Judgment No. CCZ 3/2015 3 Criminal Appeal No. CCZ 227/11 the respondent that this Court is handicapped by the lack of evidence in making a full inquiry into and determining whether or not the applicant’s right to a fair trial has been violated. ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION Having regard to the respondent’s position, the preliminary question to be decided is whether or not this matter is properly before this Court in light of the procedure adopted by the applicant’s counsel in making the request for referral in the Magistrates Court. Flowing therefrom is the related question as to whether or not, on the basis of the evidence on record, this Court can properly make a determination on the alleged violation of the applicant’s right to a fair and speedy trial as guaranteed by s 18(2) of the former Constitution. Mr Mambara for the applicant accepts that neither party filed affidavits or gave evidence before the Magistrates Court in relation to the factual and legal requirements to justify or negative a permanent stay of prosecution. The magistrate only considered the written submissions filed on behalf of the applicant before referring the matter to the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Mr Mambara contends that there are sufficient details in those submissions to enable this Court to assess the relevant facts and decide the constitutional question referred for determination. If this is not possible, the way forward would be to refer the matter back to the Magistrates Court to hear evidence from both parties.