Chief Justice of Zimbabwe

The Chief Justice of Zimbabwe is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. As such, he is head of the Zimbabwe judiciary.

Chief Justice of Zimbabwe
Incumbent
Luke Malaba
since 27 March 2017
AppointerPresident of Zimbabwe
Term lengthNo term limit; must retire at 70
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Zimbabwe
Inaugural holderSir Murray Bisset (Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia)
Sir John Fieldsend (Chief Justice of Zimbabwe)
Formation1927 (Southern Rhodesia)
18 April 1980 (Zimbabwe)

Per Section 168 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, the Chief Justice is assisted by a Deputy Chief Justice and no fewer than two other associate justices. The Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court and presides over oral arguments. He is also the most senior of the three members of the Zimbabwe Court of Appeals. The Chief Justice also administers the oath of office to the President of Zimbabwe. Like other Supreme Court justices, he is obligated to retire at age 70.

Since the court was established in 1927, 14 men have served as Chief Justice. This includes eight chief justices during the Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia periods. The first Chief Justice was Sir Murray Bisset. Since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, six men have served as Chief Justice. Of these six, three have been White and three Black. The current Chief Justice since 2017 is Luke Malaba.

Duties

List

Chief Justices of Southern Rhodesia
No. Image Chief Justice Tenure Appointed by
1 Sir Murray Bisset 1927 – 24 October 1931 Sir John Chancellor
2 Sir Fraser Russell 1931–1943 Sir Cecil Hunter-Rodwell
3 Sir Robert James Hudson 1943 – 15 May 1950 Sir Evelyn Baring
— Vernon Lewis

(Acting)

 1950–1950 Sir John Noble Kennedy
4 Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold 1950–1955
5 Sir John Murray 1 August 1955 – 1961 Sir Peveril William-Powlett
6 Sir Hugh Beadle

(see below)

 1961 – 11 November 1965 Sir Humphrey Gibbs

Chief Justices of Rhodesia
No. Image Chief Justice Tenure Appointed by
1 Sir Hugh Beadle

(see above)

 11 November 1965 – 1977 Sir Humphrey Gibbs
2 Hector Macdonald 1977 – May 1980 John Wrathall

Chief Justices of Zimbabwe
No. Image Chief Justice Tenure Appointed by
Hector Macdonald 18 April 1980 – May 1980
John Vernon Radcliffe Lewis (acting)[1] May 1980 – 1 July 1980 Canaan Banana
1 Sir John Fieldsend 1 July 1980 – February 1983
- Leo Baron (acting) 1983
2 Telford Georges February 1983 – February 1984
3 Enoch Dumbutshena 29 February 1984 – 1990
4 Anthony Gubbay 1990–2001 Robert Mugabe
5 Godfrey Chidyausiku July 2001 – 28 February 2017
6 Luke Malaba 27 March 2017– present

See also

References
  1. Service, British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring (1980). Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa.
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