An Introduction to Zimbabwean Law

By Lovemore Madhuku

This is an introductory textbook on the Zimbabwean legal system. It sets the stage for a comprehensive description of that legal system by opening with some theoretical issues on the nature of law in general, particularly a definition of law, the role and purpose of law in society, the relationship between law and justice and how morality impacts on law. After outlining this theoretical framework, it turns to the Zimbabwean legal system and covers the following key areas: sources of Zimbabwean law, the scope of Roman-Dutch law in Zimbabwe, the law-making process and the role of Parliament, the structure of the courts in Zimbabwe, the procedures in the civil and criminal courts, the legal aid system and the nature of the legal profession. It covers the process of appointment of judges and its effect on the independence of the judiciary. It has a long closing chapter on the interpretation of statutes covering all the rules, maxims and presumptions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Weaver Press
• Release date: Aug 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9781779221414

Lovemore Madhuku

Born on 20 July 1966 in Madhuku village, Lovemore Madhuku completed his primary and secondary education in Chipinge. He then completed his Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree in 1989 with a first-class pass at the University of Zimbabwe and went on to study for a post graduate Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. Awarded a Beit Trust Fellowship to study law at Oxford University in the UK, he transferred after a term to study for the Master of Law (LLM) at the University of Cambridge on a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship, completing with a first class in July 1994. He then returned to Zimbabwe for an 18-month break, during which time he joined the Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, a German NGO, as a labour law consultant while at the same time teaching in the Law Faculty. In January 1996, he returned to the University of Cambridge to study for a PhD, which he successfully completed in December 1998. While still studying for his PhD, he accepted a permanent lecturership in the Law Faculty at the University of Zimbabwe. Since then, Madhuku has taught introduction to law, constitutional law, labour law, jurisprudence (legal theory), tax law, and banking law and has published extensively in these areas. He is currently Chairperson of the Department of Public Law in the Law Faculty. Dr Madhuku is very active in civil society work. He is one of the founders of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and has been its National Chairperson since July 2001. The NCA is advocating for a new, democratic and people-driven constitution in Zimbabwe.

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