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Citation
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Judgment date
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| September 1992 |
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Transfers without required ministerial consent were void ab initio; plaintiffs entitled to rents and vacant possession.
Land law – Mailo/registered land – Transfers of lease interests – Requirement of prior written ministerial consent under the Land Transfer Act – Effect of absence of consent: transfer void ab initio; Limitation – whether actions to recover land/rent time-barred; Re-entry and registration – effect of Registrar’s entry where transferrals void; Remedies – arrears of ground rent, future rents, vacant possession, nominal trespass damages, costs with interest.
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22 September 1992 |
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18 September 1992 |
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11 September 1992 |
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8 September 1992 |
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Court granted bail to a murder-accused due to serious illness and reliable sureties despite lack of Medical Board certificate.
Criminal law – Bail after committal – Trial on Indictments s.14A – Exceptional circumstances – Grave illness (ulcers) and medical treatment – absence of formal Medical Board certificate – prosecutorial delay not an exceptional circumstance – risk of absconding – sureties and reporting conditions.
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7 September 1992 |
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Applicant charged with murder granted bail due to serious illness and low flight risk despite lack of formal medical‑board certificate.
Criminal procedure – Bail for an accused committed for trial under S.14A – requirement of “exceptional circumstances” – grave illness (medical‑board certificate) and remand length – adequacy of medical evidence and assessment of flight risk.
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7 September 1992 |
| August 1992 |
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High Court set aside ex parte judgments due to defective service and procedural irregularities, restraining land development pending trial.
Civil Revision – Ex parte judgments – Defective service and defective affidavit of service – Irregular exercise of magistrate jurisdiction – Ex parte orders set aside. Procedure – Competence of service by messenger – Necessity of proper service and hearing before entering judgment. Interim relief – Restraint on surveying or developing disputed land pending final determination.
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20 August 1992 |
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Employer vicariously liable for its driver’s negligence; plaintiff awarded special and general damages with interest and costs.
• Motor-vehicle collision — vicarious liability — employer responsible for servant/driver’s negligence; driver convicted of reckless driving. • Damages — proof of special damages for spares, repairs and transport — partial reduction for delay and lack of detailed particulars. • Interest — special damages awarded to carry high contractual/penal interest from filing; general damages and taxed costs to carry court rate interest from judgment.
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4 August 1992 |
| July 1992 |
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Court refuses summary judgment on rent arrears pending resolution of jurisdiction under the Electricity Act; each party to bear own costs.
Limitation — applicability to rent arrears; Electricity Act — Sections 37 and 56 and ouster of court jurisdiction; necessity of evidence to classify installations as falling under statutory powers; refusal of summary judgment where jurisdictional issue is unresolved.
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20 July 1992 |
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Respondent’s bidding/sale claims struck out for no cause of action; interim order (25/5/92) vacated; tenancy issues to proceed to trial.
Civil procedure — striking out pleadings for want of a cause of action — pleadings must allege agency where a bidder is said to act for a plaintiff; Interim orders made without hearing adverse party — such orders may lapse and be vacated if time-limits are not complied with; Tenancy disputes and succession in title — factual issues to be resolved at trial.
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16 July 1992 |
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Courts may grant guardianship to a foreign national if in the child's best interest, with stipulations for oversight.
Family Law - Guardianship - application by foreign national - welfare and best interest of child - relocation considerations.
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15 July 1992 |
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9 July 1992 |
| June 1992 |
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19 June 1992 |
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Conviction quashed where embezzlement relied on inadequately evaluated evidence and an improperly admitted oral admission.
Criminal law — Embezzlement — ingredients: receipt/possession, property of employer, by virtue of employment; Evidence — evaluation: duty to resolve contradictions and respect burden of proof; Confession/admission — alleged oral admission — requirement for trial-within-a-trial and voluntariness; Banking law — legal effect of cheque deposits and debits in theft/embezzlement context; Orders — compensation/refund and scope of magistrate’s consequential orders.
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18 June 1992 |
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Court found surgical negligence causing radial nerve injury and awarded general and special damages with interest and costs.
Medical negligence – surgical injury to radial nerve during operation – causation established by discharge note and expert evidence – assessment of general and special damages – allowance of interest and costs.
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12 June 1992 |
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12 June 1992 |
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Lease held subsisting; plaintiff granted equitable relief against forfeiture and ordered to pay arrears; rent review advanced to three months.
Land/Leases – Forfeiture and re-entry – Absence of express re-entry clause and insufficiency of demand where lessor is also director of lessee – re-entry not established. Equity – Relief against forfeiture – Court may grant relief where plaintiff offers to pay arrears and equitable considerations (war damage, occupation) favour relief. Contract – Rent review – Court may order an earlier review despite a contractual ten‑year review clause.
