Privy Council judgments, 2013

Where sentence is not fixed by law, a criminal court must give the defendant an opportunity to address sentence before punishment is imposed. This duty applies…

Under section 6(3) of the Acquisition of Land Act, a notice of intended acquisition becomes conclusive evidence after 30 days that the land is needed for the…

Under Code civil article 1384, liability for damage caused by a thing under a person’s guard does not depend on proof of faute. The gardien bears the burden of…

Statutory periods before a life prisoner may seek release must be construed from the statutory language. A provision fixing a period may operate as a maximum…

On an appeal against conviction, new evidence should be considered through a sequential inquiry into credibility, freshness and its potential effect on the…

Financial relief after divorce is a forward-looking exercise centred on the parties’ present circumstances and future arrangements. The statutory factors must…

In a second criminal appeal, the Privy Council does not act as a second Court of Criminal Appeal. Its task is limited to deciding whether the lower appellate…

A court granting relief from forfeiture has inherent jurisdiction to extend time or otherwise vary the terms of relief. The governing question is whether…

For a receipts-based tax, liability arises only when money is actually received. Unless the legislation indicates otherwise, the applicable rate is the rate…

Cabinet approval of a joint venture agreement is determined by its ordinary meaning, read with the agreement, contemporaneous documents and commercial context.…

A written deed may create a contractual estoppel even where both parties knew that a recital was untrue. The question is one of construction: whether the…

Where a prisoner has been detained under an unconstitutional sentence, section 5(7) of the Antigua and Barbuda Constitution Order 1981 entitles him at least to…

Relief against forfeiture ordinarily requires late performance of the secured contract, including payment of principal, interest and costs. Where appropriation…

Withholding tax under section 50(1) requires a payment by one person to another. A transfer of funds within a single organisation, from a branch to its head…

In a professional negligence claim concerning a company valuation, a court should not reject a properly qualified independent expert’s reasoned opinion without…

The tort of malicious prosecution extends to civil proceedings. A claimant must prove that the defendant instituted proceedings which terminated in the…

Exceeding the 60-day period for deciding whether to execute a European arrest warrant does not, by itself, entitle the requested person to release. Under the…

In malicious prosecution, reputational damage is assessed objectively. Eccentricity, unconventional living conditions, low social status, or a stoical response…

An appellant whose criminal appeal is dismissed has a constitutional right to reasons. The court need not answer every argument, but must give enough…

An appellate court should rarely disturb a trial judge’s finding of fact based on witness credibility, particularly in a civil fraud case. The trial judge’s…

A contractual right to terminate a land sale after a specified period without the necessary non-belonger licence must be given its plain and natural meaning.…

Actual authority is express or implied and must derive from the company’s authorisation or conduct. An agent’s self-description cannot create it. Ostensible…

Registration with absolute title gives the proprietor power to deal with registered land free from antecedent claims, subject to statutory exceptions and…

In a criminal appeal based on undisclosed or unused evidence, fault alone does not establish a miscarriage of justice. The appellate court must assess the…

In proceedings under a statutory quieting-of-title procedure, an appellate court may permit fresh evidence to be considered where it is potentially critical to…

When deciding whether to extend time for an appeal, the merits are relevant, but lengthy delay requires a compelling explanation. Even an appeal bound to…

Where substantial delay has occurred in a criminal case, the sentencing court must examine, even without a defence submission, whether the right to a fair…

Ostensible authority depends on the principal’s representation and the range of acts a third party would ordinarily expect the appointed solicitor to…

For VAT purposes, treating a transaction as a single supply does not make its ancillary elements disappear. They ordinarily share the principal supply’s tax…

A statutory prohibition, even when backed by criminal penalties, does not automatically make a contract or conveyance void. The effect depends on public…

A contractual default depending on a lender’s opinion requires admissible evidence that the opinion was actually formed. The opinion must also be honest and…

A winding-up petition is not abusive merely because the petitioner expects it to improve his position in related litigation. The court must identify the…