FULL TEXT: Judicial Service Commission Speaks On Court Cases, Remands, Weddings

Zimbabwe’s Judicial Service Commission has announced a raft of measures which are meant to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the courts of Zimbabwe.

We present the JSC’s statement in full below.

Following the public notice and pronouncements by His Excellency the President on COVID -19 protection measures the Chief Justice now directs that the following measures will apply with immediate effect at all Courts:
I) Trials and non-urgent hearings must be postponed for a period not less than two months except urgent matters, bail applications and initial remands.
2) All weddings are cancelled. Parties may approach the courts for rebooking after a period of two months.
3) No hearings will be done in chambers.
4) In instances where hearings ore held. these should be confined to parties involved in the case and their legal practitioners. Those not involved in the case are discouraged from attending or coming to court.
5) All surfaces at reception areas, registries, court rooms and areas of potential risk should be regularly sanitized and fumigated as may be necessary.
6) Members of the Judicial Service Commission at courts, Legal Practitioners and litigants attending court sessions are required to:
a) be sanitized at the court entrance when going in and outside the court.
b) maintain a distance of at least two meters from the next person when attending court or registry offices.
c) disinfect any immediate surface area with the disinfectant and paper towels made available in court.
d) Wash your hands frequently with soap and running water or rub your hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizers for at least 20 seconds.