News:Veritas Comments On Import Ban. Points Out That It's Unconstitutional And Illegal

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<vote /> Veritas has pointed out that Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 which bans the importation of a host of goods is unconstitutional and illegal. Veritas provides information on the work of the Parliament of Zimbabwe and the Laws of Zimbabwe and makes public domain information widely available.

Veritas highlights that there were no consultations that were done as required by section 141 of the Constitution which states that Parliament must,

“facilitate public involvement in its legislative and other processes and in the processes of its committees”,

and must, “ensure that interested parties are consulted about Bills being considered by Parliament, unless such consultation is inappropriate or impracticable.”

They argue that though Section 141 gives specific reference to consultation for Bills it is however a constitutional requirement for government to be accountable as stated in section 3 of the Constitution. Based on that premise Veritas argues that,

Statutory instruments are an important part of the law-making process, and the public must, where practicable, be involved through consultation.

In the article Veritas notes that,

The instrument is invalid is that it conflicts with Zimbabwe’s international obligations, particularly Article XI.1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1994) [GATT], which prohibits member States, of which Zimbabwe is a member, from instituting import restrictions through licences on the importation of goods from other member States. They also point out that the Statutory Instrument also goes against article 7.1 of the SADC Protocol on Trade, which prohibits member States from applying any new quantitative restrictions on imports. The SI also contravenes the Common Market for East and Southern Africa [COMESA] treaties, to which Zimbabwe is a party.

They conclude that the Statutory Instrument is not legal in that there were no wide consultations done before its issuing and because it breaks a lot of Zimbabwe's international agreements. Veritas argues that the instrument could be ruled invalid by the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the grounds stated above.

Read More: VeritasZim

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