Jacob Zuma had two months to "burn" documents seized in raids if he had wanted to hide them from the court, the Constitutional Court heard on Wednesday.

"The searches and seizures took place on 18 August. We had two months to burn things," said Zuma's advocate, Kemp J Kemp, in his replying argument.

Kemp said Zuma was not attempting to keep documents that could implicate him in his forthcoming corruption trial out of court by challenging the validity of the search and seizure warrants used to secure them. *1

"It is not correct that this was to keep the documents out. There are other tactical ways," he said.

He said they were told on June 20 2005 that Zuma was going to be charged, nine days before he was actually charged for the first time.

Zuma, Hulley and arms company Thint are challenging the validity of search warrants, which yielded 93,000 documents from 22 searches carried out on that day.

They argue the provisions of the warrants were too broad and vague, did not delineate what could and could not be taken, and so violated their constitutional right to privacy, dignity and a fair trial, and violated lawyer/client privilege by potentially gaining access to their defence notes and other confidential discussions about the trial.

Kemp said: "We would like to know if, from now on until we lead up to the trial, and we ask Mr Zuma to take notes, they are safe.

"We are not also available when posses arrive at his home.

"We want to know because it may affect our preparation. Until then I must tell Mr Zuma to try and remember things without notes that would be subject to seizure."

He said the warrants were so broad that "even a Post Office savings book that he had in the 60s could be seized."

If they had wanted to keep the documents out of court, they could have applied to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on the first day of Zuma's trial on August 4.

"If we wanted to exclude the documents, one way to do that, is to say nothing, absolutely nothing, and spring it on them on the first day of the trial," Kemp said.

"Can you imagine the delays?"

He also pointed out that by the time the trial starts on August 4, the statutory period available for appealing against the warrants would have expired.

Zuma's charges come after the fraud and corruption conviction of his friend and financial adviser Schabir Shaik.

It is alleged Zuma received various payments totalling more than R4 million from Shaik, who is also alleged to have attempted to secure a R500 000 year bribe for Zuma from Thint.

Judgement on the validity of the warrants was reserved and the court was expected to hear argument on the issue of a letter of request to secure documents from Mauritius.

With acknowledgements to Sapa.