A Critique of the Recent Developments on the Judges’ Appointment Process in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe passed a new Constitution in 2013 which brought fundamental changes to the process of appointing judges. The new Constitution introduced a system of public interviews for judges. The first interviews of judges using the new appointment system commenced in 2014 in Harare.1 The excitement from members of the public could be noted as the interview room was packed to full capacity. It is only six years since the Constitution came into effect and already the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has introduced an additional process for appointment of judges which is not provided for in the Constitution. The JSC has incorporated pre-interview exams. This new feature of the judges‟ interview negatively impacts on the constitutional principles of transparency, justice and accountability.