ZIMBABWE Law and Practice Contributed by: Nellie Tiyago and Rudo Magundani, Scanlen & Holderness
1. Legal System and Regulatory Framework 1.1 Legal System
Convention on Settlement of Investment Disputes, the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the United Nations Convention on International Trade Law and the Economic Partnership Agreement between the
Zimbabwe’s legal framework is a hybrid system with - out a singular source of law. The system comprises: • Roman Dutch law (common law), inherited from the British settlers who arrived in Zimbabwe around 1890; • statutory law (legislation), which governs matters in written form; and • judicial precedent (court precedents and case law) derived from the decisions of the superior courts – the decisions of the Supreme Court are superior and have authority over all subordinate courts. In certain circumstances, a business may become subject to customary law, which governs traditional practices predominantly in rural and communal set - tings and is administered by chiefs and headmen. The intersection between commercial operations and customary law is particularly relevant in matters con - cerning land use and communal land rights, where traditional authority structures retain jurisdiction and influence over access, occupation and dispute reso - lution. Authoritative legal texts and foreign case law are often cited for their persuasive value, particularly where the legal issue is novel or underdeveloped within Zimba - bwe. Such references assist the courts in interpret - ing principles where domestic precedent is limited or evolving. Zimbabwe abides by treaties and international agree - ments such as: • the investment protection agreements it has entered into with the United Kingdom, South Africa, China, Germany, Mozambique, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Iran, Denmark, Sweden, India, Indone - sia, Jamaica, Italy and the UAE; and • international treaties involving the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Zimbabwe is a signatory to the International
EU and Eastern and Southern Africa. 1.2 Regulatory Framework for FDI
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is regulated under exchange control and sector-specific legal provisions. These provisions are summarised as follows. Exchange Control Approval Any lending or borrowing of financial obligations in foreign currency, including when involving security or the remittance of funds outside Zimbabwe for goods and/or services (whether actual or anticipated), must be approved by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) under exchange control regulations. All cross-border investments and payments must be routed through authorised banking institutions and accompanied by relevant documentation, such as invoices, receipts and the governing agreement. Sector-Related Approval FDI must be authorised by the regulatory body responsible for the particular economic sector target - ed, ensuring that any investment or activity complies with industry-specific laws, standards and licensing requirements. Sectors where approval is required include: • mining – mining claims, exploration licences and environmental impact assessments; • banking and finance – the establishment of finan - cial institutions, lending activities and foreign cur - rency operations; • telecommunications – licensing of telecom opera - tors, spectrum allocation and infrastructure deploy - ment; • health and pharmaceuticals – drug importation, manufacturing, distribution and retail licensing; • energy – fuel retail licences and electricity genera - tion/distribution permits; • tourism – tour operator licensing and tourism facil - ity registration; and
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