ss 2–4
COURTS AND ADJUDICATING AUTHORITIES (PUBLICITY RESTRICTION) ACT
over the person under a legal disability or over his
affairs;
“notice” means a notice issued in terms of subsection (2)
of section four;
“order” means an order made in terms of section three;
“proceedings” means all proceedings of whatsoever
nature conducted by or before a court or adjudicating
authority;
“record of the proceedings” includes the judgment or
decision of a court or adjudicating authority and.any evidence or other matter or thing that forms part of or relates to
the record of proceedings before a court or adjudicating
authority;
“recording” means any device whereon or wherein information is recorded;
“responsible Minister”—
(a) in relation to a court or adjudicating authority that is
established or constituted in terms of any enactment,
means—
(i) the Minister to whom the President has for the
time being assigned the administration of that
enactment; or
(ii) a Vice-President, where the President has for the
time being assigned the administration of that
enactment to the Vice-President;
(b) in any other case, means the Minister of Justice, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs or any other Minister to
whom the President may from time to time assign the
administration of this Act.
(i) in circumstances where publicity would prejudice the
interests of justice, in particular where the court or adjudicating authority is satisfied that a witness who is
about to give evidence or who has given evidence has
reasonable cause to fear that he or any other person is
likely to suffer unlawful injury to his person or property as a result of giving such evidence; or
(ii) in interlocutory proceedings; or
(iii) in the interests of public morality; or
(iv) in the interests of the welfare of persons under the age
of eighteen years; or
(v) to protect the private lives of persons concerned in the
proceedings; or
(vi) in the case of an order in terms of paragraph (b), (c)
or (d) of subsection (1), to protect the safety or private
lives of persons related to or connected with any person concerned in the proceedings.
(3) A court or adjudicating authority shall make an order
in terms of subsection (1) whenever the court or adjudicating
authority is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to do so
in the interests of defence, public safety, public order or the
economic interests of the State.
4
Additional powers of Minister regarding
certificates prohibiting publicity
(1) In addition to his power in terms of subsection (12) of
section 18 of the Constitution to issue a certificate preventing
the public disclosure of any matter in proceedings before a
court or adjudicating authority, the responsible Minister shall
have power to issue a certificate, in writing and signed by
him, that it would not be in the public interest to disclose
publicly—
(a) the fact that any proceedings may be or will be
instituted by or before any court or adjudicating authority, or any matter connected with such future proceedings;
(b) any matter in any proceedings which are not for the
determination of the existence or extent of any civil
right or obligation.
(2) Subject to subsection (5), whenever the responsible
Minister has issued a certificate, he may—
(a) by notice in writing served on—
(i) any party to the proceedings or future proceedings concerned: or
(ii) any person who is or may be a witness in the
proceedings or future proceedings concerned; or
(iii) any legal representative of a party or person
referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii); or
(b) by notice published in the Gazette;
direct that any information, document or recording or class
of documents or recordings relating to the proceedings or
future proceedings concerned shall not be made available or
transmitted by any one such party, person or legal representative to any other such party, person or legal representative, except under such conditions as the responsible Minister
may specify in the notice for the purpose of ensuring that any
information or matter contained in the document or recording
or class of documents or recordings is disclosed to as few
people as possible.
(3) Without derogation from the generality of subsection
(2), conditions imposed in terms of that subsection may—
(a) prohibit or restrict the making of copies of any
document or recording;
(b) prohibit or restrict the removal of any document or
recording or copy thereof from Zimbabwe;
3
Orders excluding persons from and restricting
disclosure of proceedings
(1) Subject to this section and to any other enactment, if
at any stage before or during any proceedings a court or
adjudicating authority considers it necessary or expedient to
do so, the court or adjudicating authority may make any one
or more of the following orders, either mero motu or on the
application of a party to the proceedings—
(a) that all persons or such class of persons as the court or
adjudicating authority may specify shall be excluded
from the proceedings:
Provided that such an order shall not prevent—
(i) the parties to the proceedings and their legal
representatives from being present at any stage
of the proceedings; or
(ii) any person from being present when the
decision of the court or adjudicating authority is
announced;
(b) that the name, address or other information likely to
reveal the identity of any person concerned or mentioned in the proceedings shall not be publicly disclosed;
(c) that information revealing or likely to reveal any place
or locality concerned or mentioned in the proceedings
shall not be publicly disclosed;
(d) that the whole or any specified part of the proceedings
shall not be publicly disclosed.
(2) Subject to subsection (3)—
(a) a court shall not make an order in terms of subsection
(1) in any proceedings;
(b) an adjudicating authority shall not make an order in
terms of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) in any proceedings for the determination of the existence or extent of any civil right or obligation;
unless the court or adjudicating authority, as the case may
be, considers it necessary or expedient to do so—
[Chapter 7:04]
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