UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

Dec 2020 Examinations

Faculty: Law

Department: Legal Undergraduate Programmes

Paper code and Title: LB101 Introduction to Law

Duration: Three hours

Examiners: Prof L. Madhuku & Prof J. Stewart

Authorized Materials: N/A

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. This paper contains 3 Sections and 9 Questions

2. Answer (i) all questions in section A; (ii) one question in
section B and any two questions in section C.
3. Start each question on a new page
4. This question paper comprises of 3 printed pages

NB: DO NOT TURN OVER THE QUESTION PAPER OR COMMENCE

WRITING UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO.

Page 1 of 3
SECTION A: General

Answer all questions (40 marks)

Question 1
“Law is law if, and only if, it is morally right.”

Do you agree? (10 marks)

Question 2
“The Constitution is, itself, an Act of Parliament but it is superior to other Acts of
Parliament and is the supreme law of the country”.

Is this a correct statement of the law of Zimbabwe? (10 marks)

Question 3
Section 192 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 provides as follows:

“The law to be administered by the courts in Zimbabwe is the law that was in
force on the effective date, as subsequently modified”.

Explain the implications of this provision. (10 marks)

Question 4
With reference to examples, explain the distinction between ratio decidendi and obiter
dictum.
(10 marks)

SECTION B: Gender and Equality Law

Answer one question (20 marks)

Question 5

Section 80(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 provides:

All laws, customs, traditions and cultural practices that infringe the rights of
women conferred by this Constitution are void to the extent of the infringement.

Explain the analytical process that needs to be undertaken to determine whether a law
does infringe the rights of women as conferred by the 2013 Constitution? (20 marks)

Page 2 of 3
Question 6

“If there is to be gender equality in law it is important that careful attention is

paid to whether the necessary legal measures have been put in place to ensure
that issues of sex based difference have been adequately accommodated to
facilitate progress towards gender equality”.

Discuss the significance of this statement in relation to facilitating gender equality,

illustrating your answer with pertinent examples. (20 marks)

SECTION C: General

Answer any two questions (40 marks)

Question 7
“The courts play a more important role in shaping the content of law than Parliament”.

Discuss.

(20 marks)
Question 8
Write an essay entitled:
“The structure of the courts in Zimbabwe.”
(20 marks)
Question 9

Section 31 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 states as follows:

“The state must take all practical measures, within the limits of the resources
available to it, to provide legal representation in civil and criminal cases for
people who need it and are unable to afford legal practitioners of their choice.”

Does this improve the legal aid system in Zimbabwe?

(20 marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

Page 3 of 3