Zimbabwe · Overview
The legal system of Zimbabwe
Substantive private law is Roman-Dutch received through the Cape, with English procedure and criminal law — though the criminal law was codified in 2004, which displaced much common-law authority. The defining feature of Zimbabwean legal work is the gap between the expansive 2013 Constitution and the statute book: section 2 makes the constitution supreme and invalidates inconsistent law, but the alignment programme is incomplete, so practitioners routinely litigate whether a pre-2013 provision survives at all.
Legal tradition
Zimbabwe belongs to the mixed roman-dutch and english common law tradition. Substantive private law is Roman-Dutch received through the Cape, with English procedure and criminal law — though the criminal law was codified in 2004, which displaced much common-law authority. The defining feature of Zimbabwean legal work is the gap between the expansive 2013 Constitution and the statute book: section 2 makes the constitution supreme and invalidates inconsistent law, but the alignment programme is incomplete, so practitioners routinely litigate whether a pre-2013 provision survives at all.
How power is divided
Constitutionally devolved to ten provinces with provincial and metropolitan councils, but implementation has lagged and central government retains effective control of provincial administration and revenue.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Supreme law; section 2 invalidates inconsistent law and conduct.
- Acts of Parliament
- Primary legislation, published in the Government Gazette.
- Statutory instruments
- Delegated legislation, heavily used and reviewable for excess of power.
- Roman-Dutch common law
- Substantive private law; criminal law is codified.
- Customary law
- Governs family and succession matters, with statutory choice-of-law rules.
The legal profession
A fused profession of legal practitioners registered under the Legal Practitioners Act after a law degree and practical training, regulated by the Law Society of Zimbabwe; senior practitioners may be appointed Senior Counsel.
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