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Hebert Zharare Political Editor
TWO years after prominent Harare businessman and industrialist, Aguy Georgias filed a case at the General Court of the European Court of Justice against the European Union’s sanctions on Zimbabwe, the case has still not gone to trial as the Court is still to set down a trial date.
In 2011, the case was allocated to the Court’s Third Chamber with Georgia’s London solicitors, Bates Wells and Braithwaite making an application for an expedited hearing on the grounds of his health and advanced age.

The Court rejected and turned down the application on the grounds of their rules and procedures.
To this date, Georgias and his solicitors remain anxious and keep guessing as to when the Court may set down a date for the case to be heard.
Given the urgency and zeal with which the EU moved to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe, questions are now being asked on the delay to set a date for the case’s hearing, making true the old adage that “justice delayed is justice denied”.

Ironically, one of the grounds on which the EU imposed sanctions was alleged neglect of the rule of law by the Government.
To Georgias, founder and Managing Director of Trinity Engineering, the EU legal and court system is not measuring up at all.

Says Georgias; “I had so much respect for the British High Court. That had all but dissipated. First the lawyers representing me just appeared in the midst of court hearings. I wrote to the Law Society of Britain to protest about this but got no response. I then approached 43 English law firms who all declined to litigate my case until I contracted my present solicitors. But now I don’t know what to make of this delay in setting a hearing date for my case at the EU General Court of Justice?”

Asked whether his case was likely to be heard this year, Georgias sounded apprehensive.
“I do not discern a desire to settle my case. I am gravely concerned at this undue delay where I have had a high personal price to pay, but hopefully, the case is likely to be heard anytime soon. Trinity Engineering has suffered loss of business.

“I have spent no less than £800 000 on this case to date with more than £54 000 still outstanding to my solicitors.”
Georgias feels strongly that his case against the EU sanctions is a national issue but regrets that he has not received support from other corporate entities that are equally affected by the sanctions after he wrote to several of them to enlist financial backing.

“I have not received a single cent from all who I wrote to for support but am surprised they are all too eager to spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorship of soccer tournaments’’.

Asked if there was a possibility of joining his case with that of the Government filed by the Attorney General Johannes Tomana, Georgias said this was unlikely and not practical as his case has advanced way ahead of the Government case.

“My case was allocated to the Third Chamber of EU General Court of Justice in 2011, way before the Government case was filed. I believe the AG’s has only recently been put on the register whereas we are now only awaiting the setting down of a hearing date. Any further delay is tantamount to a denial of justice to us. This is, however, not up to me or my solicitors to determine. We will abide by their rules of procedure but I will not relent from pursuing justice. The EU cannot play double standards, if they are sticklers to the rule of law?”

Probed on the possibility of dropping the case now that he is off the EU sanctions list, Georgias said, ‘‘dropping the case at this stage would not make any sense after spending such an amount of money (US$1,3million).’’