ZAMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Joseph Jalasi, Mailesi Undi, Chama Simbeye and Wana Chinyemba, Dentons Eric Silwamba, Jalasi & Linyama Legal Practitioners
Dentons Eric Silwamba, Jalasi & Linyama Legal Practitioners William Burton Place No 12 Chilekwa Mwamba Road Off Lubu/Saise Roads Longacres
Lusaka Zambia
Tel: +260 211 256530 Fax: +260 211 256372 Email: info.zambia@dentons.com Web: www.dentons.com/en/dentons-eric-silwamba-jalasi- and-linyama
1. Legal System and Regulatory Framework 1.1 Legal System
all legislation, and the provisions of Article 20 of the Constitution of Zambia provide for the establishment of the courts. The legal system also provides for a number of spe - cialised tribunals which deal with appeals from par - ticular regulatory institutions. These include the Tax Appeals Tribunal, Competition and Consumer Pro - tection Tribunal, Lands Tribunal, Securities Exchange Tribunal, Ratings Tribunal and Mines Tribunal. 1.2 Regulatory Framework for FDI FDI in Zambia does not generally require review or approval. However, in order to access certain tax and non-tax incentives and to acquire land rights, the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) is the princi - pal FDI administrative and regulatory institution. The scope of its jurisdiction, according to Section 5 of the Zambia Development Agency Act No 17 of 2022, is to further the economic development of Zambia by promoting efficiency, investment and competitiveness in business, and promoting exports from Zambia. Certain sectors or industries impose certain owner - ship and transfer-of-licence restrictions, such as:
Zambia’s legal system is based on the English legal system. This is because Zambia is a former protector - ate of Britain. The English Law (Extent of Application) Act includes, as part of Zambian written law, the prin - ciple of English common law and equity and automati - cally makes all statutes that were in force in England on or before 17 August 1911 applicable. This is also confirmed in the Constitution of Zambia Act No 2 of 2016 in its definition of written law. The basic tenet of the Zambian legal system is the adversarial system of adjudication for civil proceed - ings. The jury system is not provided for under Zam - bian legislation. The Constitution of Zambia creates three arms of government, namely, the executive, legislature and the judiciary. Separate pieces of leg - islation provide for the establishment of the various courts, while the procedure for each court is promul - gated by way of statutory instruments usually issued under the hand of the Chief Justice. The cardinal pieces of legislation with respect to the constitution and jurisdiction of the courts are the Local Governments Act, the Small Claims Court Act, the Subordinates Court Act, the High Court Act, and the Supreme Court of Zambia Act. It is important to note that the Zambian constitution enjoys supremacy over
• banking and finance; • mining and energy; • telecoms; • real estate; and • pensions and insurance.
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