Enforcement of foreign judgments
Enforcement of foreign judgments is governed by the Civil Matters (Mutual Assistance) Act (Chapter 8:02). The civil judgments of the following countries are enforceable in Zimbabwe:
- Australia
- Dominica
- Germany
- Ghana
- Portugal
- South Africa
- Italy
- Zambia
- Slovak Republic
- Bulgaria
Enforcement of Judgments can also be done using a common law procedure for which there is no closed class of countries whose judgements can be recognised and enforced. This effectively allows for the recognition and enforcement of judgments from many jurisdictions.
A Zimbabwean court registering such a judgment has a wide discretion to refuse registration if it is convinced that:
- the judgment was obtained by fraud
- the foreign court which granted the judgment did not have jurisdiction
- the judgment is not final in nature
- the judgment was granted in default without the other party receiving adequate notice or
- the judgment has been set aside by a competent court in the foreign country
Judiciary
Judges are appointed by the President on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission. Judges will retire at the age of 65 unless they decide to remain in office until they turn 70. The Judiciary is led by a Chief Justice who is a judge of the Supreme Court. Only persons who are above the age of 40 years and who have been qualified to practice as lawyers for at least 7 years are eligible to be appointed as judges.
There is no statutory qualification to be a Magistrate but recruitment for that office is usually done on the basis of at least a tertiary education qualification and all candidates then undergo two years of mandatory training.
Effectiveness of the court system
The civil division of the Magistrates' Court is generally efficient and fast in clearing its cases and delivering judgments. On the other hand, the processes in the High Court are quite slow and a contested case is usually completed in a period of between nine and twelve months. In the Supreme Court, judgments can take a long time to be delivered and it can then be another year before the case is completed. The new Judicial Service Commission is, however, making progress in ensuring that court processes are faster.
Structure of the court system
The Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for a fair trial in criminal cases, and access to courts of law for everyone. Courts of law have been set up to provide people with justice. There are many courts functioning in the country at different levels. Each court has a different role to play and has a separate jurisdiction from other courts.
The highest court in the country is the Constitutional Court which was introduced by the Constitution of Zimbabwe of 2013. Besides this court, there are many at lower levels, thus forming a hierarchy of courts.
Zimbabwe Court Hierarchy
Arbitration
Arbitration in Zimbabwe is conducted under the Arbitration Act (Chapter 7:15) which adopted the UNICITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration into domestic law.
Enforcement of arbitral awards
Arbitration awards (including foreign arbitration awards) are also enforced under the Arbitration Act (Chapter 7:15) in line with the UNICITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.
Arbitration awards must be registered with a court of competent monetary jurisdiction. Awards valued below US$10,000 have to be registered with the Magistrates Court and those above US$10,000 have to be registered with the High Court.
Perception of the local courts
The superior courts (from the High Court onwards) are well respected, with their judgments having persuasive effect in other jurisdiction in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and beyond.
