Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act Zimbabwe C. General for all courts 165. Trial of pending case may be postponed Subject to subsection (2) of section one hundred and sixty, any court before which a criminal trial is pending may, if it is necessary or expedient, postpone the trial until such time and to such place and upon such terms as to such court may seem proper, and further postponements may, if necessary or expedient, be made from time to time: Provided that where a trial is pending before a magistrates court such trial shall not, unless the accused consents thereto, be postponed for a period exceeding fourteen days at any one time. 166. Adjournment of trial (1) A trial may, if it is necessary or expedient, be adjourned at any period of the trial, whether evidence has or has not been given. (2) A trial before a magistrates court shall not, unless the accused consents thereto, be adjourned for a period exceeding fourteen days but such adjournment may, if necessary, take place more than once upon sufficient cause appearing to the magistrate. 167. Accused may be admitted to bail on postponement or adjournment of trial (1) When a trial is postponed or adjourned in terms of section one hundred and sixty-five or one hundred and sixty-six, the court may direct that the accused be detained until liberated in accordance with law or release him on bail or extend his bail if he has already been released on bail, and may extend the recognizances of the witnesses. (2) When a trial is postponed or adjourned in terms of section one hundred and sixty-five or one hundred and sixty-six and the accused is not in custody and has not been admitted to bail, he shall be deemed to have been served with a summons to appear at the time and place to which the trial was postponed or adjourned. 167A.Unreasonable delay in bringing accused to trial (1) A court before which criminal proceedings are pending shall investigate any delay in the completion of the proceedings which appears to the court to be unreasonable and which could cause substantial prejudice to the prosecution, to the accused or his or her legal representative, to a witness or other person concerned in the proceedings, or to the public interest. (2) In considering whether any delay is unreasonable for the purposes of subsection (1), the court shall consider all the circumstances of the case and in particular the following— (a) the extent of the delay; (b) the reasons advanced for the delay; (c) whether any person can be blamed for the delay; (d) whether the accused has raised such objections to the delay as he or she might reasonably have been expected to have raised; (e) the seriousness, extent or complexity of the charge or charges; (f) any actual or potential prejudice which the delay may have caused to the State, to the accused or his or her legal representative or to any other person concerned in the proceedings; (g) the effect of the delay on the administration of justice; By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 77