S v MANERA 1989 (3) ZLR 92 (S)

Flynote

Appeal — record of proceedings in lower court incomplete or lost — effect of.

Courts — record of proceedings — requirement to preserve with meticulous care — effect of failure to do so.

Headnote

It is necessary to impress upon all judicial officers and clerks of court that records of proceedings must be preserved with meticulous care. In the event of an appeal, the clerk of court is charged with the administrative responsibility of lodging the original record of the proceedings with the Registrar of the Supreme Court. It is his obligation to ensure that the complete record is so lodged. If there is anything remiss with the record, the fault must be visited on the State and not on the appellant. If anything like this happens which makes the just hearing of an appeal impossible, through no fault of the appellant, the appellant is prejudiced and there may be a failure of justice. In such circumstances the conviction cannot stand and the proceedings in the lower court must be set aside.