Judgment No. CCZ 6/2015 4 Const Application No. 02/14 (1) if any person alleges that the Declaration of Rights has been, is being or is likely to be contravened in relation to him (or, in the case of a person who is detained, if any other person alleges such a contravention in relation to the detained person), then , without prejudice to any other action with respect to the same matter which is lawfully available, that person ( or that other person) may, subject to the provision of subsection (3), apply to the Supreme Court for redress. (2) If in any proceedings in the High Court or in any court subordinate to the High Court any question arises as to the contravention of the Declaration of Rights, the person presiding in that court may, and if so requested by any party to the proceedings shall refer the question to the Supreme Court unless, in his opinion, the raising of the question is merely frivolous or vexatious. (3) Where in any proceedings such as are mentioned in subsection (2) any such question as is therein mentioned is not referred to the Supreme Court then, without prejudice to the right to raise that question or any appeal from the determination of the court in those proceedings, no application for the determination of that question shall lie to the Supreme Court under subsection (1) (my emphasis) In interpreting s 24(3) and its effect, a number of authorities ruled that it rendered the provisions of s 24 (2), mandatory. In other words, any constitutional issue that arose during proceedings in a lower court, had to be referred to the Supreme Court (sitting as a Constitutional Court), in terms of s 24(2). Section 175 (4) of the current constitution is an exact replica of the old s 24(2. It was for instance held by MALABA JA (as he then was), in Tsvangirai v Mugabe and Anor 2006 (1) ZLR 148 S as follows; “It is the duty of the party who wants a question as to the contravention of the Declaration of Rights arising in the proceedings in the High Court, or in a court subordinate to it, referred to the Supreme Court for determination, to ensure compliance with the provisions of s 24(2). The requirement to comply with the procedure prescribed thereunder is made mandatory by the provision of s 24(3)”. In the earlier case of Jesse v Attorney General 1999 (1) ZLR 121 (S), GUBBAY CJ (as he then was) had similarly stated as follows; “Put differently, the question is whether an applicant may, during the course of proceedings in the High Court, as in any court subordinate to it, simply ignore the provisions of s 24(2), and utilise the procedure laid down in s 24(1). I entertain not the