BULAWAYO – Chief Justice Luke Malaba announced major legal reforms on Monday, which will see plea bargaining being adopted by Zimbabwean courts as well as an alternative dispute resolution for criminal and civil cases to expeditiously dispose of court cases.
Malaba, who was officially opening the 2025 legal year at the Bulawayo High Court, said the reforms were “considered to be a progressive international practice.”
Plea bargains are a common way in other jurisdictions, notably in the United States of America, to resolve criminal cases without going to trial. A defendant pleads guilty to a crime after a pre-trial agreement with the prosecution in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Said the Chief Justice: “A position has been taken to adopt the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in the justice delivery
system to enhance efficiency, through a model known as the Court Annexed ADR system. This is a system which will be applied in both criminal and civil courts.
“In respect of civil cases, specialists in specific areas of the law who have been carefully selected, certified and connected to the courts system will have matters referred to them for mediation and conciliation.
“Where parties agree to the resolution of the matter the agreement will be reduced to a court order for enforcement. Where they do not agree, the matter will go back to court for adjudication.
“In the criminal cases there will be serious consideration of the adoption and use of plea bargaining as a way of expeditiously disposing of criminal matters. The use of ADR mechanisms is considered to be a progressive international practice. It has been successfully adopted in many jurisdictions. Zimbabwe cannot afford to be left behind.”
He said a committee led by a judge of the High Court had been set up to steer the adoption of the ADR mechanism.
