The Judicial Institution in Zimbabwe

The situation in Zimbabwe must surely be close to the top of the urgent agenda of the African Union in its bid to uphold good governance and the rule of law. The faculty of law at the University of Cape Town has long played a role as a protagonist of the rule of law and the implementation of democratic rights. Over the past three years, the department of Public Law in particular has undertaken research into the general state of "good governance" in Southern Africa, with the aim of promoting the implementation of democratic rights. This pubication is one the fruits of that work. Prompted by the increasingly desperate situation in Zimbabwe, it was decided early in 2003 that the position of the judiciary in that country should be examined. This report is a record of what has been occurring in the Zimbabwean administration of justice. It reveals a situation that is critical, but does so constructively, with the objective of aiding as rapid a return to democratic governance and the rule of law as possible.