Legal Discussions with Vengai Madzima: Enforcement of Foreign Judgments

NewZimbabwe.com has invited Mr. Vengai Madzima, the Senior Partner at Madzima Chidyausiku Museta Legal Practitioners (MCM Legal), to discuss with us legal issues that affect Zimbabweans. The discussions are of a general nature and those seeking specific legal advice should contact their lawyer.

Reporter: Welcome back Mr. Madzima. This week, we want to discuss the enforcement in Zimbabwe of legal judgments obtained between parties in foreign jurisdictions. What are the requirements?

VM: Thank you.

To establish context, allow me to give a few examples where people may obtain judgments in foreign lands that may require enforcement in Zimbabwe, before I then deal with the issue of requirements for registration. A common example is where people subject to the judgment reside in the diaspora and obtain a court judgment in that jurisdiction that may also require execution in Zimbabwe. There is a need to have the judgment recognised in Zimbabwe and registered.

Other examples may include commercial contracts by either locals or diaspora that appoint another jurisdiction as the choice of forum for dispute resolution. Once the matter is finalised and the order is issued, it will require registration with our courts.

Another common example is divorces; when annulled in another jurisdiction, they may require registration in Zimbabwe.

To now attend to your question, the foreign judgment has to be registered with the courts in Zimbabwe within a certain period for it to be executable.

However, the victim of the judgment or the person who suffers from its registration, if I can put it that way, has a right to and may challenge the registration of the judgment.

Reporter: On what basis can a person affected by the judgment challenge its registration?

VM: A person affected by a foreign judgment may use a number of reasons to oppose the registration of the foreign judgment in our courts. These may result in a court refusing to register the foreign judgment.

If the party opposing its registration establishes that the foreign court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter or that the judgment itself was not final, meaning that it is still capable of being appealed or overturned in that jurisdiction, the court may refuse to register it or pause proceedings until the appeal in that jurisdiction is finalised.

Long and short, our courts will not register a judgment that is contrary to or not compatible with our public policy. So judgments that are obtained by fraud, misrepresentation, have prescribed or have been satisfied in that jurisdiction cannot be registered in Zimbabwe.

So, for instance, if a judgment is in the form of money and the amount has been partly paid, the outstanding amount is capable of registration. Inversely, a party can oppose registration of part of a judgment that offends public policy or any of the reasons I have listed.

Reporter: Are all judgments registered in the same manner?

VM:  Our law recognises qualifying judgments from designated countries for registration and enforcement. Designated countries are those selected by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, like Zambia, South Africa, Australia, and so on and so forth. Other countries that are not designated may have to use the judgment as a cause of action in our courts.

On another note, our law does recognise divorce orders from any competent jurisdiction for registration in Zimbabwe, where the divorce order does not offend our public policy in its execution. A recent example is the  Makoni and Makoni supreme court case in 2025, where the supreme court found the order granted in England capable of enforcement in Zimbabwe, overturning the high court position, which had ruled a part of the order to be contrary to public policy

Reporter: What is the effect of registering the court order from another jurisdiction?

VM: Once the court accepts the registration of the foreign judgment in Zimbabwe, it directs that the order be registered. The registered judgment will therefore have the same force and effect as a judgment issued by a competent court in Zimbabwe. The erstwhile foreign judgment will therefore be capable of enforcement in Zimbabwe as if the judgment were made in Zimbabwe. The party registering the judgment may also be able to recover the costs incurred in registering the judgment from the affected person.

Reporter: Thank you, Mr. Madzima. We have to end here because of our time.

VM: Thank you.

You can contact Vengai Madzima on vengai@mcmlegal.co.zw or at www.mcmlegal.co.zw.

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