#TrackNigeria: Zimbabwe’s Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will on June 19, conduct public interviews of five judges of the High Court to fill two positions in the Supreme Court.
This is following an invitation to members of the public and to President Emmerson Mnangagwa to nominate suitable people qualified to occupy the positions.
A notice from JSC said on Tuesday that the interviews would be conducted in Harare.
One female judge, Felicia Chatukuta, will compete against her four male counterparts who have previously been interviewed for the same positions.
These are Charles Hungwe, Alfas Chitakunye, Samuel Kudya and Nicholas Mathonsi.
The four were among eight candidates who participated in interviews to fill four Supreme Court positions in 2016, but Mnangagwa appointed only two in 2018.
The Supreme Court, which is the highest court of appeal, currently has 13 judges, including Chief Justice Luke Malaba.
In terms of the law, the JSC conducts public interviews for the prospective judges after the nominations and then sends a list of recommended interviewees to the president who may assent to the names or ask the JSC to submit a fresh set of names.
According to the Constitution, a person is qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court if he or she is at least 40 years old and has been a judge of a court with unlimited jurisdiction in civil or criminal matters in which the common law is Roman-Dutch or English.
He or she should also have for at least 10 years, been qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Zimbabwe or any country with the same common law as in Zimbabwe or in a country which the common law is Roman-Dutch or English.
English should be an officially recognised language for practice. (Xinhua/NAN)
