Friday, March 29, 2024

Judiciary calls on public to familiarise themselves with the ConCourt Amendment

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The Judiciary has announced that the Constitutional Court (Amendment) rules, SI No. 29 of 2021 came into force on 12th April 2021.

Among the notable changes brought about by the amendments include a presidential election petition which must be filed together with an affidavit verifying the facts relied upon, skeleton arguments, a list of authorities and copies of the authorities cited in the written arguments.

Other changes are that the Petitioner must effect personal service of the petition on the Respondent within twenty-four hours of filing the petition and must also file an affidavit of service to prove service of the petition.

Furthermore, the Respondent must then file an answer to the petition together with skeleton arguments, a list of authorities and copies of the authorities cited within four days of being served with the petition and must serve the answer on the Petitioner within twenty-four hours of filing including an affidavit of service showing proof of service.

Additionally, the Petitioner must file a reply to the answer within 24 hours of being served with the answer.

According to a statement issued to the media by Judiciary of Zambia Public Relations Officer, Kalumba Slavin, the Court must summon the parties to a scheduling conference after the filing of the answer in order to issue directions for the expeditious hearing and determination of the petition within the prescribed 14 days.

“Interlocutory applications should be made before the commencement of the hearing of the petition and the applications will be heard on the basis of written submissions not exceeding ten pages,” said Mrs Slavin.

She added that the Registrar must notify the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) of the filing of a presidential election petition where ECZ is not a party to the petition.

“This is important because ECZ, as the custodian of election materials, may be required to avail to the Court relevant elections materials in the course of the proceedings,” she stated.

Mrs Slavin further noted that the determination of the petition by the Court will be based on affidavit evidence as well as oral and written submissions.

“The Court is empowered to give a summary of its decision at the close of the hearing of the petition and to reserve its reasoned decision to a later date within sixty days from the last date of the hearing,”

She added. “The Court Registry’s official hours of business run from 08:00 hours to 15:00 with effect from the day of filing of a presidential election petition to the last date of the hearing of the petition in order to give parties sufficient time to file documents relating to the petition,”

Members of the public have since been encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Constitutional Court (Amendment) Rules, 2021 which are currently being published in the daily newspapers.

16 COMMENTS

  1. Those are unfair changes. How’s a petitioner to serve president Lungu who has tight security and thousands of ways to avoid being served with a petition ?

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  2. This is when lawyers like John Sangwa and others should scrutinise the law,

    You are being forwarned ……..

    Don’t start crying when lungu dribbles you again…….

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  3. Activist lawyers don’t have to contemplate court cases against this law ,

    just raise your concerns in the public domain so we , the public are aware of the traps set by statehouse ……..

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  4. Taxation without representation.

    A legal definition from the Oxford dictionary describes equity as ‘a branch of law that developed alongside common law and is concerned with fairness and justice, formerly administered in special courts.

    Common law is a body of unwritten laws based on legal precedents established by the courts. Common law influences the decision-making process in unusual cases where the outcome cannot be determined based on existing statutes or written rules of law.

    GRZ The way you have run this election, full of unfairness you too you need to familiarize yourself with laws.

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  5. Yes KZ under normal circumstances we should be able to heed the advice of any court. But NOT in Zambia. Because in this country the judiciary is appointed by the president. And the current president happens to be Edgar China Lungu, who is the most hypocritical and corrupt president the country has ever seen, and who has named many judges that are his friends and dependents. Nothing independent and trustworthy about that, huh!

  6. “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.”

    “So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government — not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed”-Ronald Reagan

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  7. THIS AMENDMENT IS A STAB IN THE BACK AND IT IS NOT FAVOURING THE PETITIONER. THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID THIS ROAD BLOCK THEY PUTTING IN PLACE IS PUBLIC OPINION. THE COURT TO MAKE ITS DECISION AFTER 60 DAYS ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN SWORN AND CONSOLIDATED HIS POSITION IN POWER. THE ARCHTECTS OR DRAFTERS OF THIS PIECE OF LAW ARE CREATING FUTURE PROBLEMS. WHY SHOULD COURTS LIMIT TIME FROM 08-15HRS INSTEAD OF WORKING SAY FROM 8-MID NIGHT DURING PETITION PERIOD. EVERYTHING IS BEING REDUCED. KAYA?

  8. THIS MATTER IS FOR KBF AND BENA JACK MWIIMBU ETC TO TACKLE AND HH & UPND ALLIANCE SHOULD MAKE SOME CONTIGENCY MEASURES FOR THIS WORSE CASE SCENARIOL OTHERWISE THEY HAVE STARTED SERIOUS MANUVOURS.

  9. THOSE lawyers must read this SI No.29 very carefully. Understand what working days and non working days means. Understand what 14 days means as well. No one should come and complain . You have been give enough time to study No 29.

  10. “In American political discourse, states’ rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution,”

    “Most powerful state in the USA? California, by far. California is not only the most populous state in the USA, but it also has the 5th highest GDP in the world. IN THE WORLD.”

  11. Given that Concourt is State Captured there is no point for the Opposition Parties Petitioning the Presidential Election Results becoz Concourt will always Rule in favour of ECL. On August 12 the Real Concourt of Public Opinion will convict Lungu and retire him from Politics. Zambians must vote overwhelmingly for HH and UPND Alliance and make PF Election Rigging Schemes ineffective. It will be difficult for ECL and PF to rig a 60 % landslide for HH and UPND Alliance. By voting out ECL Zambians are restoring Peace, Stability and Progress. HH will respect Constitutionalism,Rule of Law, Good Governance and respect for Human Rights.

  12. Destroy the rigged system that allowed so few to build extreme wealth. People who elect corrupt politicians are not victims but accomplices

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