Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute

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JOURNALS - http://old.zimlii.org/content/journals
BOOKS - http://old.zimlii.org/content/published-books

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Free access to legal resources from Zimbabwe and beyond.

Age of consent to sexual activity raised to 18 years. The Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe has declared that the definition of young person in s 61 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] is unconstitutional and set aside. The Court also declared Sections 70, 83 and 86 of the Criminal Law [Codification and Reform] Act unconstitutional and has ordered the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to enact a law that protects ALL Children from sexual exploitation. for more, read the case of Kawenda v Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and 2 Others CCZ 3-22
https://zimlii.org/zw/judgment/constitutional-court-zimbabwe/2022/3

On RG Mugabe's exhumation and reburial

Genesis 50 v 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I shall return - Christian Bible, Book of Genesis.

In Mugabe N.O and 2 Others v Manongovere (309 of 2022) [2022] ZWHHC 309 (12 May 2022); BONA MUTSAHUNI-MUGABE N.O. and TINOTENDA ROBERT MUGABE and BELLARMINE CHATUNGA MUGABE contend with the default ruling in the case before Chinhoyi Magistrates Court, relating to the exhumation and reburial of their father, the late former Head of State, R G Mugabe.

An excerpt reads as follows:
"The Appellants were aggrieved with the decision of Chief Zvimba and approached the Chinhoyi Magistrates Court on appeal in terms of section 24 (1) of the Customary Law and Local Courts Act [Chapter 7:05] (the Act) as read with Rule 4 of the Supreme court (Miscellaneous Appeals and References) Rules, 1975. They averred that they are competent litigants to institute the appeal based on their real and direct interest in the orders of Chief Zvimba which affect their personal property and fiduciary functions at law respectively. They pointed out that the first Appellant is the duly appointed executrix to the Estate of the deceased and the second and third Appellants are sons to the said deceased." TSANGA J AND MAXWELL J

Read, download and share the full-text judgement here https://zimlii.org/zw/judgment/harare-high-court/2022/309 , published by ZimLII for free full access.

Visit www.zimlii.org, a digital legal library hosting judgments from Zimbabwe's superior courts, legislation and gazettes.

Perfecta Contracts and Zimbabwe's Legislative context

In Lonrho Logistics (Private) Limited v Ram Petroleum (Private) Limited (50 of 2022) [2022] ZWSC 50 (12 May 2022); Uchena JA, Mathonsi JA and Kudya JA consider the following:

" On 2 November 2018 the appellant paid the purchase price of $201 000 in terms of the invoice presented to it by the respondent but did not take delivery of the diesel in question. In fact, it was not until 28 November 2018 that the respondent delivered only 30 000 litres of the diesel on the instructions of the appellant. This left a balance of 120 000 litres of diesel which is the subject of the present litigation. Problems started in January 2019 when three events occurred in quick succession. First, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development gazetted the Customs and Excise (Tariff) (Amendment) Notice, (No. 7, 2019) as S.I 9 of 2019. The Statutory Instrument came into operation on 13 January 2019. It was enacted to amend Part II of the Second Schedule of the Customs and Excise (Tariff) Notice, 2017 which was published in Statutory Instrument 53 of 2017.

Second, and subsequently to that, the Petroleum (Petroleum Products Pricing) Regulations S.I 10 of 2019 were gazetted. Section 3 thereof made it clear that they applied to “petroleum products prices in relation to wholesaling and retailing activities.” Section 5 provided the formulas that were to be applied by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (“ZERA”) in calculating the price of any Petroleum product. It is significant to note that the amount of duty imposed by S.I 10 of 2019 appears to have been equivalent to the amount fixed by S.I 9 of 2019, which, as I have stated, specifically stated that it came into operation on 13 January 2019 without in any way suggesting that it had retrospective effect."

What are the real issues at law?

Read, download and share the full-text judgement and final order here https://zimlii.org/zw/judgment/supreme-court-zimbabwe/2022/50 , published by ZimLII for free, full access.

Visit our open access digital library for judgments, legislation and gazettes. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @ZimLII for updates.

Celebrating World Press Freedom Day, May 2022

We all must do more to address the risks and seize the opportunities of the digital age. On this World Press Freedom Day, I invite Member States, technology companies, the media community, as well as the rest of civil society to come together to develop a new digital configuration – one that protects both journalism and journalists.

— Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day



ZimLII is a member of the Free Access to Law movement

Chinhoyi High Court is now online, and this is the first judgment handed down - Dunhuramambo (Pvt) Ltd T/A Zambezi Cruise & Safari v Avalon Steel Projects & Construction & Anor (Chamber Application 1 of 2022) [2022] ZWCHHC 1 (04 March 2022); published on the ZimLII website here:

https://zimlii.org/zw/judgment/chinhoyi-high-court/2022/1

Read, download and share this, and other judgments from the ZimLII Library.

Do you have intermittent internet access? Do you wish to minimize your data expenses per month whilst having full access to ZimLII content including judgments, legislation, and gazettes??

Pocketlaw is the right solution for you!!

What is Pocket Law?
Pocket Law is an off-line desktop application for Windows and Mac, that allows users to browse and search case law, legislation, and other legal materials, found on a Legal Information Institute (LII) website. The project is an initiative by AfricanLII and Laws.Africa that aims to provide offline access to the collection of legal informati that is currently available on the various LII websites of the free access to law community in Africa. Through Pocket Law, we seek to make legal information available and accessible to users with limited or costly internet access.

