UN Special Rapporteur expresses concern over judiciary

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Dato Param Cumaraswamy, has expressed concern over the continuing threats to the independence of the judiciary in Zimbabwe, a UN press release said on Monday.

The press release said that Cumaraswamy had been informed that two more judges of Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court, Justices Nicholas McNally and Ahmed Ibrahim, had been approached by the minister of justice and requested to submit letters seeking early retirement.

“I am extremely concerned about these developments which indicate that the rule of law is further deteriorating in Zimbabwe,” Cumaraswamy said. “The government must comply with its obligations under international standards and stop harassing and pressuring members of the judiciary.
The allegation that the government has called upon judges to seek early retirement will be seen as a clear violation of Principle 2 of the United Nations Basic Principles of the Independence of the Judiciary. It is most unfortunate that such a well respected and independent judiciary appears to be under threat from the executive branch of government.”

On Monday the official ‘The Herald’ newspaper said that McNally had turned down the request while Ibrahim had indicated he wanted to consult his family. Last week the government said Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay was to retire a year early in June.

The press release added that the Special Rapporteur was currently liasing with the Zimbabwean government through the Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the United Nations Office in Geneva “to conduct an urgent mission, possibly in March, in order to meet with the minister of justice and other members of the government, the judges of the Supreme Court and representatives of the legal profession”.

Meanwhile, the General Council of the Bar of South Africa (GCB) said on Monday that the legal system in Zimbabwe was “at extreme risk”. The GCB is the federal body for South Africa’s 10 bars.

GCB chair Jeremy Gauntlett said the current situation was not just a Zimbabwean issue. He said that the rule of law was a foundation for economic and social stability in the region and was thus “indivisible”.