Harare High Court - 2023 June

39 judgments
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39 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
June 2023
Application to set aside interim freezing order under s37J(2) dismissed for failure to show good cause.
Money Laundering Act s37J(2) – interim freezing orders – unexplained wealth orders – meaning of "good cause" – ex parte applications and notice – distinction between interim freezing orders and interdicts (s44) – material non-disclosure – risk of dissipation
30 June 2023
Applicants’ ownership and notice complaints did not amount to good cause to set aside the interim freezing order under the Money Laundering Act.
Money Laundering Act s37B, s371, s37J(2) – Interim freezing orders – Good cause standard for setting aside – Distinction between interdict (s44) and interim freezing order – s37K governs variation/exclusion – Non‑disclosure and ownership not automatically discharge interim freezing orders
30 June 2023
Applicant failed to show "good cause" to set aside an interim freezing order under the Money Laundering Act; application dismissed.
Money Laundering Act (Ch 9:24) – interim freezing orders (s 371) – setting aside under s 37J(2) – meaning of "good cause" – ex parte unexplained wealth orders (s 37B) – notice – exclusion from interdict (s 44) inapplicable – material non-disclosure – risk of dissipation – costs
30 June 2023
30 June 2023
30 June 2023
30 June 2023
30 June 2023
Application to set aside an arbitral award dismissed as time‑barred, res judicata, and lacking cause of action.
Arbitration – setting aside award – Article 34(2)(b)(ii) (public policy) – Article 34(3) time‑bar – res judicata and estoppel – abuse of process – interlocutory rulings – applicant lacking cause of action – positive relief not available under Article 34(1)
29 June 2023
Applicant’s challenge to an arbitral ruling refusing late evidence was dismissed as time‑barred, res judicata, and lacking cause of action.
Arbitration — setting aside award — Article 34(2)(b)(ii) public policy challenge; Article 34(3) three‑month time limit; res judicata/estoppel and functus officio; interlocutory arbitral rulings; lack of cause of action; prohibition on positive relief by court
29 June 2023
29 June 2023
29 June 2023
Exceptions, res judicata and prescription raised against commercial claims dismissed; defendants ordered to plead to merits within ten days.
Commercial division procedure – exceptions – requirement that no possible evidence can disclose cause of action before striking plea; Arbitration – foreign arbitral award – recognition vs registration/enforcement; Res judicata/issue estoppel – requirements of identity of issue, finality and parties; Prescription – burden to prove and interruption by prior proceedings or processes under Prescription Act; Corporate law – single economic unit/piercing veil considered but not resolved; Delict vs contract – collateral delictual claims may survive
28 June 2023
Applicant in peaceful possession despoiled by respondent's unlawful demolition; mandament van spolie granted and urgency upheld.
Property law — mandament van spolie — peaceful possession and unlawful deprivation — urgency of spoliation application — unlawful demolition of dwellings and s 74 constitutional protection — adverse inference for dishonest litigation conduct
28 June 2023
Substantial compliance with s26 via newspaper notice and registered-post service upheld; applicants' review and relief dismissed.
Town and regional planning — s26 change-of-use applications — statutory requirements for service and public notice — newspaper publication as valid public notice — registered post to correct address as substantial compliance — onus of proof and credibility in review of administrative decisions
28 June 2023
Prior provisional order did not bar issues; exception dismissed for Rule 42(3) non‑compliance; prescription and locus standi ruled for plaintiff.
Civil procedure — Exception — Rule 42(3) — Mandatory requirement to give written letter calling for removal of cause of complaint before exception — Failure fatal; Prescription — cause of action accrues when defendant's alienation/occupation occurs (2021), not necessarily on earlier sale (2017); Locus standi — direct and substantial interest from earlier sale confers right to sue; Res judicata — provisional order does not finally determine issues
28 June 2023
28 June 2023
A r29(1)(a) rescission application cannot vary an order made under s47(1)(b) of the Money Laundering Act; application struck off.
Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act – s47(1)(b) ex parte applications – characterisation as criminal proceedings – rescission under High Court Rules r29(1)(a) – s38(4) balance of probabilities does not convert criminal proceedings to civil – s83(1)(b) property seizure (Chapter V) is a separate civil regime – service dispensation certificate not determinative
27 June 2023
27 June 2023
26 June 2023
26 June 2023
Respondent barred for non-compliance with Rule 95(19); rescission granted where service was challenged and title dispute threatened third-party purchasers.
Civil procedure – rescission of default judgment – wilful default – sufficiency and rebuttal of return of service; Rule 95(19) – filing and service of heads of argument; eviction – pending competing title dispute between respondent and land developer; protection of innocent third-party purchasers
23 June 2023
23 June 2023
Applicant granted leave to withdraw pre‑trial admissions and ordered to pay attorney‑and‑client costs to respondents.
Civil procedure — Withdrawal of admissions — Rule 50(8) High Court Rules — Authority of deponents to swear affidavits — Pre‑trial conference attendance obligations — Striking admissions from record — Costs: attorney and client awarded for negligent litigant
22 June 2023
High Court struck off application for stay of trial for failure to first exhaust remedies in the trial court.
Criminal procedure — Stay of proceedings — Subsidiarity and exhaustion of intra-court remedies — High Court intervention only in exceptional circumstances — Interim interdict requirements — Proper citation of prosecuting authority
21 June 2023
21 June 2023
20 June 2023
19 June 2023
16 June 2023
Whether a lease-to-buy existed and was performed where no purchase price was agreed and payments were not proved.
Lease v. sale (lease-to-buy) — certainty of purchase price — agreement on pretium prerequisite for valid sale; evidentiary burden to prove performance (deposit, instalments, monthly rent); cancellation of lease and ejectment where tenant breaches payment obligations
14 June 2023
8 June 2023
7 June 2023
6 June 2023
A tax assessment is a multi-step process; attacking a notice of assessment without properly pleading against the assessment process is defective.
Tax law — Assessment is a process including determination and notice; Notice of assessment is a record and not the assessment itself — Procedural pleading requirements when challenging assessments — Challenge must target the assessment process, not merely the notice
2 June 2023
Whether a co‑wife who knowingly entered a bigamous union can claim a share in matrimonial immovable property.
Matrimonial property – Distribution on divorce/nullity under s 7 Matrimonial Causes Act – putative spouse and bigamy – indirect contributions and needs – unjust enrichment – equitable division of immovable and movable assets
2 June 2023
2 June 2023
1 June 2023
1 June 2023
1 June 2023
1 June 2023