The Supreme Court will today determine the MDC-Alliance’s appeal against the High Court’s May judgment which ruled that the outfit is not a legal person with the capacity to sue or be sued.
The appeal will be heard by Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth
Gwaunza, sitting with Justice Tendai Uchena and Justice Samuel Kudya.
This comes as the MDC-A had brought an urgent High Court
application challenging MDC-T’s recall of legislators elected on the MDC-A
ticket.
However, on May 29 this year, Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruled
that the MDC-A as a collective had no legal right and responsibility to sue on
behalf of the recalled legislators, who could bring legal action as
individuals.
Justice Chitapi considered that evidence brought before the
court indicated that the MDC-A was a coalition of political parties, with the
status of a political party under the Electoral Act, but without legal standing
as a person.
In the absence of such requirements as a decision to be
legally incorporated as a voluntary organisation, or corporate, the MDC-A falls
short as a political party.
By definition, the Justice Chitapi conceded, the MDC-A
might be called a political party in terms of the Electoral Act, but found that
there were no written instruments governing how the party was constituted or
operated.
The agreement, Justice Chitapi ruled, constituted the
parties’ entire agreement to the alliance, but did not spell out the legal
status of the MDC-A. Herald
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