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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
Lawyers have welcomed the promulgation of the Constitutional Court rules, describing the development as progressive and set to outline the proper procedure of operation and to improve the quality of justice.
Last week the Constitutional Court rules became law.
The development came at a time the court had gone for years being guided by the borrowed Supreme Court rules and some practice directives.
Law Society of Zimbabwe president Mrs Vimbai Nyemba hailed the development but urged lawyers and other litigants to abide by the pronounced rules.
“For progressive reasons, we welcome that. We have been waiting for the rules and, finally, we now have specific rules for the Constitutional Court.
“However, to have the rules is one thing, and to abide by them is another. I urge all lawyers and other litigants to abide by the rules of the Constitutional Court,” she said.
Dean of Law at the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University Mr Caleb Mucheche said the rules were long overdue.
Mr Mucheche described the setting up of the rules as a milestone achievement.
“This is a milestone legal development as it has clearly spelt out the procedure which facilitates litigants’ access to justice via the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Mr Wellington Pasipanodya of Manase and Manase Legal Practitioners said the setting of the new rules was in fulfilment of the new supreme law.
“The promulgation of the rules is a welcome development that was done in fulfilment of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Mr Pasipanodya said the rules will help to screen proper cases for determination by the highest court and to avoid flooding the court with frivolous matters.
“That will see efficiency in the court by unclogging the court roll. Some litigants have been abusing the court by bringing frivolous cases, which do not deserve the attention of such a serious court.
“The Constitutional Court is the highest court in the land and as such it cannot continue to be turned into a Mickey Mouse playground bent on abusing the court process,” he said.
Mr Jonathan Samukange of Venturas and Samukange law firm said: “That is very progressive. The rules ensure that we do not have frivolous applications sneaking into the Constitutional Court.”
Prior to the enactment of the rules, some litigants would take advantage of the unavailability of definitive rules to sneak undeserving cases into court, thereby unnecessarily clogging the system and creating backlogs.
When the new Constitution came into effect in 2013, it categorically stated the requirement for a stand-alone Constitutional Court that must be governed by its specific rules like any other courts.
In compliance with the Constitution, Government issued Statutory Instrument 61 of 2016, which provides rules for the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court Rules, 2016 became law on June 10 2016.
All courts of law from the Magistrates’ Court, High Court, Supreme Court, Administrative Court and Labour Court have their own specific rules prescribing specific procedure.
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