admin
Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
THE creation of a specialised court with modern services to deal with commercial disputes in the country is a progressive development at a time of fast-changing judicial landscapes across the globe.
President Mnangagwa is expected to open the newly-established Commercial Court division of the High Court next week.
This is a milestone for the country grappling with a huge backlog of cases and in the midst of a renewed fight against graft.
Legal experts have welcomed the setting up of the specialised court, saying it will bring copious benefits to the country vaunting of an open economy, comprehensive tradition of trade, politically non-aligned profile and a high-level legal sector.
Commercial law expert Mr Jacob Mutevedzi says litigation in the High Court tends to be protracted because all matters have to be heard on one general roll resulting in matters taking long to be finalised because of the unmanageable backlog.
“The introduction of a specialist commercial court will curtail turn-around periods,” he says.
“This is most likely going to reduce the cost of commercial litigation since lawyers, charge by the hour.”
In addition, Mr Mutevedzi says, the commercial court will de-congest the High Court, thus improving the efficiency of the administration of justice in general.
“More importantly, the commercial court will be manned by judges with a sound background in commercial matters, which will add to the swift resolution of cases,” he says.
“Investors are averse to legal systems which are inefficient, this is why they always choose international arbitration as their dispute resolution method of choice.
“A stand-alone commercial court will go a long way in doing away with these traditional inefficiencies. Consequently, this well-oiled justice-delivery system will attract foreign direct investment (FDI) like bees to a honeypot.”
The FDI into Zimbabwe has been low-slung over the years owing to a number of reasons, including delineation of the country as a risky investment target by some Western media.
The specialised courts are founded on statutes in line with efforts to improve the ease of doing business.
They are critical for emerging markets striving for foreign direct investment since they enable rapid resolution of disputes.
In his estimation, veteran lawyer Mr Terence Hussein says a dedicated commercial court will result in high value disputes being disposed of quickly by a specialist court with suitably qualified officers.
He says this new court will be on cloud based integrated case management system wherein filing of documents will be done on an online system.
“This will result in greater efficiency as the court and litigants will not be bogged down with filing and storage of mountains of papers,” he says.
“The valuable time and energy saved will now be directed to the cases themselves.”
Mr Hussein says since the system is new, lawyers and judges will need to adequately familiarise themselves with it so it quickly becomes functional and, therefore, useful to the country.
These courts are most ideal to decongest court rolls, according to Mr Tendai Toto a lawyer at Legal Support Network South Africa.
He says the new court will help expedite the resolution of commercial disputes in order to allow the smooth flow of doing business.
“If these courts have both expert human capital, necessary infrastructure and technologies, they will definitely infuse investor confidence in the country,” says Mr Toto.
“Investors will invest in Zimbabwe with confidence and hope that, should there be any disputes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Commercial Courts, such disputes will be disposed of expeditiously.”
Over the past few years, Zimbabwe has embarked on ingenuities to attract investment, including modifying various laws that have in the past mired ease of doing business.
Some of the laws that needed amendments included the Companies Act, Shop licensing Act and the Procurement Act.
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were also set up in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls to assist in attracting much needed foreign investment.
Mr Toto says the commercial court is certainly going to excite commercial contractors, local, regional and international business partners that invest in the country as they will be able to move ahead with their businesses and or move on fully satisfied that “at least pending commercial disputes are resolved”.
Another lawyer, Ms Jacqueline Sande, says apart from helping in the speeding up of the justice system in resolving commercial disputes, litigants will also benefit from increased expertise as judges specialise in commercial cases thus gaining experience in these specific cases.
“The expediency and efficiency of the justice system impacts on the ease of doing business ratings which foreign investors look at when deciding where to invest their capital,” she says.
Former Zimbabwe Law Society president Ms Vimbayi Nyemba also says the establishment of the commercial court was longed for to the ease of doing business approach to commercial transactions.
“This will bring speedy determination to commercial cases especially in our inflationary environment where a claim sounding in money becomes valueless when concluded late,” she says.
“The judiciary needs to be efficient and cost effective. This will be a special court presided over by specialised judges I believe.
“Commercial disputes need to be resolved in a quick, efficient and effective manner that ensures that the judiciary becomes a catalyst for economic growth.”
The supreme law of the country requires that whenever, after consultation with the Judge President, it appears to the Chief Justice that in the interest of expediting justice delivery or promoting the ease of access to justice for any other reason, it is appropriate to create a specialised division of the High Court in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
The court is designed to improve the ease of doing business in line with the criteria set by the World Bank and contribute towards the national effort in attracting local and foreign direct investment, with its core function being the expeditious resolution of commercial disputes according to international best practices to enhance efficient justice delivery.
The resolution of commercial disputes has evolved over time with changing technology and changes in practices, prompting the Judicial Service Commission to move with time to establish commercial courts.
This will give impulse to President Mnangagwa’s administration that seeks to have the legal system of dispute resolution moulded to business needs and exigencies.
Online Reporter