Supreme Court of Zambia

3,947 judgments
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Results. 3,947 judgments found.

3,947 judgments
August 2020
13 August 2020
12 August 2020
6 August 2020
Whether a distributor can claim goodwill compensation for marketing suppliers' trademarked goods absent an express contractual entitlement.
  • Distribution agreements — entitlement to goodwill compensation — distinction between commercial agent and distributor — trademark goodwill (supplier) v business goodwill (distributor) — no automatic common-law indemnity for distributors on termination — damages for breach/insufficient notice preserved.
6 August 2020
4 August 2020
July 2020
27 July 2020
16 July 2020
Delay caused by counsel’s misconduct and absence of fee notes justified setting aside an irregular default judgment and granting leave to defend.
  • Civil procedure — setting aside default judgment; inordinate delay versus excusable delay caused by counsel misconduct; legal fees claims — requirement to render and serve bill and wait one month (Order 50 r.2; Legal Practitioners Act s.83(2)); counsel misconduct and conflict of interest; jurisdiction to set aside irregular default judgment and refer professional misconduct to regulatory committee.
14 July 2020
Registrar cannot permit confusingly similar marks to co-exist without evidence of honest concurrent use or special circumstances.
  • Trade Marks Act ss16–17 — similarity and likelihood of confusion of device marks — section 17(2) requires evidence of honest concurrent use or special circumstances — territoriality of trademark protection — registrar’s discretion must be judicially exercised and clearly justified — commercial success not a substitute for special circumstances.
10 July 2020
June 2020
Members exiting a defined benefit scheme are entitled to actuarially-determined present value portable benefits under the statute.
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30 June 2020
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes yield different portable benefits; leaving members are entitled to actuarial present value portability.
  • Pension law — defined benefit v. defined contribution schemes — portability of accrued retirement benefits — section 18(1)(f) and 18(3)(b) Pension Scheme Regulation Act — present value/actuarial valuation — abolition of deferred pensions — inconsistency between Trust Rules and statute — remedy to recompute and pay outstanding portable benefits.
30 June 2020
Title cancelled for impropriety in acquiring a government pool-house plot; appeal dismissed.
  • Lands and Deeds Registry Act — certificate of title — cancellation for impropriety/fraud — government pool houses — role of Provincial Housing Committee in allocation — bona fide purchaser and constructive notice — Registrar to effect cancellation.
30 June 2020
24 June 2020
Single judge may hear stay applications, but stay refused where leave to appeal lacks prospects and finality concerns prevail.
  • Jurisdiction — single judge powers to grant interlocutory relief; Stay of execution — test: prospects of success, irreparable prejudice and special circumstances; Procedural finality — effect of appeal dismissal for procedural non-compliance; Reopening v relaunching appeals; Requirement for leave to file out-of-time applications.
23 June 2020
Whether a single judge may stay an Industrial Relations Court judgment pending leave to appeal after a Supreme Court dismissal.
  • Procedure — stay of execution pending appeal — jurisdiction of single judge of Supreme Court to grant stay of lower court judgment — finality of Supreme Court decisions — requirement to preview prospects of success and show irreparable prejudice — relaunching appeal after procedural dismissal.
23 June 2020
23 June 2020
17 June 2020
17 June 2020
17 June 2020
Failed provocation does not automatically afford extenuation; severe, excessive violence justified dismissal of sentence mitigation.
  • Criminal law — murder — sentence — alleged provocation as extenuating circumstance — failed defence of provocation not automatically mitigating — objective threshold required — excessive and prolonged force defeats provocation.
17 June 2020
17 June 2020
Leave under section 13 is limited to grounds raising a point of law of public importance; non-qualifying grounds are severed.
  • Appeals — Leave under section 13 Court of Appeal Act — 'Point of law of public importance' must transcend private interests — Section 13(3) factors disjunctive — Novelty alone insufficient — Leave limited to grounds raising the public-importance point — Severance of non-qualifying grounds.
