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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2020 |
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Court upheld lis pendens and stayed duplicate Masvingo proceedings pending determination of earlier Harare action.
Civil procedure – lis pendens (lis alibi pendens) – same parties, same subject matter, same cause – onus to show parallel proceedings not vexatious – stay of later proceedings; use of Rule 199 (stated case) and Order 126 to avoid duplication of litigation.
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11 March 2020 |
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Conviction for concealing birth confirmed but sentence varied as excessive; facts indicated infanticide rather than mere concealment.
Criminal law — Concealment of birth (s106) v infanticide (s48) — Disposal of a newly born infant — Competence of sentence on review — Substitution of sentence by High Court.
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10 March 2020 |
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Whether the presumption of doli incapax was rebutted and whether the magistrate properly canvassed the juvenile's criminal capacity.
Criminal law – Children aged 7–14 – doli incapax presumption – rebuttal requires proof beyond reasonable doubt of cognitive and conative capacity – duty of court in guilty plea to canvass capacity – relevance of probation officer's report – review and withholding of certificate.
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1 March 2020 |
| February 2020 |
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Failure to serve the notice of appeal meant the eviction order remained effective; urgent restoration application dismissed.
Civil procedure – noting of appeal – Order 31(2) Magistrates Court (Civil) Rules 2019 – requirement to file and serve notice of appeal – service as essential for suspensive effect of appeal – execution of magistrate’s eviction order by Messenger of Court lawful.
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28 February 2020 |
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Exception upheld: alleged rally utterances did not, on their face, disclose an offence of subverting government by unconstitutional means.
Criminal law – Subverting constitutional government (s 22(2)(a)(i)) – element of overthrow “by unconstitutional means” – charge must clearly allege unlawful means – exception to charge upheld – fair trial and particularity of indictment.
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14 February 2020 |
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Self-defence rejected; accused convicted of murder with constructive intent for disproportionate fatal neck stabbing.
Criminal law – Murder – Self-defence – Proportionality of force in response to assault – Constructive intent established by dangerous act causing fatal wound – Credibility and post-offence conduct (disposal of weapon, flight) relevant to defence assessment.
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2 February 2020 |
| January 2020 |
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Applicants failed to follow statutory procedures for reasons, many claims were time-barred, and all applications were dismissed with costs.
Administrative law – right to reasons – Administrative Justice Act gives effect to constitutional right to prompt written reasons – requirement to follow statutory procedures; Natural justice – audi alteram partem – representations before board of inquiry sufficient; Civil procedure – substance over form – declaratory orders vs review – r 259 time bar; Police law – reinstatement pending appeal – mandatory interdict requirements; Constitutional challenge – validity of Administrative Justice Act rejected.
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29 January 2020 |
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Accidental culpable homicide while intoxicated; intoxication not mitigating; effective sentence 1½ years imprisonment.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide (s49) – Accidental fatality caused by intoxicated conduct; Voluntary intoxication not mitigating (s221(2)); Sentencing factors — mitigation (guilty plea, cooperation, first offender, family dependence) and aggravation (violent intoxicated conduct) – Custodial sentence with partially suspended term.
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23 January 2020 |
| November 2019 |
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The applicants' custodial sentences were set aside for failing to consider fines, community service and witchcraft‑belief mitigation.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Assault — Sentencing discretion — Community service enquiry and requirement to give reasons for discarding non‑custodial options — Where statute permits a fine, imprisonment as last resort — Belief in witchcraft not a defence but mitigatory under s101.
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28 November 2019 |
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Accused found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a psychiatric unit under the Mental Health Act.
Criminal law — Murder — Mental disorder and criminal responsibility — Special verdict under s 29(2) Mental Health Act — Commitment to psychiatric institution.
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26 November 2019 |
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Owner entitled to vindicate employer property retained by former employee; urgent rei vindicatio and recovery order granted.
Property law – rei vindicatio – former employee retaining employer’s firearms, keys and vehicle after termination – urgency in chamber application – demand and police involvement – sheriff authorised to recover property
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18 November 2019 |
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A trial within a trial found the accused’s unconfirmed warned and cautioned video statement was voluntary and admissible.
Criminal procedure — trial within a trial — admissibility of unconfirmed warned and cautioned statement — voluntariness/undue influence — s256 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act — s70(3) Constitution — prosecution’s burden to prove voluntariness beyond reasonable doubt.
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14 November 2019 |
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Applicant failed to show procedural unfairness; land commission’s GPS boundary determination upheld; application dismissed with costs.
