The Supreme Court of Appeal has cautioned against using judicial review proceedings as a substitute for remedies available under employment law.
The warning comes in a ruling on an application by former Blantyre Water Board (BWB) Chief Executive Officer Yeremiah Chihana, who sought to suspend the enforcement of his suspension and have the matter reviewed through judicial review.
The seven-member panel, led by Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa, said Chihana had not followed the proper procedural route after the High Court discharged the permission previously granted to him to apply for judicial review.
The court said the proper course was for Chihana to make a fresh application for permission to apply for judicial review before the Supreme Court.
It further found that his application for an interim injunction was procedurally incompetent because he had not first sought the same relief from the High Court and obtained a refusal before approaching the Supreme Court.
The court also stressed that judicial review should not be invoked as a substitute for statutory remedies available in employment disputes.
The judges said the dispute over Chihana’s suspension was, in substance, an employment matter and that an effective remedy was available before the Industrial Relations Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed Chihana’s application and ordered him to pay the Blantyre Water Board’s (BWB) costs.
