COURT WATCH 2/2024

[15th March 2024]

JSC Advertises Ten Vacancies on High Court Bench and One Vacancy on the Administrative Court Bench

The Judicial Service Commission has announced ten vacancies for judges of the High Court and one vacancy for a judge of the Administrative Court, and has called for members of the public to submit nominations to fill the vacancies.  The deadline for nominations is Tuesday 2nd April 2024.

Members of the public are invited to make nominations for the judges in terms of s180(4)(b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Qualifications of Judges of the High Court and Administrative Court

The qualifications of judges of the High Court and Administrative Court are set out as follows in section 179 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe:

“(1)   A person is qualified for appointment as a judge of the High Court … or the Administrative Court if he or she is at least forty years old and, in addition—

(a)  is or has been a judge of a court with unlimited jurisdiction in civil or criminal matters in a country in which the common law is Roman-Dutch or English and English is an officially recognised language; or

(b)  for at least seven years, whether continuously or not, he or she has been qualified to practise as a legal practitioner—

    (i)  in Zimbabwe;

   (ii)  in a country in which the common law is Roman-Dutch and English is an officially recognised language; or 

  (iii)  if he or she is a Zimbabwean citizen, in a country in which the common law is English and English is an officially recognised language; 

      and is currently so qualified to practise. 

(2)  To be appointed as a judge of the High Court a person must be a fit and proper person to hold office as a judge.”

Nomination forms

Nomination Forms are available the office of the Secretary, Judicial Service Commission, at JSC House, No 16 Josiah Chinamano Avenue or the Office of the Provincial Magistrates in major cities and towns or on the JSC website www.jsc.org.zw.