Zuma will have to prove to the court that lead prosecutor Downer, who has spent close to 15 years trying to bring him to book, is not entitled to prosecute him.
The matter will be discussed after Zuma’s plea of not guilty is recorded in court on May 26.
In the past, Zuma’s defence team was accused of adopting a “Stalingrad approach” by launching court applications to delay the start of the corruption trial while the state has always said it was ready to proceed.
In 2007, Zuma’s then-advocate Kemp J Kemp told the Durban high court: “We have adopted a Stalingrad strategy in response to this prosecution ... we will fight [the state] in every street, in every house, and in every room.”