THE Supreme Court will conduct a special hearing in the matter where former Communications and Transport minister, William Harrington is challenging the High Court decision to clear Minister Dora Siliya of having breached the Constitution in the Zamtel matter, a court source has said.

The matter was not called before a panel of Supreme Court judges led by Chief Justice Ernest Sakala that is sitting in Kabwe despite it being on the cause list.

"The Harrington appeal case shall be dealt with in Lusaka through a special hearing," a court official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.

Mr Harrington appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court's decision to clear Ms Siliya of breaching the Constitution as found by the Dennis Chirwa Tribunal.

This is in a matter where High Court Judge Phillip Musonda said the tribunal acted excessively in its findings that Ms Siliya breached the Constitution when she ignored the attorney general's advice over the selection of RP Capital Partners.

In a memorandum of appeal filed in the Supreme Court, Mr Harrington, the first petitioner in the tribunal, stated that the learned High Court Judge erred in law and fact when he used judicial review proceedings as an appeal process.

Mr Harrington said Mr Justice Musonda should not have delved into the merits of the tribunal's findings by purporting to interpret article 54 (3) of the Constitution and holding that the attorney general's advice was not mandatory and, therefore, non-compliance was inconsequential.

Mr Harrington said the High Court misdirected itself in law and in fact when it held that interveners, once joined to judicial review proceedings, were not at liberty to institute judicial review proceedings without leave of the court.