Privy Council judgments, 2020

Under the Civil Procedure Rules 2016, a case-management direction need not carry a predetermined sanction where future circumstances make that impracticable.…

In forum non conveniens proceedings, an assumption made for a stay application does not become a finding that an alternative forum is available for a…

Emergency legislation enabling remote court hearings did not authorise the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands to sit abroad. The Constitution…

A public authority that has assumed sole responsibility for protecting property may owe a common-law duty of care for negligent performance, even where its…

In paternity proceedings, a sibling DNA test is less conclusive than direct parentage testing, but it remains relevant evidence and must be addressed alongside…

A first in-court identification is not automatically inadmissible. Where a witness claims prior acquaintance with the accused, the evidence may be recognition…

The Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act permits registration of an order in civil proceedings whereby a quantified sum is made payable. A financial remedy…

In a commercial financing structure, restricting loan proceeds to project purposes does not, without clear language, create a trust of money credited to the…

Waiver by election applies only where a party must choose between alternative and mutually exclusive rights. Continuing contractual performance does not waive…

The matrimonial property available for division must reflect debts that are enforceable or likely to be paid. An unsecured personal debt that is both…

A company’s director does not breach the duty of reasonable care by relying on instructions conveyed through an intermediary where the company’s ultimate…

An agreement for sale may provide that property passes only when a specified condition, such as payment of the final instalment, is fulfilled. Until then, the…

Adverse possession requires both factual possession, meaning sufficient physical custody and control, and an intention to possess for the claimant’s own…

In contractual claims, recoverable damage is loss of the type which, when the contract was made, the parties reasonably contemplated as a serious possibility…

An industrial court with broad statutory powers may make a fair and just order relating to the matters in a trade dispute, including reinstatement and back…

On a criminal appeal in Mauritius, a serious irregularity under section 96(5) of the District and Intermediate Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1888 means…

A civil forfeiture regime does not become criminal merely because it requires proof that a defendant engaged in conduct constituting a criminal offence. Where…

A conveyance must be construed as a whole, including any annexed plan forming part of it, to ascertain the parties’ objective intention. The verbal description…

A licensing statute that sets out a specific regime for default, suspension, revocation and dispute resolution does not permit the licensing Minister to…

An acting appointment expressed as until further notice may constitute an appointment for a specified period under the Public Service Commission Regulations.…

A statutory investigative body has only those powers conferred expressly or impliedly by its enabling legislation. A power to prosecute incident offences…

There is no absolute constitutional right to continuous legal representation during a criminal trial. However, where defence counsel seeks to withdraw, the…

Unfair dismissal under the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code is determined by whether the employer acted reasonably in the circumstances. Procedural fairness…

A retrial should not be ordered where the prosecution evidence at the original trial was insufficient to justify conviction by a properly directed jury. That…

In defamation, meaning is determined objectively from the whole publication and its real context, including qualifications and the medium. Live oral political…

On an appeal from a professional disciplinary tribunal, an appellate court must exercise great caution before disturbing findings of contested fact because the…

A bank is generally entitled to act on a solicitor’s instructions concerning a client account without investigating their propriety, but that statutory…

A conviction is not rendered unsafe merely because the defence failed to obtain independent scientific evidence where the relevant exhibits, analysis and…

By majority, section 112(2) confers a limited power to settle and, where necessary, rectify a company’s register of members so that it accurately reflects the…

Under a statutory appraisal regime, fair value is a question of statutory interpretation read in its legislative context. It does not automatically require…

For PSLA damages in a jurisdiction adopting English common law, the English Law (Application) Ordinance 2005 requires adaptation only where local circumstances…