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12 June 1992 |
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Court appointed Administrator‑General and restrained administrator pending revocation suit due to unrefuted fraud allegations.
Succession Act s218 — appointment of administrator pendente lite; interim restraining order against administrator; unrefuted allegations of fraud and mismanagement; hearing in absence after due service; Administrator‑General appointed under court control (no power to distribute).
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10 June 1992 |
| May 1992 |
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20 May 1992 |
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Plaintiff entitled to damages for repudiation of oral investment contract; principal recovery requires a different remedy.
Contract – existence of simple oral contract (offer, acceptance, consideration); breach by non-payment on demand; remedies – damages for repudiation vs action for money had and received; measure of damages as loss of agreed returns; commercial interest awarded from date of loss.
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12 May 1992 |
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4 May 1992 |
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Appeal dismissed for failure to prove statutory Notice compliance and inadequate support for substitution of defendant.
Civil procedure – amendment of plaint under O.1 r.10(2) CPR; statutory Notice of intention to sue – requirements under s.1 Act 20/69; necessity to place statutory Notice on record or annex it to affidavit; service on Administrative Secretary vs Local (District) Administration; inadmissibility of reliance on letters not in proceedings.
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4 May 1992 |
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Failure to place a statutory notice on the record justified disbelief of service; without proven service the suit was not properly instituted, so appeal dismissed.
Statutory notice — section 1, Act 20/69 — requirement of service (not filing) on appropriate officer; service on Administrative Secretary sufficient for local administration; evidential necessity to place copy of statutory notice on record; amendment under O.1 r.10(2) CPR permissible only where proceedings properly before court; trial magistrate entitled to disbelieve unverified affidavit.
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4 May 1992 |
| April 1992 |
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Court dismissed challenge to arbitration award, holding arbitrator acted within scope, parties waived formalities, and costs award was lawful.
Arbitration — setting aside award under s.12 — misconduct or improperly procured award; scope of reference and substituted claims — Fee Note No.1A admissible where submitted before appointment; waiver/estoppel of formal written requirements; arbitrator’s power to award costs — First Schedule Rule 9; error of law/fact alone insufficient to set aside award.
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27 April 1992 |
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Applicant not entitled to statutory bail: remand period ran from appellate order and fell short of 480 days; seriousness and absconding risk outweighed release.
Criminal procedure – Bail under Trial on Indictments Decree (as amended) – Computation of continuous remand where conviction set aside on appeal and retrial ordered – statutory remand period runs from appellate order remanding for retrial; Bail – discretionary factors – gravity of offence, knowledge of evidence, risk of absconding, adequacy and proximity of sureties; Delay in prosecution – distinction between prosecutorial readiness and judicial scheduling delays.
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14 April 1992 |
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Application for bail denied where remand period restarted after conviction was set aside and risk of absconding and gravity of offence prevailed.
Criminal procedure – Bail under s.14B(a) of the Trial on Indictments Decree – computation of continuous remand period after conviction set aside – risk of absconding in serious offences – delay attributable to Judiciary not automatically entitling accused to bail.
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14 April 1992 |
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Child’s welfare is paramount; custody awarded to the respondent father with monthly access to the applicant mother.
Family law – Custody of infants – Welfare of the child as paramount consideration – English common law applicable in absence of statute – Customary law not imposed without consent or where repugnant to natural justice. Illegitimacy – Legal rights of mother balanced against child’s welfare. Consent/estoppel – prior written offer relevant; revocation requires proof of detrimental change. Access – right of parent; frequency and emergencies.
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13 April 1992 |
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Court found conviction proper but reduced an excessive magistrate-imposed custodial sentence to two years for a first offender.
Criminal law – Firearms Act 1970 s.2(2)(a) – possession without certificate; Confirmation of magistrates' sentences – s.167 MCA 1970; Sentencing – whether custodial term excessive for a first offender who pleaded guilty; Reduction of sentence on confirmation.
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10 April 1992 |
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6 April 1992 |
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2 April 1992 |
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2 April 1992 |
| March 1992 |
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Court ordered substituted service by New Vision advertisement where personal service was impracticable.
Civil procedure – substituted service under Order 5 r.19 – Newspaper advertisement as substituted service where defendant's residence and workplace unknown – Affidavit evidence of failed attempts to serve – Costs in the cause.
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31 March 1992 |
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Applicant granted leave to bring a representative suit under Order 1 r.8 to recover unpaid redundancy benefits.
Civil procedure – Representative action – Order 1 r.8 Civil Procedure Rules – collective redundancies and unpaid redundancy benefits – ex parte application where respondent served.
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25 March 1992 |
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25 March 1992 |
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Defendant raised bona fide triable issues about an oral loan, instalments and set‑offs; unconditional leave to defend granted.
