’ status; Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (S.I. No. 2 of 2011, as amended) — applies to casual and other workers and creates enforceable entitlements for ‘General Worker’; wrongful termination — notice pay as remedy; interest and costs for failure to defend/unreasonable delay
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28 May 2019 |
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A Certificate of Title is conclusive; absence and an unmeritorious counterclaim do not justify setting aside judgment.
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Land law — Certificate of Title — s.33 Lands and Deeds Registry Act — conclusive evidence of ownership; Civil procedure — judgment in absence — Order 35 rr.3 & 5 — setting aside requires sufficient cause and a meritorious defence; Service of hearing notice; Counterclaim based on letter of offer insufficient against registered title.
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28 May 2019 |
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Public-law relief (declarations/mandamus) requires judicial review; wrong originating process rendered High Court judgment void.
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Road Traffic Act s.13 (consultation of absolute owner) — breach of statutory duty — tort remedy for breach of statutory duty — judicial review required for ultra vires/mandamus relief — jurisdictional consequences of wrong originating process (writ v. Order 53)
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28 May 2019 |