The High Court in Harare has referred to Zimbabwe's Supreme Court the case of opposition leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai who is facing charges of terrorism and inciting violence.
Justice Moses Chinhengo granted a request by Mr Tsvangirai to have the Supreme Court determine whether the law under which he was being charged was constitutional.
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Mr Morgan Tsvangirai who questions the legality of charges brought against him
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The charges against Mr Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe's only serious challenger in elections due next year, arise from a statement the opposition leader made last year suggesting that President Mugabe could be removed from power violently if he did not step down before the polls.
Mr Tsvangirai said at a rally last September: "What we would like to tell Mugabe today is 'please go peacefully, and if you don't want to go peacefully we will remove you violently'."
The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) stands accused under Zimbabwe's notorious Law and Order (Maintenance) Act, used by the former colonial government of Ian Smith to crack down on black dissent and nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s in the then Rhodesia.
"I am satisfied that the request ... to refer the constitutionality of section 51 and 58 of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act, and I being satisfied that it's (request) is not frivolous or vexatious, am obliged to refer that question to the Supreme Court for its determination," Justice Chinhengo said.
Scores of opposition supporters burst into songs and slogans the moment Mr Tsvangirai stepped out of the court complex in the capital.
AFP