Independence of the judiciary is reflected in the courageousness of its judgements. The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe has performed admirably despite overwhelming odds. Since the year 2000 there has been a series of land invasions. Murders, serious assaults, trespass and arson became rife as the so-called war veterans, landless peasant farmers and unemployed youth, encouraged by the government, trooped down on the commercial farming areas.

The Commercial Farmers Union applied to the Supreme Court, sitting in its capacity as a constitutional court, for relief. The amazing part is that during the hearing each provincial governor, each minister in charge of the relevant ministry, even the Commissioner of Police admitted the prevailing lawless state of affairs. In the circumstances the Court ruled that farmers and farm workers on the occupied farms had been denied the protection of the law and the rule of law had been completely overthrown.

The Court further held that it was unfair discrimination to target farmers who were believed to be supporters of an opposition party and to award the spoils of expropriation primarily to ruling party adherents. If officials of the ruling party were involved in the selection of settlers and the allocation of plots, the exercise degenerated from being a historical righting of wrongs into pure discrimination.

Unfortunately the Zimbabwean judiciary had to pay a heavy price for its independence. Some members of the judiciary have been constrained to take early retirement because of the government's inability to guarantee their security. The distinguished Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, Tony Gubbay, who has rendered excellent judgements in the field of human rights has also been compelled to seek early retirement. These developments are most distressing. As a mark of protest the Commonwealth Lawyers' Association has cancelled its triennial conference scheduled to be held in Harare. It is fervently hoped that the Rule of Law will soon prevail and the independence and image of Zimbabwean judiciary restored.

HHH

UNUSUAL cases reach the US Supreme Court also. That is not the monopoly of our Supreme Court. Recently a disabled golfer, Casey Martin, petitioned the Supreme Court that under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, the professional tour in which he was participating must waive its general requirement that competitors walk during tournaments and that Martin be permitted to ride in a golf cart rather than walk the course. The Court was divided on this momentous issue. Justice John Paul Stevens (still golfing at age 81) wrote for the majority (7-2). Interestingly the majority judgement recognised that walking the course is meant to be a test of endurance and to induce fatigue which, of course, can affect the outcome of competition. The justices noted that Mr. Martin "easily endures greater fatigue even with a cart than his able bodied competitors do by walking, and curiously reasoned that the purpose of the walking rule is not compromised by allowing Martin to use a cart and thus the fundamental nature of the tournaments is not altered. Justice Scalia caustically dissented. He described the majority judgement as an exercise in "benevolent compassion in which the Court had no business to indulge. Golfers more than lawyers will await with interest the future development of law in this green field. The Delhi Golf Club should make this judgement available to all its members, disabled or otherwise.

HHH

ONE of the issues on which the Catholic church is divided from other Christian churches is about the celibacy of its clergy. Several Protestant churches allow their priests to marry, basing themselves on St Paul's wisdom, "it is better to marry than to burn. Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo's decision to end his life of celibacy at the age of 71 and to enter into holy matrimony with a Korean lady is a resounding vindication of Pauline advice. In any case it is better late than never. Nelson Mandela was over 80 when he married again. Moreover, South African heart transplant pioneer Christian Barnard in his book titled 50 Ways to a Healthy Heart has assured us that regular sex is the secret of success of a healthy heart. According to him "sex, regular sex is the most beautiful, healthiest and most pleasurable way to keep the circulation in gear, keeping the heart healthy, adding that it also helps stave off the flue and makes men live longer. Devout practising Catholics need not be over optimistic. The Church is not likely to change its stance, Barnard and Archbishop Milingo notwithstanding.

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