Govt establishes commercial courts

Zimbabwe has put in place the necessary legal framework for the establishing specialized courts to deal with commercial disputes, in line with efforts to improve the ease of doing business. Commercial courts are a must-have for emerging markets vying for foreign direct investment since they facilitate faster resolution of disputes.

“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 specialized division of the High Court in accordance with section (3) of the Constitution,” read a notice in the recent Government gazette.

“Specialized division of the High Court may be created to specialize in the adjudication of cases in the field of commercial law, mining law, electoral law, revenue law, the law of deceased and insolvent estates or any other specialized field of law.”

Analysts contend that establishment of the Commercial Court would assist in reducing the backlog at the general courts, while also improving the ease of doing business.

Zimbabwe has embarked on initiatives to attract investment, including amending various laws that have in the past hindered ease of doing business.

Some of the laws being amended include the Companies Act, Shop licensing Act and the Procurement Act.

It has also established Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to assist in attracting much needed foreign investment.

The government has so far identified three SEZs namely Sunway City in Harare, Bulawayo industrial hub and Victoria Falls financial hub, as part of a raft of measures that it is implementing to lure FDI.

A range of tax incentives will apply in the SEZs, including exemption from non-residents tax on royalties and dividends, exempting companies from corporate income tax for the first 5 years of operation and allowing duty free importation of capital equipment.

FDI into Zimbabwe has been low over the years owing to a number of reasons including portrayal of the country as an unsafe investment destination by some Western media. – New Ziana.