Category: Legal News

What Is A Power Of Attorney?

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A Power of Attorney is a written authorisation to represent or act on behalf of another in private affairs, business, financial or legal matters. There are a number of reasons why one may need someone to make decisions or act on behalf of them, for example when they are outside the country or when they are unable to perform the task on their own due to some incapacity – illness, imprisonment, etc. The person authorising another to act on their behalf is called the Principal Grantor and the one authorised to act is the Agent or Grantee.

 A Power of Attorney deposed to in Zimbabwe must be signed before a Commissioner of Oaths, whilst one signed outside Zimbabwe must be signed before a Notary Public who affixes his or her notarial seal. There are two types of Powers of Attorney:

  1. General Power of Attorney

A General Power of Attorney allows the Agent or Grantee to do any and all things one could legally do. By signing a Power of Attorney the Principal does not only empower the Agent to act, but also indicates to third parties that he or she will be bound by acts performed by the Agent. A properly authorised Agent who validly enters into a contract on behalf of his Principal is therefore protected from any liability arising from that contract. A General Power of Attorney is wide and all-encompassing. It gives the Agent a vast amount of power to act on behalf of the Principal. However, the fact that a General Power of Attorney is broad may be dangerous for the Principal in that an Agent may enter into transactions not contemplated by the Principal which may leave the Principal liable and facing prosecution whether civil or criminal.

2. Special Power of Attorney

If a Principal wishes to limit the Agent’s authority to a specific, identified activity or transaction, a Special Power of Attorney must be used. An example would be when one instructs a Conveyancer to pass Transfer, to register a Mortgage Bond over an immovable property; appoints an Attorney to represent them in Court or give an Attorney power to sign documents on their behalf.

Generally, it is not advisable to make a Power of Attorney indefinite or permanent. A Power of Attorney whether General or Special should have a date for its expiration which date must be clearly stated in the authorising document.

Child Marriages

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Marrying a girl or boy under the age of 18 is regarded as being unconstitutional and warrants a criminal offence according to provisions the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 and the Legal Age of Majority Act. Any person who has not attained 18 years in Zimbabwe is a minor, and is protected by the laws of the land from marriage. Getting married to a minor in Zimbabwe is a serious offence frowned upon by the Legislature.

Section 78 of The Constitution of Zimbabwe makes provision for the following,

Marriage rights

(1) Every person who has attained the age of eighteen years has the right to found a family.

(2 )No person may be compelled to enter into marriage against their will.

(3) Persons of the same sex are prohibited from marrying each other.

Section 81 of the same Constitution defines what a child is and provides for the rights of children, while Section 44 provides for the protection of such rights. The case of Mudzuru & Anor v The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs&Ors, The Constitutional Court held that,

“The age of sexual consent which currently stands at 16 years is now seriously misaligned with the new minimum age of marriage of 18 years. This means that, absent legislative intervention and other measures, the scourge of early sexual activity, child pregnancies and related devastating health complications are likely to continue and even increase. The upside is that the new age of marriage might have the positive effect of delaying sexual activity or child bearing until spouses are nearer the age of 18. The downside is that children between 16 and 18 years may be preyed upon by the sexually irresponsible without such people being called upon to take responsibility and immediately marry them. Thus, there is an urgent need, while respecting children’s sexual rights, especially as between age mates as opposed to inter-generational sexual relationships, to extend to the under-eighteens the kind of protection currently existing for under-sixteens with the necessary adjustments and exceptions”. In light of these legal provisions, members of the public are encouraged to report cases of child marriage to the police.

Insurance Law Terms To Know

Insurance Law Terms to Know

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Insurance:

It is defined as a precautionary measure against risk. It takes the form of a contract between an insurer and insured person. The contract relates to the transfer of specific risks in exchange for the payment of consideration known as a premium.

Insurance contract:

The case of Lake v Reinsurance Co Ltd is the locus classicus for insurance contracts and defines such as “a contract between an insurer and an insured whereby the insurer undertakes in return for the payment of a premium to render to the insured a sum of money or its equivalent on the happening of a specified uncertain future event in which the insured has an interest”. In the case of Lucena v Crawfort Insurance is defined as a contract by which the one party in consideration of a price paid to him adequate to the risk becomes security to the other that he shall not suffer loss, damage or prejudice by the perils specified to certain things which may be exposed to them. Reinecke defines it as an agreement between the insurer and the insured of and undertaking to perform premised upon the payment of a certain sum determined by the insurer in exchange for the assumption of risk on behalf of the insured.

Consumer:

These are people or organisations that purchase products or services. The term also refers to hiring goods and services. Simply put consumers utilise goods and services for their benefit.

Consumer contract:

In terms of the Consumer Protection Act it is a contract for the sale or supply of goods or services or both, in which the seller or supplier is dealing in the course of business and the purchaser or user is not, but does not include-

  1. a contract for the sale, letting or hire of immovable property or
  2. contract of employment

The definition above was also given in the case of Radar Holdings v Eagle Insurance

Consumer protection:

A well-known author Churchill articulated that consumer protection consumer protection is associated with client education, legal compliance to statutory guidelines and a comprehensive system of assessing and resolving consumer grievances.

Subrogation: This is where one party (the insurer) exercises their rights to pursue a third party in relation to a claim usually on the basis that the insurance company has indemnified the insured in respect of the specified uncertain future event that would have been caused by a third party. The insurance company then takes steps recover the money that the insurer would have paid out to their insured client.