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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has acquired a building in Harare to house the Commercial Court to settle business-related disputes. This is in line with Government’s drive to make Zimbabwe more conducive for business.

The specialised court is a division of the High Court that is set to ensure the smooth delivery of justice in business and to promote the ease of doing business.

Bristol House, which is at the corner of Kwame Nkrumah Avenue and Third Street in Harare, according to JSC, will soon be renamed Commercial Court House.

The commission has also bought another building along Rotten Row in the city, which will accommodate the Labour Court.

JSC acting secretary Mr Walter Chikwana said preparations for the setting up of the Commercial Court were now in motion, with renovations to the newly-acquired structure expected to start next year.

“We have since bid for money to refurbish the building,” he said.

“We will turn it into a state-of-the art structure to house the Commercial Court, a division of the High Court of Zimbabwe. We are likely to commence the refurbishment work next year.”

Mr Chikwana described the purchase of Bristol House as a giant step towards the establishment of the Commercial Court of Zimbabwe in line with Government’s policy on ease of doing business.

“A separate division of the High Court in the form of Commercial Court will enhance the efficiency of the High Court in handling commercial disputes,” he said.

Mr Chikwana said the court will be the first to introduce the integrated case management system, which will see all documents being electronically filed with the court.

“It will be a paperless court where there will be e-filing,” he said.

“For the past one year, we have been involved in an exercise to identify the ideal electronic system to                                     use.

“So far, three companies have shown interest in providing us with their different software, but we are still in the process of doing a due diligence to come up with the best.”

JSC has been occupying Bristol House as a tenant.

The building accommodates the Labour Court, which is expected to now move to the other new building along Rotten Row to allow for renovations and subsequent occupation by the Commercial Court.