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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2023 |
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19 May 2023 |
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11 May 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Tax law: Registration of a company as a VAT vendor in terms of Value Added Tax Act no.9 of 2001-The reckoning of the period in which a vendor must be registered as a VAT vendor in terms of section 17(1) (b) of the Value Added Tax Act- The appellant applying to be registered as a vendor before making taxable supplies – The Commissioner General having approved application for registration and fixing the effective date and later modifying it to coincide with the period when the appellant began making taxable supplies- The appellant claiming credit for input tax in respect of the period prior to its rendering taxable supplies- the respondent rejecting the appellant’s application for credit- The appellant noting an appeal before the Revenue Appeals Tribunal- The appeal having been unsuccessful, the appellant further appealed to the High Court- Held, in agreement with the Revenue Appeals Tribunal, that the appellant was not required to apply for registration before rendering taxable supplies and that the Commissioner General is empowered to reassign the effective date of registration having earlier registered the appellant before it could render taxable supplies- The appeal accordingly dismissed with costs.
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4 May 2023 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE: The point of lack of jurisdiction of the court being raised for the first time in the heads of argument- propriety thereof- Held, lack of jurisdiction goes to the core of the court’s competency to hear the matter, and therefore it can be raised at any point, even for the first time on appeal.
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4 May 2023 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE AND LAW OF PROPERTY: Proceedings for contempt of court order- The requisites thereof-Law of property-What the respondent need to prove on resisting the owner’s claim for his property where it was kept in storage on the basis of an agreement with a third party without consent of the owner-In order to be successful, the requisites of negotiorum gestio must be present.
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4 May 2023 |
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4 May 2023 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: The applicant failing to make out a case for the reliefs sought- Despite such failure the court relying on the Prayer for ‘Further and/ or alternative relief’ to do justice between the parties ordered that the proceeds be shared equally between the parties in view of the circumstances of the matter- Each party to bear its own costs.
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4 May 2023 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Invocation of Rule 8(10)(c) of the High Court Rules 1980 by the respondent in urgent matters- Whether the respondent is barred from filing answering affidavit if he/she chooses to raise the points of law in terms of Rule 8(10) (c)- Held, in the circumstances of the case, the matter should be decided on the basis of the applicant’s founding affidavit as the points of law raised have no merit- Application granted as prayed.
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4 May 2023 |
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SUMMARY
COMPANY LAW: Judicial dissolution of a company sought by shareholders of the company on the basis of the provisions of section 171(b) (i)- the basis of complaint being that there is a deadlock in the management of the company- principles for determining when a company may be dissolved on the basis of a deadlock in management discussed and applied- The court acceded to a prayer for dissolution.
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4 May 2023 |
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3 May 2023 |
| April 2023 |
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25 April 2023 |
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25 April 2023 |
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25 April 2023 |
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19 April 2023 |
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17 April 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Administrative policies may change with changing circumstances including changes in the political complexion of government. The liberty to make such changes is something that is in here in our form of constitutional government. When a change in administrative policy takes place and is communicated in a department circular, only reasonable expectations that may have been aroused by a previous circular are destroyed. But freedom to change policy is not absolute. It must be weighed with the public interest sought to be safe by change of the policy. There ought to be a justification and this change must be communicated to those who might have the expectations or used by previous policy to ensure fairness and guarantee procedural legitimate expectation of these who may be affected Plaintiff would not benefit in those circumstances”.
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4 April 2023 |
| March 2023 |
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SUMMARY:
ELECTION LAW: Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and other interested parties lodging an election petition under the provisions of Section 125 (c) of the National Assembly Electoral Act, 2011(“the Act”) on account of the error it committed when calculating proportional representation seats in the wake of the General Elections held on 7 October 2022- Held, that the IEC committed an error by not excluding the Revolution for Prosperity Party and National Independent Party in the second round of seat allocation contrary to Section 3 (2) (b) of the Third Schedule to the Act, the two parties having won more or equal constituency seats, respectively, than their provisional allocation of seats.
