An appraisal of the recruitment and selection process of the judiciary (chief justice) in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Societies that have accepted the notion of liberal modern democracy respect the role of the judges or the judiciary in making such democracies a success. As such, the drafting of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe was a particularly significant event because, amongst other things, it set out the judicial selection process to be followed in the future. Following the recent appointment of the new chief justice (Justice Malaba, appointed in 2016) there has been controversy regarding the Zimbabwean judicial recruitment and selection appointment process. While some renowned legal practitioners expressed the opinion that the process itself was somewhat commendable, the reality is that there were some major flaws, which must be addressed for future judicial selection and appointment. This study analysed documents to appraise the recent recruitment and selection process of the chief justice in Zimbabwe. This study collated data from the Zimbabwe Constitution, Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute, Zimbabwe Case law, legislation and journal articles. The findings from this study suggest that there were some flaws in the last recruitment and selection process of the Chief Justice that were conducted by the Judicial Service Commission. The paper demonstrates some of these flaws. Broadly, the results of this work suggest that the recruitment and selection process require  the expertise of those who are skilled in the procedure to do it with utmost proficiency, with limited acrimony and as little hindrance from the public as possible.

Keywords: democracy, recruitment & selection, judiciary, Zimbabwe