Administrative Justice Act – procedural fairness (s 3) – administrative review – land allocation disputes – Zimbabwe Land Commission jurisdiction – GPS boundary survey as evidentiary basis – requirement to show breach and rebut administrative determination.
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13 November 2019 |
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Accused convicted of murder with constructive intent for striking his mother with a heavy stone; sentenced to 20 years.
Criminal law — Murder — Constructive intention inferred from use of heavy stone to the head — Credible eyewitness and dying statements — Voluntary intoxication not a defence — Sentence 20 years imprisonment.
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13 November 2019 |
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A delictual claim prescribes three years from the incident; parallel criminal proceedings do not suspend prescription.
Prescription Act (Cap 8:11) — s2, s16 — cause of action; ordinary delictual debt; three-year prescription period; s17 (delay) and ss18–19 (interruption) inapplicable; parallel criminal proceedings do not delay or interrupt civil prescription; distinction from claims against police where civil liability depends on criminal outcome.
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8 November 2019 |
| October 2019 |
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Appeal dismissed: circumstantial and accomplice evidence supported co‑perpetrator fraud conviction and custodial sentence.
Criminal law – fraud (s 136) – circumstantial evidence – R v Blom principles – accomplice evidence – doctrine of common purpose / co‑perpetrator liability (s 196A) – sentence: custodial term vs community service; restitution.
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23 October 2019 |
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Court reduced custody and ordered community service for a youthful first offender after finding sentencing misdirection.
Criminal law – Theft – Sentencing – Youthful first offender attending school – Failure to inquire mitigating factors and alternatives to imprisonment – Misdirection on sentence – Substitution with suspended terms and community service – Remittal for inquiry and computation of time served.
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17 October 2019 |
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Court ordered employers to deposit disputed trade union dues with the Master of the High Court pending appeal to protect funds.
Labour law – trade union dues – urgent interim relief – deposit into Master of the High Court Trust Account – intra-union factional disputes – preservation of funds pending appeal.
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16 October 2019 |
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Whether the accused’s disproportionate, sustained assault was lawful self‑defence or amounted to murder with constructive intent.
Criminal law – Murder with constructive intent (s 47(1)(b)) – Self‑defence (s 253) – excessive and disproportionate force – use of lethal weapon – post‑mortem evidence establishing cause of death.
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11 October 2019 |
| August 2019 |
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Loss of employment in the industry terminated union membership and disqualified individuals from holding union office.
Labour law — Trade union membership and office — Employee status as prerequisite for membership and holding union office — Effect of termination of employment; union constitution construed with Labour Act; appeal or leave to appeal not suspensive.
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28 August 2019 |
| June 2019 |
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Whether council records and cessions established lawful transfer, defeating the respondent's eviction and holding-over claims.
Property law – cession of lease-to-buy rights – validity of informal authority and informal cession despite incomplete council formalities – weight of council records and tacit consent – proof of fraud required to overturn registered/recorded transfers – holding-over damages unsupported where eviction claim fails.
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5 June 2019 |
| May 2019 |
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Court confirmed placement of a male juvenile in a training institute, requiring written proof of accommodation and postponing a breached suspended sentence.
Juvenile sentencing; corporal punishment outlawed; requirement to ascertain and record accommodation under s351 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act; s20 Children’s Act powers; probation report; condonation of procedural defects in best interests of child; dealing with breached suspended sentence.
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20 May 2019 |
| February 2019 |
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Fatal domestic assault treated as culpable homicide; eight-year effective sentence imposed, two years suspended.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide (s 49) pleaded on agreed facts – Borderline with murder – Sentencing: guilty plea, pre-trial incarceration, personal circumstances and compensation as mitigation versus brutality, high negligence and deterrence as aggravation – Partial suspension on condition of no violent offending.
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8 February 2019 |
| January 2019 |
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A purchaser with only personal rights (no transfer) cannot vindicate property sold in execution; execution sale and cession prevailed.
Property law – lease-to-buy/cession of rights – purchaser without transfer holds personal rights only – rei vindicatio unavailable; execution sale – effect on third-party personal rights; double sale rule – first purchaser favored absent special circumstances; properly conducted judicial sale and subsequent cession confer priority.
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31 January 2019 |
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Court quashed an excessive sentence after finding misdirection and reliance on irrelevant considerations, substituting a mitigated custodial outcome.
