Permanent Supreme Court to be set up in Bulawayo

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is planning to set up a permanent Supreme Court in Bulawayo soon after completing the ongoing decentralisation of the High Court in 2018.

JSC secretary Justice Rita Makarau, in an interview yesterday, said plans were underway to have a permanent seat of the Supreme Court in Bulawayo as a way of strengthening the justice delivery system.

"The Supreme Court sits on circuit in Bulawayo once every six months and as JSC we are considering putting a permanent Supreme Court soon. In fact, once we are done with the decentralisation of the High Court, which we are concentrating on right now until 2018, we will certainly start planning on the Supreme Court," said Justice Makarau.

The Supreme Court permanently sits in Harare and goes on circuit in Bulawayo.

Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) councillor and prominent Bulawayo lawyer, Mr Godfrey Nyoni said decentralising the Supreme Court will help people from the southern region to access justice and cut litigation costs.

"If JSC implements the decentralisation of the Supreme Court by setting up a permanent seat in Bulawayo, as LSZ, we are saying that would be a move in the right direction in terms of access to justice, especially for people in this region," he said.

Mr Nyoni said once the Supreme Court is permanently in Bulawayo, it also helps reduce cases of abuse by litigants and a scrambled calendar.

"It will also help cuts legal costs for litigants, for instance, you have a client in Bulawayo filing an appeal at the Supreme Court and as a law firm I will have to look for a corresponding lawyer in Harare to file on behalf of my client and that is an inhibiting factor and costly on the part of client who will have to bear the costs," he said.

Justice Makarau said as part of decentralising the High Court, the present circuit centres in Gweru, Hwange and Mutare would be upgraded to the status of permanent fully fledged High Court stations.

She however, acknowledged that due to budgetary constraints, they will roll out the stations in phases. Masvingo was the first to have a permanent seat of the superior court for a largely rural province.

Justice Makarau said the decentralisation of the High Court was a priority considering the high number of cases that needed the court's attention.

She said the purpose of decentralisation was to bring justice to the people.