TORTURE IN ZIMBABWE, PAST AND PRESENT record of any inquest held to the Attorney General, and if he has not held an inquest he must send the police report; in both instances he must include his own conclusions and remarks upon the case as he thinks fit. 108 In practice therefore if the Magistrate can ascertain the cause of death from the post-mortem and there is no evidence of any foul play, then there will be no need to hold an inquest, but if the cause of death is not clear he may hold an inquest. D. Criminal Trials A trial is commenced by the bringing of charges in either the Magistrates or High Courts, depending on the gravity of the crime and the likely punishment, as well as where the offence occurred. The Attorney General or the DPP or his delegated public prosecutor decides on behalf of the State the precise charge and which court will hear the matter. There are magistrates with different levels of seniority and degrees of criminal jurisdiction, while all judges of the High Court have equal jurisdiction, which includes the jurisdiction to impose the death penalty in criminal cases. The discretion lies with the public prosecutor to institute, commence or continue criminal proceedings. The accused will appear in court by way of a summons, or he will be remanded in or out of custody or indicted for trial. 109 Criminal proceedings are adversarial and based largely on the English system, although there are no jury trials but instead the judge sits with two assessors. Unless the accused pleads and is found guilty, a plea of not guilty will be entered, State witnesses called and oral evidence led in open court. The State is obliged to prove the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Documentary evidence can also be produced through witnesses. The accused or his lawyer is entitled to cross-examine the State witnesses, who can then be re-examined by the prosecutor. After the State has closed its case the accused can call witnesses in his defence and give evidence himself if he wishes, but he is not obliged to do so.110 Defence witnesses can be cross-examined by the prosecutor and re-examined by the defence. After the defence has closed its case, the presiding judicial officer gives judgment, with reasons, and if the accused is found guilty, sentence according to law is passed. This entails imprisonment (which can be partially or wholly suspended), monetary fines or community service.111 Murder without extenuating circumstances carries the death penalty. The President has the Constitutional power to grant pardons. 112 All accused persons are entitled to be legally represented by a lawyer of their own choice and at their own expense.113 108 Section 13. 109 In the Magistrates Court the term used for the document setting out the alleged offence is the summons or the charge; in the High Court it is called the indictment. 110 Section 198 (9) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07]. However, an accused who does not give evidence may still be questioned by the prosecution and the court, and in terms of Section 199 a court can draw an adverse inference from a refusal to answer. Section 18(8)(3) of the Constitution states that no accused person can be compelled to give evidence, and the law making him liable to answer questions might therefore be unconstitutional, but is saved by Section 18(13)(d) which makes it clear that it is not a contravention of subsection (8) for an adverse inference to be drawn where an accused ‘without just cause’ refuses to answer any question put to him. 111 Juveniles may also be given corporal punishment: see above footnotes 52 and 53, and Section 353 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07]. 112 See above III. 2.1. 113 Section 18(8) of the Constitution. If an accused person cannot afford a lawyer in the High Court (where only very serious offences are tried) he will invariably be provided with pro deo counsel, but the vast majority of accused 20