Sentencing — misdirection — failure to consider mitigating factors (first offender, guilty plea, poverty, family responsibilities) — reliance on irrelevant considerations (festive season) — community service not age-limited — excessive sentence substituted.
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17 January 2019 |
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Purchaser paying seller’s estate agent is entitled to specific performance; magistrate’s jurisdiction upheld despite drafting errors.
Specific performance; contract interpretation; magistrate’s court jurisdiction; written consent to jurisdiction; payment to estate agent constitutes payment to seller; agency in property sale.
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16 January 2019 |
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Redistribution of assets after an unregistered customary union: unjust enrichment, apportionment and enforced valuation timelines.
Customary law unions — Redistribution of assets upon dissolution — Unjust enrichment and equitable apportionment — Valuation of movable and immovable property — Enforcement by court-appointed evaluators and fixed timelines — Costs proportionate to success.
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7 January 2019 |
| December 2018 |
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Court confirmed conviction, set aside improperly altered custodial sentence, reinstated fine and imposed statutory driving prohibitions.
Criminal review; culpable homicide arising from negligent driving; manifestly lenient sentence; Road Traffic Act s 64 and s 65—cancellation and prohibition of licence; magistrate functus officio; duty to explain 'special circumstances' to unrepresented accused; review and remedial directions.
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13 December 2018 |
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Conviction for theft confirmed; custodial sentence reduced and remitted pending a community-service inquiry and restitution.
Criminal law – theft of trust property – sentence review – mitigation for first offenders – community service as alternative to imprisonment – failure to consider community service reviewable.
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6 December 2018 |
| November 2018 |
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Mandatory minimum sentencing and the duty to explain and record 'special circumstances' were central to the review.
Criminal law – Stock theft – Mandatory minimum sentences – requirement to identify special circumstances; Criminal procedure – Sentencing – duty to explain and record 'special circumstances' and accused’s responses; Court record – necessity to record explanations, questions and answers for review.
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22 November 2018 |
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Whether the accused’s intoxication vitiated intent and the admissibility/weight of dying declaration and confession in a murder trial.
Criminal law – murder (s47(1)(a)) – evidential weight of confirmed warned and cautioned statement and dying declaration – intoxication and mens rea – sufficiency of evidence to establish actual intent.
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15 November 2018 |
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Guardianship order set aside for lack of jurisdiction, inadequate inquiry and doubtful affidavit authenticity.
Guardianship of Minors Act s 9(1) — jurisdiction of Children’s Court to appoint guardian — natural guardian status of biological mother; authenticity of affidavits — ink alterations and lack of countersignature; requirement to hold inquiry and record reasons — adequacy of proceedings for High Court review; ultra vires appointment and setting aside of order.
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14 November 2018 |
| July 2018 |
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Where no evidence has been adduced after a not-guilty plea, another magistrate may properly continue the trial.
Criminal procedure – Pleas – s 180(6) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act – where plea of not guilty recorded and no evidence adduced, trial may be continued before another magistrate – partly heard matters – magistrate’s refusal to implement legally incorrect ruling.
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24 July 2018 |
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Effective 8-year sentence for culpable homicide balancing violent conduct against youth and mitigating circumstances.
Culpable homicide; borderline with murder; self-defence available but excessive force; sentencing — aggravating factors (lethal weapon, multiple stab wounds, flight, concealment) and mitigating factors (youth, first offender, plea); custodial sentence with partial suspension.
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23 July 2018 |
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Leave to execute interdict granted to protect school children from compelled political activity despite pending appeal.
Urgent chamber application; leave to execute pending appeal; interim interdict protecting school children from compelled political activity; balancing preponderance of equities and irreparable harm; amendment of overbroad injunction to permit use of school property with consent; costs awarded to applicants.
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17 July 2018 |
| June 2018 |
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Assault at a beerhall proved; lack of intent converted murder charge to culpable homicide convictions.
Criminal law — Murder v. culpable homicide — Common purpose in assault — Eyewitness credibility and medical evidence — Intention to kill required for murder; negligent assault supports culpable homicide.
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29 June 2018 |
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Court granted urgent interdict preventing party and minister from using schools, teachers, or children for political rallies.
Constitutional law – children's rights to education and protection from political exploitation; interim interdict – requirements and urgency; procedural formalities – Form 29B vs Form 29 not fatal absent prejudice; misuse/commandeering of school property and compulsion of teachers and pupils for political rallies.