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30 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Arbitration – Parties agreeing to have their dispute resolved by arbitration – Once a party signs for arbitration, it cannot invoke jurisdiction of High Court when arbitration agreement is extant and its enforcement is not against public policy – Agreements freely entered into must be honoured.
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27 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Agreement of sale of plot-Cancellation of the sale agreement-Defendants excepting to court’s jurisdiction-Exception misguided and not in conformity with guiding principles- exception dismissed.
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27 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Law of contract- Elements of a valid contract – essentials of a partnership - what constitutes termination of a contract.
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21 March 2023 |
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16 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY:
Tender Panel making award to a tenderer not recommended by Evaluation Team – Tender Panel properly exercising its powers in declining the recommended tenderer whose tendered price was irregular – Public Procurement Advice Division does not have jurisdiction to entertain an appeal from a dissatisfied tenderer without recourse, in the first place, to the Procurement Unit – The decision of the Tender Panel stands.
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13 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Murder – Crown failing to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons sharing a common purpose, had the necessary intention to kill the deceased. Accused persons found guilty of culpable homicide- Accused persons ought reasonably to have foreseen possibility of resultant death, and that such death ensued.
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9 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Contempt of Court – The law on contempt of court re-stated and discussed
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7 March 2023 |
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Delict - claim for damages for assault by the police - police assaulting plaintiff at his home - plaintiff neither suspected of committing any offence nor charged - assault immediately reported to superiors but no action taken - duty of Commissioner of Police, Director of Public Prosecutions and Attorney General to protect the rule oflaw - systemic and institutional weaknesses affecting effective investigation and prosecution of cases of police brutality - constraints in pursuing compensation in criminal proceedings - determination of award of damages in accordance with pattern of previous awards - imperative to reform the police service in order to curb police brutality - Constitution of Lesotho, 1993 section 11; Criminal Procedure And Evidence Act, 1981 sections 39, 40, 321; Inquests Proclamation, 1954 sections 6 (f), 17; Penal Code, 2010 section 31 (2); Police Service Act, 1998 section 22.
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7 March 2023 |
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7 March 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Rejection of application for withdrawal of early retirement- Whether failure to furnish reasons amounts to unfair dismissal – Is the applicant entitled to reinstatement and payment of salaries.
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2 March 2023 |
| February 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Interdict – To restrain the respondent from interfering with applicant’s possession of certain land – Applicant relying on unregistered sub – lease agreement and is asserting a right of lien as a bona fide occupier – Long term unregistered sub -lease agreement null and void and cannot be a source of rights – Applicant failing to disclose quantum of alleged enrichment or increase in the value of property and evidence of impoverishment – A claim for lien not substantiated – Applicant’s possession interfered with – Requirements of interdict proved - Respondent restrained from taking possession of the premises unless it is by due process of law
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28 February 2023 |
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28 February 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Civil Procedure – Amendment of Pleadings – discretion of the court to grant such – Rule 33 of the High Court Rules Restated.
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23 February 2023 |
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20 February 2023 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE- Application for contempt of court- The requisites of the remedy re-stated and applied.
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16 February 2023 |
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SUMMARY
LAW OF CONTRACT AND DAMAGES- Payment of mora interest for repudiated sale of a landed property- Claim for loss of profits on account of repudiation- Principles applicable considered and applied- Defendant claiming that the plaintiff contributed negligently to his incurring damages-Held, unlike in the law of delict, a party’s contributory negligence cannot be defence to a claim for damages for breach of contract unless the plaintiff’s conduct is the only cause of damage.
