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SADC
judgement on land reform
SADC
Tribunal
November 28, 2008
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=19795
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Factual
background
On 11 October,
2007, Mike Campbell (Pvt) Limited and William Michael Campbell filed
an application with the Southern African Development Community Tribunal
(the Tribunal) challenging the acquisition by the Respondent of
agricultural land known as Mount Carmell in the District of Chegutu
in the Republic of Zimbabwe. Simultaneously, they filed an application
in terms of Article 28 of the Protocol on Tribunal (the Protocol),
as read with Rule 61 (2) - (5) of the Rules of Procedure of
the SADC Tribunal (the Rules), for an interim measure restraining
the Respondent from removing or allowing the removal of the Applicants
from their land, pending the determination of the matter.
On 13 December, 2007,
the Tribunal granted the interim measure through its ruling which
in the relevant part stated as follows:
"[T]he
Tribunal grants the application pending the determination of the
main case and orders that the Republic of Zimbabwe shall take no
steps, or permit no steps to be taken, directly or indirectly, whether
by its agents or by orders, to evict from or interfere with the
peaceful residence on, and beneficial use of, the farm known as
Mount Carmell of Railway 19, measuring 1200.6484 hectares held under
Deed of Transfer No. 10301/99, in the District of Chegutu in the
Republic of Zimbabwe, by Mike Campbell (Pvt) Limited and William
Michael Campbell, their employees and the families of such employees
and of William Michael Campbell".
Subsequently, 77 other persons applied to intervene in the proceedings,
pursuant to Article 30 of the Protocol, as read with Rule 70 of
the Rules.
Additionally, the interveners
applied, as a matter of urgency, for an interim measure restraining
the Respondent from removing them from their agricultural lands,
pending the determination of the matter.
On 28 March, 2008, the Tribunal granted the application to intervene
in the proceedings and, just like in the Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd.
and William Michael Campbell case, granted the interim measure sought.
Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd. and William Michael Campbell case as well
as the cases of the 77 other Applicants were thus consolidated into
one case, hereinafter referred to as the Campbell case - vide
Case SADC (T) No. 02/2008.
On the same
day another application to intervene was filed by Albert Fungai
Mutize and others (Case SADC (T) No. 08/2008). The Tribunal dismissed
this application on the basis that it had no jurisdiction to entertain
the matter since the alleged dispute in the application was between
persons, namely, the Applicants in that case and those in the Campbell
case and not between persons and a State, as required under Article
15 (1) of the Protocol.
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