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28 June 2018 |
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Sentencing for culpable homicide of child: parental violence and concealment outweighed mitigation; effective four-year imprisonment.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide – Sentencing: aggravating factors (parental relationship, violent assault on a child, concealment of body) and mitigating factors (guilty plea, first offender, family dependents, ill-health) – Suspension of sentence.
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25 June 2018 |
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An in-court settlement withdrew the urgent application; matter removed from the roll and applicant ordered to pay $2,000 costs.
Civil procedure – urgent chamber application – in-court settlement recorded by judge – withdrawal from roll – renunciation of agency – corporate representation – costs agreed.
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20 June 2018 |
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Accused convicted of two counts of murder with constructive intent; sentenced to 36 years each.
Criminal law – Murder – Constructive intent (s 47(1)(b)) – Common purpose – Use of lethal weapons – Credibility of eyewitnesses – Aggravation by two murders (s 47(2)(b)) – Sentencing balance of deterrence and mitigation.
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15 June 2018 |
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Occupational right to company housing tied to employment ends on termination; owner may vindicate possession despite secondment/transfer arrangements.
Property law – Eviction – Possession as incident of ownership – Employee’s occupation of company housing tied to employment; Employment law – Secondment and transfer – Secondment may create a separate contract and extinguish original housing entitlement; Civil procedure – Distinction between eviction remedy and substantive adjudication of employment disputes.
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13 June 2018 |
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Claimant failed to rebut presumption that attached goods belonged to the judgment debtor; nature of items alone was insufficient.
Civil procedure – Interpleader – Attachment in execution – Rebuttable presumption of ownership of movables in possession or at registered office – Onus on claimant to prove ownership on balance of probabilities – Nature of goods alone insufficient to rebut presumption; documentary proof required.
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13 June 2018 |
| May 2018 |
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24 May 2018 |
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Effective four‑year sentence for culpable homicide; voluntary intoxication not mitigating, guilty plea and first‑offender status partially mitigated.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide – Voluntary intoxication not a mitigating factor (s 221(2)) – Sentencing: balancing aggravating factors (violence against elderly parent, grievous injury, public deterrence) and mitigating factors (guilty plea, first offender, pre‑trial incarceration, single fatal blow) – Partial suspension of sentence.
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21 May 2018 |
| April 2018 |
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Rape not proved beyond reasonable doubt; conviction substituted with s70(1)(a) offence and sentence mitigated to suspended terms and community service.
Criminal law — Sufficiency of proof of rape — assessment of consent and witness credibility — danger of false incrimination — alternative verdict: s70(1)(a) (sexual intercourse with a young person) — substitution of conviction on review — sentencing considerations for offences involving underage complainants.
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10 April 2018 |
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Applicant granted interim interdict to halt mining pending appeal to prevent depletion of finite chrome resources.
Mining law – Appeal from Mining Commissioner’s Court to High Court (s361) – Urgency in interim relief – Interim interdict requirements (prima facie right, irreparable harm, balance of convenience) – Over-pegging disputes – Protection of finite mineral resources.
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5 April 2018 |
| March 2018 |
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Insufficient and unreliable medical and circumstantial evidence precluded a murder conviction; accused convicted of assault only.
Criminal law – causation in homicide – necessity of proving proximate cause beyond reasonable doubt; reliability and independence of post-mortem findings; novus actus interveniens; permissible lesser verdict of assault where murder/culpable homicide not proved.
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23 March 2018 |
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Defective driving charge (citations, road type, s 8 permit) set aside; culpable homicide conviction confirmed.
Road Traffic Act s 6(1) & s 6(5) — proper framing of offence and penalty; definition of 'road' and private road; s 8 tractor-driver permits; s 272 Criminal Procedure — doubt as to plea; culpable homicide involving motor vehicle — ss 52, 64, 65 driving prohibitions and licence cancellation; s 163A — obligation to inform and record right to representation.
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15 March 2018 |
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Delay by authorities and insufficient proof of 'good cause' entitled applicants to discharge from extradition custody.
Extradition Act s33 – discharge from custody after delay; reasonableness of notice to Minister; 'good cause' for refusal; judicial notice of political upheaval; balance between treaty obligations and individual liberty.
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9 March 2018 |
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Effective four-year imprisonment for culpable homicide after prolonged fatal assault; provocation and personal circumstances mitigated sentence.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide as permissible verdict to murder – Sentence – Provocation (s 238) as mitigation – High degree of negligence and prolonged assault causing cervical spine fracture – Pre-trial custody and personal circumstances as mitigating factors – Need for deterrent custodial sentence.
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8 March 2018 |