Privy Council judgments, 2023

In adversarial judicial review proceedings, active case-management powers do not require a judge to identify and join a public authority whose decision is…

Under Saint Lucia’s Torrens scheme, a person with an accrued title by prescription, or in the process of acquiring one, before first registration had to claim…

When directors of a company in receivership commence proceedings in the company’s name against a receiver or debenture-holder, a third-party costs indemnity is…

Detention after a jury finds an accused unfit to plead is preventive, not punitive. The statutory regime must be read as a whole: the court must direct…

A claimant who pays money to a custodian operating a fraudulent Ponzi scheme suffers real and measurable loss when the money is misappropriated, even if later…

An appellate court should interfere with trial findings of fact only where there is an identifiable error or the decision cannot reasonably be explained or…

In a statutory wrongful-dismissal claim, an employer must plead the reasons for dismissal clearly and consistently with the reasons given to the worker. A…

For the purposes of Representation of the People Act 1958 (Mauritius), a publicly announced manifesto promise conferring a financial benefit is not bribery…

An existing law under a constitutional savings clause is identified by a factual inquiry: whether it had effect immediately before the Constitution commenced.…

Banking confidentiality legislation that places duties on individuals with access to bank records does not, without more, impose the statutory duty on the bank…

Under the Civil Proceedings Rules 1998, prescribed costs are the starting point after discontinuance, but the court retains a discretion to order assessment.…

An arbitration agreement is generally given effect unless public policy or a rule of law makes the relevant dispute incapable of arbitration. For a stay under…

Before imposing a determinate sentence, including on appellate resentencing after a conviction is quashed and a lesser offence substituted, a criminal court…

Where a periodic tenancy has been validly terminated by notice to quit, the landlord’s right to recover possession accrues when the notice expires. Section 9…

To establish malicious prosecution, a claimant must prove prosecution, a favourable ending, absence of reasonable and probable cause, malice and damage, on the…

A claimant seeking to set aside a judgment or litigation settlement for fraud bears the burden of showing that the supporting evidence was obtained after the…

Where the legal availability of duress to a conspiracy-to-murder charge is unresolved, an appellate court may assume its availability and decide the appeal on…

The Public Service Commission Regulations create separate regimes for substantive appointments, prelude acting appointments and non-prelude acting…

A restitutionary quantum meruit for services and materials supplied under a contract void for lack of authority or because it was ultra vires is not…

Where an appellant has a meritorious appeal but grounds were not filed in time because of official error, the proviso to section 296(1) of the Judicature…

For VAT, a supply of services requires a legal relationship involving reciprocal performance, remuneration constituting consideration, and a direct link…

Eligibility for disability assistance benefit under the Public Assistance Act may depend on permanent disablement even where an amending provision no longer…

Article 917A of the Civil Code validly continues after independence. The expression “the law of England for the time being” includes current English common law…

Under the Modified Law, a saisie judiciaire may prohibit a specified person subject to Jersey jurisdiction from dealing with realisable property outside…

Under Mauritian law, an arbitrator’s mandate may be extended by the parties’ express or implied consent. No formalities are required. A tacit extension may be…

For telephone tax imposed on international calls terminating in Jamaica, liability follows the actual provision of telephone service and the identity of the…

An appellate court should not uphold the admission of a confession where the trial judge gives no reasons and the record does not show that material evidence…

Parliament may alter the statutory term of office of elected local-government representatives. A one-year extension does not itself contravene the…

An appeal to the Privy Council against concurrent findings of fact will be entertained only in exceptional circumstances involving a miscarriage of justice or…

A statutory 21-day limit for criminal appeals does not make the discretion to extend time automatic or rigid. The court must assess the interests of justice…

A statutory minimum sentence is not insulated from constitutional scrutiny merely because a savings clause preserves punishments lawful before a new…

Article 6 of the Constitution of The Bahamas confers citizenship at birth on every person born in The Bahamas after independence where either biological parent…

Detention pending deportation must be authorised by statute and exercised within the limits imposed by the statutory scheme. A recommendation for deportation…

Where a deed is executed to implement an earlier binding contract, rectification vindicates the contractual right by bringing the deed into conformity with the…

For attempted murder, the prosecution must prove an actual intention to kill. Recklessness or an objective duty to appreciate a risk is insufficient. Section…

A court cannot create a closed material procedure (CMP) in ordinary judicial review merely because the executive relied on material protected by public…

By a majority, the Privy Council held that a universal life policy using a yearly renewable term rate authorised annual increases in the cost of insurance. An…

In a long-term land purchase agreement giving the buyer possession before title passes, the basis for interest payments may include the buyer’s right to…

An anti-money-laundering regime may regulate attorneys in specified professional activities without infringing legal professional privilege, provided that…

A failure to comply with a planning enforcement notice may constitute one continuing summary offence, rather than separate initial and continuing offences. The…

An appellate court reviewing a second appeal must ask whether the intermediate appellate court was entitled to uphold the trial decision. Where the case turns…

A default judgment for a remedy other than money is a judicial decision of the High Court and may be appealed in the ordinary way, subject to any required…

Security for costs in public interest judicial review claims is permissible if it is just, proportionate and does not unfairly stifle a properly arguable…

Where a conveyance describes land by general words but supplies no boundaries or plan, the court may consider the surrounding circumstances and reliable…