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From Patrick Chitumba and Nqobile Tshili
A PROTOCOL to establish a new Sadc Tribunal whose mandate would be confined to dealing with inter-state disputes will be presented before regional heads for possible adoption, the head of the bloc’s legal affairs unit, Teodisio Uate said yesterday.Addressing journalists in Victoria Falls, Uate said following the disbandment of the old tribunal in 2011, the region has been negotiating for a new regional court.
The negotiations were being led by Sadc Ministers of Justice and Attorneys-General. Uate said the new draft protocol for the tribunal is now ready for presentation to Sadc leaders for adoption.
“There are major differences between the old and new protocol such as the fact that, under the new protocol the jurisdiction of the new regional court will be confined only to interstate disputes or any disputes arising between member countries with respect to the interpretation of the Sadc Treaty and any Sadc protocols as opposed to the old which was looking at internal disputes in member countries,” he said.
“It is now up to the meeting to adopt or not because it is still open to the council of ministers who are meeting,” he said.
The previous Sadc Tribunal courted controversy when it handed down judgments that were in conflict with Zimbabwe’s constitutional position on land reform.
Some 79 white former commercial farmers led by the late Mike Campbell, took their cases to the tribunal, which was based in Windhoek, Namibia, in a bid to reverse the agrarian reforms after the state had acquired their land for redistribution to the landless majority.
Meanwhile, Sadc civic society organisations met in Bulawayo yesterday and resolved to petition regional leaders to revive the old tribunal that would deal with internal matters in member countries.
Speaking at a Sadc people’s summit held at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, non-governmental organisations said Sadc heads of states should revive the dissolved tribunal so that citizens can table their concerns before it.
“They dissolved it after realising that it was working against them. We are saying that the Sadc tribunal should be revived so that citizens can report any human rights abuses in case the justice system in their countries fails them,” she said.
Thulani Mugometuli from Swaziland said the Sadc tribunal should not only deal with political matters but other issues to improve the standard of living in the region.
derick.khumalo