Constitution of Zimbabwe (as amended by Constitution Amendment No. 19) (f) shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the charge; and, except with his own consent, the trial shall not take place in his absence unless he so conducts himself as to render the continuance of the proceedings in his presence impracticable and the court has ordered him to be removed and the trial to proceed in his absence. (4) When a person is tried for any criminal offence, the accused person or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall, if he so requires and subject to payment of such reasonable fee as may be prescribed by law, be given within a reasonable time after judgment a copy for the use of the accused person of any record of the proceedings made by or on behalf of the court. (5) No person shall be held to be guilty of a criminal offence on account of any act or omission that did not, at the time it took place, constitute such an offence, and no penalty shall be imposed for any criminal offence that is severer in degree or description than the maximum penalty that might have been imposed for that offence at the time when it was committed. (6) No person who shows that he has been tried by a competent court for a criminal offence upon a good indictment, summons or charge upon which a valid judgment could be entered and either convicted or acquitted shall again be tried for that offence or for any other criminal offence of which he could have been convicted at the trial for that offence, save— (a) where a conviction and sentence of the High Court or of a court subordinate to the High Court are set aside on appeal or review on the ground that evidence was admitted which should not have been admitted or that evidence was rejected which should have been admitted or on the ground of any other irregularity or defect in the procedure; or [Paragraph as amended by section 9 of Act 15 of 1990 – Amendment No. 10] (b) otherwise upon the order of the Supreme Court or the High Court in the course of appeal or review proceedings relating to the conviction or acquittal. [Paragraph as amended by section 3 of Act 4 of 1993 – Amendment No. 12] (7) No person shall be tried for a criminal offence if he shows that he has been pardoned for that offence. (8) No person who is tried for a criminal offence shall be compelled to give evidence at the trial. (9) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every person is entitled to be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court or other adjudicating authority established by law in the determination of the existence or extent of his civil rights or obligations. [Subsection as amended by section 3 of Act 4 of 1993 – Amendment No. 12] (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 - 26 -