Principle Archive

Parties are bound by their pleadings, and evidence which is at variance with the averments in the pleadings goes to no issue and should be disregarded…

The Supreme Court possesses inherent power to set aside its judgment in appropriate cases: (i) when obtained by fraud or deceit; (ii) when the judgment is…

A cross-appeal is an independent complaint, distinct from non-determination of an issue in an appeal; applications to set aside Supreme Court judgments should not be turned…

The Supreme Court has inherent power to set aside its own judgment in appropriate cases: (1) when obtained by fraud; (2) when the judgment is a…

Failure to consider an issue in the leading judgment does not rob the judgment of its efficacy where the issue was exhaustively considered and resolved in…

The Supreme Court cannot sit on appeal over its own judgment; there is no constitutional provision for review of its judgment by itself, as there must…

Conflicting traditional evidence is not resolved by demeanour of witnesses but by testing each version by reference to recent facts as established by evidence, and seeing…

Where a trial judge resolves acts of ownership in favour of a party, that is sufficient for the party to succeed on title, even if he…

A trial judge has a duty to resolve conflicting traditional histories, but failure to do so is not fatal where the plaintiff succeeds on another method…

A party claiming declaration of title need not plead and prove more than one of the five methods of proving ownership; proof of one single root…

Failure to consider all issues raised does not automatically nullify proceedings; the result depends on whether miscarriage of justice is occasioned, unlike denial of fair hearing…

The police have discretion whether to investigate an allegation; their duty is not ministerial but discretionary, based on factors such as nature of offence, resources, time,…