Principle Archive

Not every mistake or error in a judgment results in reversal. It is only when the error is so substantial that it has occasioned a miscarriage…

Where the accused is literate in English and the proceedings are conducted in English, the requirement that the charge be explained to him in a language…

The legal maxim omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta presumes that judicial and official acts have been done rightly and regularly until the contrary is…

Under section 19 of the Criminal Code, intoxication is a defence only if the accused did not know what he was doing. The burden is on…

No accused can take shelter under the defence of intoxication if it is self-induced. Self-induced intoxication is no defence to a charge. The accused is presumed…

In determining what amounts to a fair hearing within a reasonable time, four factors must be considered: (1) length of delay; (2) reasons for the delay;…

State lands held in trust for public purposes cannot be sold as fee simple absolute without express statutory authorisation. Without such authorisation, the purported sale is…

Only a party to a contract can sue for its cancellation. A non-party to a contract cannot ask for its cancellation or abrogation.

Any provision of law that gives extraordinary powers of compulsory acquisition of citizens' properties must be construed strictly against the proferens (the party invoking it).

The court has jurisdiction to pronounce not on the power of a Military Governor to make an Edict, but on whether an Edict is inconsistent with…

Section 6(6)(d) ousted jurisdiction only to determine issues of legislative competence of any authority to promulgate any law. It did not prohibit determining the validity of…

No property shall be compulsorily acquired except under a law that requires payment of adequate compensation and gives the claimant a right of access to the…