COURTS AND ADJUDICATING AUTHORITIES (PUBLICITY RESTRICTION) ACT
ss 1–2
CHAPTER 7:04
COURTS AND ADJUDICATING AUTHORITIES (PUBLICITY RESTRICTION) ACT
Acts 25/1985, 18/1989 (s. 37), 11/1991 (s. 27), 22/2001 (s. 4).
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1
Short title.
2
Interpretation.
3
Orders excluding persons from and restricting disclosure of proceedings.
4
Additional powers of Minister regarding certificates prohibiting publicity.
5
Effect of certificates and notices.
6
Protection of record of proceedings.
7
Authority to disclose information.
8
Offences and penalties.
9
Authority of Attorney-General for prosecutions.
10
Evidence and presumptions.
11
Right of audience of State employees.
12
Effect of this Act on other laws.
AN ACT to regulate and restrict attendance at and publication of proceedings of courts and adjudicating authorities; and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.
[Date of commencement: 7th February, 1986.]
WHEREAS subsections (10), (11) and (12) of section 18 of the Constitution provide as follows—
(10) Except in the case of a trial such as is referred to in subsection (14) or with the agreement of all the parties thereto,
all proceedings of every court and proceedings for the determination of the existence or extent of any civil right or oblig ation before any other adjudicating authority, including the announcement of the decision of the court or other authority,
shall be held in public.
(11) Nothing in subsection (10) shall prevent—
(a) the court or other adjudicating authority from excluding from the proceedings, except the announcement of its
decision, persons other than the parties thereto and their legal representatives to such extent as the court or other
authority—
(i) may by law be empowered so to do and may consider necessary or expedient in circumstances where pu blicity
would prejudice the interests of justice, or in interlocutory proceedings, or in the interests of public morality,
the welfare of persons under the age of twenty-one years or the protection of the private lives of persons concerned in the proceedings; or
(ii) may by law be empowered or required so to do in the interests of defence, public safety, public order or the
economic interests of the State; or
(b) the court from excluding from proceedings preliminary to trial in respect of a criminal offen ce persons other than the
accused person and his legal representative when so required by law, unless the accused person otherwise r equests.
(12) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (4), (10) or (11), if in any proceedings before such court o r other
adjudicating authority as is referred to in subsection (2) or (9), including any proceedings by virtue of section 24, a
certifcate in writing is produced to the court or other authority signed by a Minister that it would not be in the public
interest for any matter to be publicly disclosed, the court or other authority shall make arrangements for evidence relating
to that matter to be heard in camera and shall take such other action as may be necessary or expedient to prevent the
disclosure of that matter.
AND WHEREAS it is desirable, in accordance with the aforementioned subsections, to make provision for the exclusion of
persons from proceedings of courts and adjudicating authorities and to make further provision in regard to the public disclosure of such proceedings:
NOW, THEREFORE, be it enacted as follows:—
“certificate” means a certificate issued in terms of subsection (12) of section 18 of the Constitution or in terms of
subsection (1) of section four;
“court” means any court established by law in Zimbabwe;
“legal representative”, in relation to—
(a) any person, means a legal practitioner or other person
representing or acting for such firstmentioned person
in any proceedings;
(b) a person under a disability, includes a parent,
guardian, curator, tutor or other person having charge
or control
1
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Courts and Adjudicating
Authorities (Publicity Restriction) Act [Chapter 7:04].
2
Interpretation
In this Act—
“adjudicating authority” means any tribunal, board,
commission, authority or person, other than a court, that
exercises any quasi-judicial or administrative function,
whether in terms of any enactment or otherwise;
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[Chapter 7:04]