The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has been sued by a local woman who failed to lodge her summons for divorce at the High Court using the recently introduced e-filing system.
The woman, who is being represented by Shadreck Masike from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), said the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) was not user friendly.
The JSC directed all litigants to exclusively use the IECMS for filing of court processes and conducting hearings in the superior courts.
The litigants or users need gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, stable internet connectivity and need to be registered and trained on how to use the IECMS.
“The woman was told that as a self-actor, she should cause the summons to be issued out through logging onto the IECMS platform, which requires not only a compatible electronic device but a steady access to and connection of internet service as well,” the ZLHR said in a statement.
“To this end, the woman was directed to the IECMS hub to be assisted, only to experience a crowd of people waiting to be assisted including legal practitioners, whom she was told take precedence and this forced her to leave the High Court without getting the opportunity to be assisted.”
According to ZLHR, the woman submitted that was now stuck in her marriage against her will because she did not have the devices needed for the IECMS system and other tools.
She cited Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, and JSC as respondents.
She wants the JSC to reinstate the traditional physical filing of pleadings and physical hearings so that it co-exists with the IECMS platform in a manner that will not infringe fundamental human rights.
She also wants the High Court to declare the exclusive use of the IECMS platform as unconstitutional.