Civil procedure – Summary judgment leave to defend – Defendant must show bona fide triable issue – Oral agreement, instalments and set‑offs raise triable issues – Sham defence test – Summary procedure inappropriate where disputed facts require full hearing.
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20 March 1992 |
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16 March 1992 |
| February 1992 |
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Defendant raised triable legal issues under the Money Lenders and Exchange Control Acts; unconditional leave to defend granted.
Civil procedure – summary judgment (Order 33 r.4) – leave to appear and defend – defendant must show bona fide triable issue of fact or law; Money Lenders Act – licence requirement; Exchange Control Act – use of foreign currency/unit of account; whether alleged contraventions render contract void or unenforceable.
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21 February 1992 |
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18 February 1992 |
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Preliminary objections to title, conversion, vicarious liability, assault particulars and limitation were dismissed as premature for trial.
Civil procedure — preliminary objections — striking out plaint — title/identity dispute; Tort — conversion — application to land versus chattels; Pleading — vicarious liability — sufficiency of averment that acts were committed by defendant’s servants; Assault and battery — requirement to identify perpetrators; Limitation — continuing dispossession and appropriateness of determination at trial.
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18 February 1992 |
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Court ordered interim suspension of estate dealings and granted adjournment to allow joinder of interested parties.
Civil procedure — Probate actions — Joinder and service of interested persons — Application for adjournment to join parties — Interim injunction restraining executors from dealing with estate pending determination.
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12 February 1992 |
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11 February 1992 |
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Advanced age held an exceptional circumstance permitting bail for a treason accused; bail granted with strict conditions.
Criminal law – Bail for capital offences – S.14A Trial on Indictment Decree – exceptional circumstances – advanced age – fixed abode – sureties – prior compliance – allegations of witness interference must be proved – passport deposit and reporting conditions.
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11 February 1992 |
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Appellate court set aside illegal fine and defective custodial sentence for reckless driving, substituted fine and ordered release.
Traffic law — Reckless driving — Sentence — Statutory minimum imprisonment (S.138(2)(b)) — 'Special reasons' required to impose less than minimum — Currency Reform affecting fines — Mandatory driving permit cancellation/disqualification (S.65(1)(a)) — Procedural error — Substitution of illegal fine and refund — Setting aside defective custodial sentence.
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11 February 1992 |
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Court allowed joinder applications and ordered interim suspension of estate administration pending determination of injunction.
Civil procedure — Probate actions — Joinder and notice to persons with adverse interests — Interim injunctive relief restraining executors from administering estate pending determination — Order 37 r.1(a) — Authority requiring joinder or notice (Civil Appeal No. 719/79, Vol 9 HCB 1977).
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10 February 1992 |
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Personal-injury claim time-barred; failure to plead statutory exemption required rejection under Limitation Act and CPR.
Limitation Act s4 and s22 – personal injury claims limited to three years; continuing cause of action doctrine; "ignorance" as disability; requirement to plead exemption (Order 7 r6 CPR); rejection of plaint under Order 7 r11(d).
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6 February 1992 |
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6 February 1992 |
| January 1992 |
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Applicant failed to prove an enforceable oral hire agreement or irreparable harm; interlocutory injunction refused and interim order vacated.
Civil procedure – Interlocutory injunction – Requirements: prima facie case with probability of success, irreparable injury, balance of convenience – Ex parte interim order vacated for lack of service; Contract law – formation and proof of an oral hire/joint venture agreement.
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31 January 1992 |
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Ex parte injunction refused for delay, lack of urgency, and because relief was improperly sought against the Registrar (a non‑party).
Civil procedure — Interim injunctions — Order 37 r.1 & r.9 — Mandatory notice requirement for injunctions — Ex parte relief requires demonstrable urgency or risk of defeating the object by delay — Onus on applicant — Registration of Titles Act s.149 — Caveat lapse and time limits — Application against non-party Registrar inappropriate; delay/time-bar fatal.
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22 January 1992 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove advancement of funds for plot development; claim dismissed with costs.
Evidence — burden of proof on claimant to establish payment and agreement; Documentary evidence — travellers cheques and letters, alterations and timing; Credibility — court preferred defendant’s consistent testimony; Property/land — sale agreement and lease processing undermined claimant’s case; Relief dismissed for failure to prove payments.
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20 January 1992 |
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Specific performance of a 1977 lease was denied because laches and non‑performance made enforcement inequitable.
Contract for lease – substance of offer and acceptance established by payment and receipts – equitable relief (specific performance) barred by laches and failure to perform contractual obligations; court will not enforce an aged unperformed lease where delay and acquiescence make relief unjust.
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1 January 1992 |