Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
Court Reporter
THE High Court will soon start disposing of all cases that appear to have been abandoned or inactive on the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) for a period exceeding three months from the date of the last action taken or the filing of the last process.
Chief Justice Luke Malaba, through Practice Direction 1 of 2025, stated that this directive applied to all matters in the High Court that were deemed abandoned under the provisions of the High Court Rules, 2021, or are inactive.
According to the practice direction, a matter shall be considered abandoned or inactive if any action required to be taken by any party under the High Court Rules, 2021, has not been taken within the stipulated time frame.
It also says that a matter shall be considered abandoned or inactive if no corrective action has been made or if the matter has remained unattended on the IECMS by any party for an unreasonable period.
“Upon the identification of a matter as potentially abandoned or inactive, the Registrar shall issue a notice to all parties involved, informing them of the intention to place the matter before a Judge for disposition within five (5) days of the notice and the reason for considering the matter as abandoned or inactive, as the case may be,” he said.
“Provided that, where a specific procedure for the disposition of a matter that is deemed abandoned under the High Court Rules, 2021, or inactive on the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) is set out in the High Court Rules, 2021, or any other applicable law, the Registrar shall manage and process such matter in accordance with the procedure prescribed therein.”
Chief Justice Malaba said if no response or corrective action is received from the parties within the specified time frame, the Registrar shall place the matter before a Judge for determination.
Upon receipt of the matter, the Judge may dismiss it on the grounds that it has been deemed abandoned or inactive for an unreasonable period, or may order that further steps be taken if there are compelling reasons to keep the matter active.
“Any party aggrieved by the order dismissing a matter deemed to have been abandoned or inactive may apply for reinstatement on good cause shown,” said Chief Justice Malaba.
Applications for reinstatement must be filed within 15 days of the dismissal order and will be heard by a Judge of the High Court.
