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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2023 |
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A compensation claim filed after the 12‑month limitation without a pleaded exemption is time‑barred and jurisdictionally incompetent.
Limitation of actions – compensation claims – item 1, First Schedule, Law of Limitation Act – 12‑month limitation for compensation. Civil procedure – Order VII Rule 6 CPC – mandatory requirement to plead grounds for exemption when suit is time‑barred. Negotiations – do not suspend/toll limitation period. Jurisdiction – courts lack jurisdiction to entertain actions instituted after limitation without pleaded exemption; consequences: nullity, quashment of judgment and decree.
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22 March 2023 |
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High Court misapplied matrimonial law in a probate matter; appeal quashed judgment and remitted for rehearing.
Probate and Administration — appointment of administrator — discretion under section 33 PAEA — court must consider greater and immediate interests in estate — inappropriate to adjudicate matrimonial disputes or rely on Law of Marriage Act issues in a probate cause — misdirection and nullity; remit for rehearing.
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22 March 2023 |
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High Court misdirected on notice filing and wrongly dismissed an incompetent appeal; Court of Appeal quashed the ruling and restored the appeal.
Criminal procedure – filing of notice of appeal – where High Court grants extension and is seised of the record, notice properly filed in High Court; Appeals – incompetent appeals – appropriate remedy is striking out, not dismissal; Appellate jurisdiction – Court of Appeal’s revisional powers under s.4(2) AJA to quash and restore proceedings.
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20 March 2023 |
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Failure to determine a preliminary objection on misjoinder before trial vitiates proceedings and warrants quashing and remittal.
Civil procedure – preliminary objection – misjoinder of parties – preliminary objection must be determined before trial – failure to determine vitiates proceedings – revision under s.4(2) AJA – pleadings spared – remittal for expedited retrial.
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20 March 2023 |
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Conviction for drunkenness on duty quashed where TRC procedural safeguards and evidential chain were not observed.
Criminal law – offence of drunkenness while on duty – standard of proof: suspicion insufficient to convict. Regulatory compliance – TRC Rules 13(c) – requirement for written statements of two independent witnesses and, where possible, immediate Alcolyser or medical test. Evidence – admissibility and reliance on breath‑alcohol test – timing, operator qualification, chain of custody and need for witness corroboration. Procedure – improper admission of documentary evidence (contents not read) – expunction and effect on prosecution case.
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20 March 2023 |
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Whether time spent obtaining trial records is excluded when computing the 45-day period to lodge a criminal appeal.
Criminal procedure – Time limits for appeals to High Court – Section 361(1)(b) CPA – Proviso excluding time to obtain certified copies of proceedings and judgment when computing 45-day appeal period – Receipt of records starts computing period – High Court misdirection in sustaining time-bar preliminary objection.
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20 March 2023 |
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Child witnesses’ unsworn evidence without the mandatory s.127(2) promise lacks evidential value, requiring quashing of conviction.
Evidence Act s.127(2) — Child witnesses — mandatory promise to tell the truth — unsworn evidence of children recorded without promise has no evidential value; conviction unsafe where remaining evidence is contradictory and fails to prove sexual touching; appellate powers to expunge inadmissible evidence and quash conviction.
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20 March 2023 |
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Second appeal allowed: prosecution failed to dispel reasonable doubt; convictions quashed and sentences set aside.
Criminal law – conviction for gang rape – sufficiency of evidence and standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Evidence – non-production of material witnesses (police and bystanders) within reach – adverse inference. Evidence Act s.127 – applicability where witness apparent age is over 14; evidence properly received by affirmation. Criminal Procedure Act s.231 – accused’s right to be heard and to call witnesses; not condemned unheard. Procedure – contradictions in prosecution evidence (dates and medical report) may create reasonable doubt.
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20 March 2023 |
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A notice of appeal filed before new titling rules remains competent; the High Court wrongly struck out the appellant's appeal.
Criminal procedure — Notice of intention to appeal to the High Court by the DPP — Titling of notice — Non-retrospective application of titling requirements introduced in later decisions — Notices filed before new prescription remain competent.
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17 March 2023 |
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Confessional statements unlawfully obtained and remaining circumstantial evidence was insufficient, so conviction quashed and appellant released.
Criminal law – admissibility of confessions – section 50(1)(a) CPA delay to record cautioned statement; extra-judicial statements – compliance with Chief Justice's instructions; circumstantial evidence – suspicion insufficient to convict; burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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17 March 2023 |
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Conviction quashed: cautioned statement improperly certified and circumstantial evidence insufficient, despite minor committal interpreter irregularity.
Criminal procedure – committal proceedings – interpreter not sworn – whether denial of fair trial where accused did not complain and confirmed understanding of trial language; Criminal procedure – cautioned statement – defective certification (stranger and wrong statutory provision) – expunction; Evidence – circumstantial evidence and voice identification – need to irresistibly point to accused's guilt; Remedy – conviction quashed and sentence set aside where evidential foundation unsafe.
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17 March 2023 |
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A subordinate court lacked jurisdiction because the DPP’s certificate was issued under the wrong EOCCA provision for mixed offences.
Criminal procedure — jurisdiction — DPP’s certificate under EOCCA — where charge combines economic and non-economic offences certificate must be under s.12(4), not s.12(3); proceedings without proper certificate are nullity. Evidence — admission of exhibits and cautioned statements — requirement to read/explain exhibits to accused; cautioned statement must comply with CPA time limits; s.34B(2)(e) mandatory requirements for independent witness statements. Revision — exercise of revisional powers to quash convictions and set aside sentences; retrial refused where prosecution’s case is defective and retrial would prejudice accused.
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17 March 2023 |
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High Court wrongly struck out a timely appeal and lacked jurisdiction to exercise revision after striking it out.
Criminal procedure – Appeal to High Court – Notice of intention to appeal – time limit under section 361(1)(a) CPA – notice filed within ten days. Criminal procedure – Competence – High Court struck out appeal erroneously where notice was timely. Revisional jurisdiction – Section 373(1) CPA – High Court may revise subordinate court records only where those records have been called for or come to its knowledge; court lacked jurisdiction to invoke revision after striking out appeal. Functus officio – once appeal struck out, nothing remained before High Court to warrant reopening; subsequent proceedings were nullity.
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17 March 2023 |
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Cautioned and extra-judicial statements improperly admitted were expunged; remaining evidence insufficient to sustain murder convictions.
Criminal procedure – assessors: failure to brief assessors not fatal if they actively participate; Criminal procedure – cautioned statements: must be admitted in presence of assessors after voluntariness determined or otherwise expunged; Criminal procedure – extra-judicial statements: must be part of committal or introduced by s.289 CPA notice; Evidence – circumstantial evidence: must irresistibly point to accused's guilt; Duty to call material witnesses – failure may attract adverse inference.
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16 March 2023 |
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Unprocedurally admitted statements and unsafe visual identification undermined murder convictions, leading to quashing and release.
Criminal procedure – admissibility of extra-judicial and cautioned statements – compliance with committal requirements (s.246 CPA) – caution recorded in presence of police – statutory four‑hour rule (ss.50–51 CPA); Identification evidence – visual ID at night, covered assailant, failure to name suspect at earliest opportunity – reliability and mistaken identity.
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16 March 2023 |