We have released a new upgrade of the PocketLaw app! Download your selected version below to check out the new version that allows downloading "CONTENT PACKS" i.e. You can select the content most relevant for you (Legislation, Judgments, or Gazettes).

Windows: https://github.com/laws-africa/pocketlaw-releases/releases/download/v1.0.4/Pocket-Law-ZimLII-Setup-1.0.4.exe

Mac Zip: https://github.com/laws-africa/pocketlaw-releases/releases/download/v1.0.4/Pocket-Law-ZimLII-1.0.4-mac.zip

Mac DMG: https://github.com/laws-africa/pocketlaw-releases/releases/download/v1.0.4/Pocket-Law-ZimLII-1.0.4.dmg

Pocketlaw is an offline (but updateable) replica of the ZimLII website that runs on PCs and Macs. Download your PocketLaw copy today.
ZimLII is a member of the AfricanLII family of Legal Information Institutes and a member of the Free Access to Law Movement.

Do you want to know more? Check out this article from one of the techies on the team, Robley.
https://laws.africa/2021/11/26/pocketlaw-improving-free-access-to-legal-information.html#:~:text=Pocket%20Law%20%2D%20delivering%20offline%20access%20to%20African%20law&text=The%20project%20is%20an%20initiative,to%20law%20community%20in%20Africa.

We want to hear from you. Share feedback on your experience right here on Facebook or via email on [email protected]

The complex interplay between RBZ Foreign Exchange Directives and the Law of Contract

In Legacy Hospitality Management Services Limited v African Sun Limited and Another (43 of 2022) [2022] ZWSC 43 (29 March 2022); Makoni JA, Mathonsi JA and Mwayera JA presided on a case with the background in the excerpt below :

"...Subsequently, about three years later, on or about 13 September 2018, the first respondent purported to terminate the agreement between the parties on the basis that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), as the Exchange Control Authority, had refused to accommodate the first respondent’s continued position of incurring the obligation to pay fees in foreign currency to the appellant in terms of the agreement. In addition to the RBZ’s refusal to countenance the obligation for payment of fees by the first respondent. The first respondent also sought to terminate the agreement on the basis that the appellant had refused to renegotiate the terms and rates of payment in order to bring the parties agreement in conformity with the RBZ’s Exchange Control Regulations.

The first respondent indicated that it was unable to pay outside the RBZ’s directives, as it deemed that this would be illegal. Further, the first respondent averred that the fact that the RBZ refused to countenance the continued accrual of the foreign currency obligation, made the fulfilment of its contractual obligation permanently impossible to perform. The respondent averred that the impossibility to perform was through no fault of either party, but that a supervening impossibility barred the parties from performing the terms of the agreement..."

Read the full text judgement, and ruling on the ZimLII website here: https://zimlii.org/zw/judgment/supreme-court-zimbabwe/2022/43 , provided for full free online access.

In Rutsate v Wedzerai and 7 Others (45 of 2022) [2022] ZWSC 45 (29 March 2022), a dispute arose regarding legitimacy of a certain chieftancy appointment.

Was the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear this matter ousted by s 283 of the New Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act, 2013 (‘the Constitution’), which had the new provision that provides that any dispute concerning chieftainship is now dealt with by the President?

Guvava JA, Bhunu JA and Kudya J order as follows:

"DISPOSITION

The court a quo correctly found that it had the requisite jurisdiction to hear the matter. Section 283 (c) of the Constitution has vested the power to deal with disputes relating to chieftainship in the President as a domestic resolution mechanism. It is not a substantive provision as it requires operationalization through an Act of Parliament. The provision does not have retrospective application. It does not oust the inherent power of the High Court to determine such matters. The matter commenced before the court a quo prior to the coming into force of the Constitution in 2013. It was therefore pending when the Constitution was promulgated. That being the case, it must proceed in terms of para 18(9) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution."

Read the full-text judgement here - https://zimlii.org/zw/judgment/supreme-court-zimbabwe/2022/45 provided for free full online access by ZimLII.

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Free access to the Law in Zimbabwe - because ignorance of the law is no excuse.

The Cyber and Data Protection Act, 2021 (Chapter 12:07)

An Act to provide for data protection with due regard to the Declaration of Rights under the Constitution and the public and national interest; to establish a Cyber Security Centre; a Data Protection Authority and to provide for their functions; to create a technology driven business environment and encourage technological development and the lawful use of technology; to amend sections 162 to 166 of the Criminal Code (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] to provide for investigation and collection of evidence of cyber crime and unauthorised data collection and breaches, and to provide for admissibility of electronic evidence for such offences and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.
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The Cyber and Data Protection Act, 2021 (Chapter 12:07) which commenced on the 11th of March 2022 is available to view, download and share on the ZimLII website here:
[email protected]" rel="nofollow,noopener" target="_blank">https://zimlii.org/akn/zw/act/2021/5/[email protected]
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Do you understand how this affects you as an individual, business or organization?
What processes will you have to change to remain compliant with the law?

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Legislation and Judgments from Zimbabwe are published for free, full online access on ZimLII, collaborating with AfricanLII and Laws.Africa