11 June 2020
11 June 2020
8 June 2020
1 June 2020
May 2020
Court clarified that pre-judgment simple interest merges into judgment debt; post-judgment interest runs at Bank of Zambia lending rate.
  • Interest — Pre-judgment interest (simple) merges with principal into judgment debt; post-judgment interest on judgment debt governed by Judgments Act; payment into court arrests interest; no compounding of pre-judgment interest; Rule 78 correction of judgment.
28 May 2020
A consent judgment cannot impose insurer liability beyond the policy; pre-accident market value and proof required for loss-of-use awards.
  • Insurance law — contract of indemnity; consent judgment cannot increase insurer’s obligations beyond policy; pre-accident market value as measure of loss for totalled vehicle; special damages (loss of business) require cogent evidence; appellate interference where wrong principle applied in damages assessment.
27 May 2020
26 May 2020
26 May 2020
Denying employees a genuine option over share-match shares breached employment contracts but did not terminate employment.
  • Employment law — share-match scheme — incorporation by reference into employment contracts; non-guaranteed benefit but contractual term; privity of contract and unenforceability of third‑party sale agreement; unilateral directive compelling sale as breach; remedy — damages, not automatic redundancy/termination.
20 May 2020
20 May 2020
Tax authority may rely on its own audit over a third‑party transfer‑pricing report; pre‑Tribunal settlement (K100 billion) upheld, partial appeal allowed.
  • Tax law — transfer pricing — transfer pricing report prepared for a related party not binding on tax authority; Tax procedure — section 11 (form of demands) — factual question whether report was requested; Tax anti‑avoidance — section 95 reasonable grounds to believe main purpose was tax avoidance may be based on audit differentials; Evidence — burden on appellant to produce hedging and development agreements; Settlement — pre‑Tribunal negotiated settlement binding on quantum.
20 May 2020
20 May 2020
20 May 2020
15 May 2020
14 May 2020
Court upheld murder convictions on strong circumstantial evidence but replaced juvenile’s death sentence with detention during the President’s pleasure.
  • Criminal law — murder — circumstantial evidence and conduct (flight, possession of victim’s documents) establishing guilt; Judicial inspection of scene — High Court Act s33; Alibi — requirement to give sufficient details to enable Police investigation; Juvenile offenders — s25(2) Penal Code prohibits death sentence, substitute detention during President’s pleasure.
14 May 2020
14 May 2020
Suspected drug dealing and claimed struggle do not excuse a deliberate fatal shooting; intent established by aiming and firing.
  • Criminal law — Murder: malice aforethought; evidence of aiming and single fatal head wound; forensic omissions and missing witnesses; suspected drug dealing not an extenuating circumstance.
14 May 2020
14 May 2020
14 May 2020
13 May 2020
13 May 2020
Employer may terminate by notice despite ongoing disciplinary proceedings where misconduct is dismissible and contract permits notice.
  • Employment law — wrongful dismissal — disciplinary procedure — contractual termination by notice — serious misconduct (misuse of staff accounts) — employer's right to elect termination despite disciplinary proceedings.
13 May 2020
13 May 2020
13 May 2020
Welfare of the child is paramount; trial judge’s custody decision and concerns about workplace safety and sibling stability were upheld.
  • Family law — Child custody — Welfare of the child paramount — Trial judge’s discretion in custody decisions — Suitability of parental work environment — Continuity of care and sibling bonds — Variation of interim custody orders.
13 May 2020
April 2020
An interim indemnity for USD3 million was discharged when the appellant accepted and registered the handed-over securities.
  • Contract of indemnity — conditional/interim indemnity — effect of surrender/acceptance and registration of securities; syndicated security — role of security agent and requirement for syndicate consent; debt-to-equity conversion — share certificate not conclusive; burden of proof as to breach of indemnity.
22 April 2020
10 April 2020
9 April 2020