| Basic information | Substance of the ruling | Accessibility of the case and further relevant links | |||||||
| Date | Name of the case (or case number) | The body delivering the decision | Keywords, topic | Executive part | Brief summary | Full text | Page at the website of the issuing court | Page in other databases | Unofficial materials, press communications |
| March 8. 2022. | case no. 8. 2021. | High Court of Malawi | Right to fair trial; access to justice | The High Court of Malawi considered, that the findings of police forces should be released for the defendant and the polices charging him should be also involved in the process as witnesses when the lower court sanctiongs based on violation of the mask mandate. | The claimant attacked the lower court ruling which charged him committing an offence by refusing to wear mask during the public health emergency. The appellant thought, that the lower court had to take into account the detailed police report from his case and the police officers who charged him should be also involved in the process as witnesses. The High Court agreed with the motion and reversed the first court ruling. The High Court ordered that the police report should be released for the claimant, while the police officers who charged him should be involved in the trial as witnesses to hold a fair procedure. | https://www.covid19litigation.org/case-index/malawi-high-court-malawi-case-no-8-2021-2022-03-08 | |||
| January 13. 2022. | [2022] MWHC 10 | High Court of Malawi | Mandatory vaccination; right to privacy; human dignity | The High Court of Malawi rejected to hear a challenge against the mandatory vaccination policy rendered by the Government. | The High Court of Malawi heard a petition against the mandatory vaccination policy rendered by the Government. It imposed vaccination mandate on public sector employees and frontline workers, also for journalists. The petition claimed the violation of right to human dignity, right to privacy, right to life, the prohibition of inhuman treatment and the prohibition of experiments on human beings without free and informed consent. The High Court rejected the requests for constitutional review as well as for preliminary injunctions: the case was not eligible for further investigation. | https://www.malawilii.org/mw/judgment/high-court-general-division/2022/10 | https://www.covid19litigation.org/case-index/malawi-high-court-malawi-2022-mwhc-10-2022-01-13 | ||
| September 3. 2020. | 2020] MWHC 29 | High Court of Malawi | Right to life; dignity; separation of powers; access to justice; freedom of conscience; freedom of religion; freedom of movement; freedom of association; freedom of enterprise | The High Court of Malawi ruled that several emergency decrees issued by the public health minister were unconstitutional, therefore, these were void. | The president of Malawi declared on March 20. 2020. a state of disaster, however, no state of emergency has been ordered. The minister for public health implemented numeroous lockdown measures through decrees, which were challenged by individuals and NGO-s before the High Court of Malawi. The appellants alleged the violation of freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of conscience, freedom of movement and freedom of enterprise. The High Court considered, that the motins were well-founded, and the impugned regulations were null and void. According to the High Court, the implemented measures amounted to a derogation of fundamental rights rather than restrictions, and such derogations should not be ordered unless a state of emergencyhas been declared. Moreover, the regulations concerned the essential contents of numerous fundamental rights, and such far-reaching restrictions should be approved by the Parliament, the minister overstepped its competence, when it decided from these matters. Therefore, the contested ministerial decrees were abrogated. | https://malawilii.org/akn/mw/judgment/mwhc/2020/29/eng@2020-09-03/source | https://malawilii.org/akn/mw/judgment/mwhc/2020/29/eng@2020-09-03 |
https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/kathumba-v-president-of-malawi/; https://www.covid19litigation.org/case-index/malawi-high-court-malawi-lilongwe-district-registry-12020-2020-09-03 |
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