First-class vs economy-class access to the law: what the US Supreme Court says
A new decision from the US Supreme Court has a strong message for other courts, lawyers and everyone who works with court documents and with legislation, annotated or otherwise. The judgment restates the principle that no-one may claim copyright on decisions of the...
Lockdown still on hold, AG taken to task: latest from Malawi high court
In this week’s round of an ongoing dispute over the validity of Malawi’s Covid-19 restrictions, the high court has ruled that the government's planned regulations may still not be put into effect. The court has referred these challenges to the Chief Justice who will...
Security forces sowing terror in Lesotho, Lawyers for Human Rights tells court
Lawyers of yet another SADC country have turned to the courts for help with security force brutality against ordinary people in the community, carried out under cover of Covid-19 regulations. This time it is Lesotho Lawyers for Human Rights that is asking the high...
Totality principle in ‘harrowing’ Seychelles online sexual abuse case
From the holiday islands of Seychelles comes a new judgment with a warning for all of us on lockdown with kids spending too much time online. It is a horrifying reminder of the dangers lurking on Facebook and other seemingly innocent platforms: even in a paradise like...
Not the court’s duty to go fishing after judgments
In Their Own Words: Read judgment in Tapvice Enterprises v Tetrade Investment Bank Judge Pisirai Kwenda, High Court of Zimbabwe, Harare A number of issues bedevilled this case, which was an application for rescission of a default judgment against the applicants. One...
Suspension of Lesotho’s parliament ‘irrational’, ‘unlawful’ – court
It was a transparent attempt to avoid a vote of no-confidence by parliament, hiding behind a claim to be protecting MPs from Covid-19. And now the controversial Prime Minister of Lesotho has had his come-uppance from the country’s high court which ruled his...
‘Just not good enough’ – get up to speed for electronic hearings: UK court
Like it or not, the coronavirus is forcing lawyers – judges, magistrates, prosecutors, advocate and attorneys – to play catch up with technology. Many courts are now operating through the lockdown or other social distancing restrictions via electronic hearings, and...
Judge orders curfew exemption for Kenya’s lawyers
Kenya's High Court has declared as unconstitutional the 'unreasonable use of force' by police since a dusk to dawn curfew came into effect in that country on 26 March. The court has also ordered that the authorities must include lawyers and members of the police...
Kenya’s Covid19 restrictions invalid because they criminalise poverty – law society
Kenya’s law society has launched a court application challenging the validity of the country’s Covid-19 restrictions because they have not been approved by parliament. The law society also claims they are invalid because they discriminate against the poor, in that...
Malawian law students lose their challenge to Covid19 university closure
A group of four students studying law in Malawi have lost their high court case challenging the validity of the President's Covid-19-related directives. They also lost their challenge to the closure of their university in terms of those directives. But it was not all...