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(HERALD) Zim sets ball rolling over EU sanctions

Zim sets ball rolling over EU sanctions
Sunday, 02 October 2011 01:10
By Tafadzwa Chiremba

A BRUISING legal fight is looming between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) over the latter’s imposition of illegal sanctions amid revelations that the Attorney-General’s Office has assembled a team of the country’s best legal minds to file papers against the bloc.

Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana last week confirmed that his office was drafting court documents that will be used in the unprecedented fight against the sanctions.
However, he would not be drawn into revealing the names of the lawyers but indicated that Zimbabwe would argue that the sanctions are illegal and unjustified.

“Of course, we are going to sue. We wrote to them and we want them to justify the continued imposition of illegal sanctions on us,” he said.

The lawsuit comes in the wake of a two-week ultimatum that Government gave to the EU requesting the bloc to give reasons for maintaining the punitive measures.
In a legal notice on September 1 this year, Mr Tomana communicated Government’s position to Greece, which holds the EU presidency.

The letter was transmitted to the Cabinet of the President of the EU Council. “Unless I hear from you in the next 14 days, I shall be taking steps as may be necessary and appropriate to protect the rights and interests of the Government of Zimbabwe and all the natural and legal persons and entities, subject to the restrictive measures in terms of your aforesaid decision,” reads the letter.

The letter exposed the bloc’s apparent error in arriving at the imposition of sanctions.

Mr Tomana noted that the EU did not communicate its decision to people and companies placed on the sanctions list as is required by Article 6 (2) of the Council Decision.

“I have carried out a diligent inquiry and I have established that the Government of Zimbabwe and all the natural and legal persons and entities listed have neither received communication from the Council of European Union advising them of the Council Decision nor have they been informed of the grounds for their listing as subject to restrictive measures in terms of Article6 (2).”

There are 163 people and 31 companies listed on the EU sanctions list. Mr Tomana argued that the grounds for placing these people on the list were insufficient. He gave the EU 14 days to justify the sanctions.

The EU subsequently sent a top envoy from the grouping to Zimbabwe.
It resolved to dispatch its managing director for Africa, Mr Nick Westcott.

But Mr Tomana said papers were being prepared for the resumption of the historic legal battles in the General Court of the European Court of Justice for the annulment of the embargo.

In a similar incident, early this year, Zimbabwe set up a team of lawyers that successfully opposed a post-judgment writ of execution that was presented by some white farmers in a United States court.

The 13 Dutch farmers sought an order to attach proceeds from the sale of Chiadzwa’s diamond money and various assets belonging to local parastatals.

The farmers approached the New York court with an award earlier granted by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) after successfully suing Zimbabwe for alleged breach of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) following the implementation of the historic Land Reform Programme.

But a team of lawyers, with representation from Sawyer and Mkushi, Takundwa and Associates, Hogwe Dzimirai and Partners, led and co-ordinated by Mr Farai Mutamangira of Mutamangira and Associates and Mr Richard Roberts of the US successfully opposed the application.

In a landmark ruling by Judge Collen McMahon at the US District Court (Southern District of New York), the application by the white former farmers was dismissed.

- The Sunday Mail

Labels: EU, JOHANNES TOMANA, SANCTIONS

posted by MrK @ 4:16 PM