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16 February 2023 |
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13 February 2023 |
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SUMMARY
Delict- claim for damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, contumelia, and unlawful detention. Plaintiff arrested and detained by the police- assaulted during the detention- nature of the injuries-
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10 February 2023 |
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9 February 2023 |
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8 February 2023 |
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SUMMARY
When, as in the present case, there are two mutually destructive stories Plaintiff succeeds because on providence of probabilities his version is true, and Defendant’s version is mistaken and falls to be rejected. In deciding whether that evidence is true or not the Court had weighed up and tested the Plaintiff’s allegations against the general probabilities. The Plaintiff succeeds because the Court believes him and finds that the Defendant’s version is false.
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7 February 2023 |
| December 2022 |
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16 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY
Application – Authority to institute legal proceedings on behalf of artificial person seriously challenged – Onus on the deponent to the founding papers to provide more than minimum of evidence that the proceedings are duly authorised – A director does not have authority to institute legal proceedings on behalf of artificial person by virtue of position – Authority to institute legal proceedings must be duly conferred – The deponent to the founding papers failing to thwart challenge to his authority – Application dismissed.
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15 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY:
Constitutional litigation – Collateral challenge to vindicate fundamental human rights and freedoms – Applicants claiming that they suffered pre – trial prejudices as a result of Public Accounts Committee summoning and questioning Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences and the Director of Public Prosecutions about their criminal case – Applicants alleging interference with prosecutorial powers and discrimination by the Director General who charged them to the exclusion of co – suspects contrary to the directive of the Director of Public Prosecutions – Director of Public Prosecutions does not account to PAC in discharging her constitutional mandate - The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences is not an agent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, but exercises its own prosecutorial powers – A claim for discrimination must be brought within the ambit of section 18 of the Constitution – Collateral changelle requires exceptional circumstances – Application dismissed.
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15 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE: Application for stay of execution pending appeal against a provisional sentence in circumstances where the leave of Court of Appeal should have been sought- Application dismissed as appeal was lodged without the leave of the Court of Appeal being sought.
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14 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE: Application for leave to appeal a final order before the High Court- Held, the order being appealed against being final in nature and effect, the applicant should appeal straight to the Court of Appeal- leave of the High Court should only be sought against the judgment of the High Court exercising its civil appellate jurisdiction – Approach to dealing with an exorbitant amount reflected on the Writ of Execution than the amount that is owed by the judgment debtor, articulated.
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14 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY
CIVIL PRACTICE: Application for variation of judgment under common law- Principles applicable considered and applied.
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14 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY
CRIMINAL LAW: Accused charged with murder on the basis of common purpose- Crown failing to proof its case beyond a reasonable doubt – Accused acquitted
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12 December 2022 |
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Summary
Loan agreement – whether costs and interest levied on the loan are unlawful – Applicability of Money Lenders Act 1989 as amended on the loan agreement – The Act applies to money Lenders – loan transaction governed by Financial Institutions Act 2012 and Financial Institutions ( Credit-only Institutions) Regulations 2010 – Each law intended to apply to the segment it was enacted for – the Acts calling for harmonious interpretation – there is no inconsistency between the Money Lenders Act 1989 and the 2010 Regulations.
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2 December 2022 |
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SUMMARY
Constitutional provisions for decision of questions as to membership of parliament- Procedure to be followed where allocation of proportional representation seats is in issue – Discussion on section 69 of the Constitution and its reference in the Electoral Act.
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1 December 2022 |
| November 2022 |
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Summary:
Exception – Defendants raising non - joinder and misjoinder by way of exception under rule 29 (1)(a) of the High Court Rules – Whether the defence is within the ambit of the rule – Exception is permissible where the defect complained of is ex facie pleadings – Exception dismissed
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30 November 2022 |
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SUMMARY
Action for damages- Motor vehicle Collision - Vicarious liability of the employer - Claim of delictual damages- past loss of earnings and future loss of earnings - Plaintiff failing to prove claim.
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24 November 2022 |
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SUMMARY
Civil Procedure – Authorisation to institute proceeding for a juristic person – Requirements therein - Urgent application- urgency has to be shown and is not there for the taking -
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23 November 2022 |