REGULATIONS FOR THE MASTER OF LAWS IN CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW (LLM)
Duration : 18 months
Type of Degree : Masters
Credit Load : 336 credits
ZQNF Level : Level 9
INTRODUCTION
1.1 These regulations should be read in conjunction with the University’s General Academic Regulations for Postgraduate degree programmes.
1.2 The Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Constitutional and Human Rights Law is a three-semester programme offered on a block-release basis. The programme is aimed at professionals who possess an LLB qualification seeking specialized knowledge in the areas of constitutional and human rights law.
OBJECTIVES
2.1 The programme provides an academic opportunity for students intending to deepen their understanding and knowledge of constitutional and human rights law. The degree invites students to explore and appreciate the convergence of constitutional and human rights law in a constitutional democracy and the importance of such convergence to a legal system.
2.2 The development of constitutional and human rights law in the public interest litigation context is critical in the development of the country’s legal system. In light of Zimbabwe’s new constitutional dispensation, the programme provides options to candidates who wish to enhance their litigation skills in constitutional and human rights law.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
3.1 Applicants shall possess a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB). Applicants are required to have at least a 2.2 (Lower Second) degree class or the equivalent thereof.
3.2 Other factors such as relevant professional experience will also be taken into consideration in assessing applications.
- GENERAL PROVISIONS
4.1 The Master of Laws in Constitutional and Human Rights Law is studied through taught modules with continuous assessment and examinations offered at the end of each semester.
4.2 The programme is completed over a period of three semesters. The degree programme shall be by block release. The method of learning will be through lectures and seminars. Contact shall be a minimum of 60 hours per semester for each module. Each semester has three (3), two-week blocks.
CAREER PROSPECTS
The LLM programme enhances career prospects in various areas for a target group that includes but is not limited to law graduates, practicing attorneys, academics, civil society practitioners, members of the judiciary, and law officers in government departments.
MODULE SYNOPSES
LM601 Advanced Constitutional Law
The module seeks to provide a focused and deeper appreciation of the jurisprudential and theoretical basis for constitutionalism, aspects of constitution-making process, constitutions and constitutionalism in Zimbabwe. It is further aimed at extending knowledge of constitutional principles, concepts and constitutional rights, and constitutional interpretation. Issues to be canvassed further include democratic governance through commissions and related institutions, the convergence of constitutional law and human rights in Zimbabwe, electoral systems and participatory democracy, the rule of law and judicial matters.
LM602 Advanced Human Rights Law
The primary objectives of the module are to build an understanding of the conceptual, philosophical and ideological nature of human rights in light of their origin; explore the national understanding, application, attitudes, and perceptions of human rights; study in detail the normative content of human rights as provided for in the Bill of Rights as complemented by international and regional human rights treaties; explore the opportunities for promotion and protection of human rights by utilizing both judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial procedures and institutions; familiarize candidates with promotion and protection options at international level including treaties, institutions, and procedures and prevailing jurisprudence in the area; critique and assess the strengths and weaknesses of international protection.
LM603 Research Methodology
The module is meant to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct research, to critically evaluate published research and to explore different ways of translating research questions in quantitative or qualitative studies.
LM604 International Criminal Law
The main objective of the module is to highlight to students that without accountability and provision of remedies to victims, international human rights law is nothing but the proverbial brutum fulmen. Through the lens of international criminal law, students will appreciate that the purpose of human rights law is not only to set standards for governments, non-state actors and their agents, it is to prescribe the consequences of a failure to meet those standards – through criminal sanctions.
LM605 Environmental Law
The module deals with the environmental regulatory framework and the international environmental regulatory framework and how it relates to, enhances, and influences the domestic regulatory framework.
LM606 Women’s Rights
The module focuses on the concept of women’s rights within the equality and non-discrimination framework and specific issues of concern to women within the context of feminist legal theories. It further examines how gender shapes and informs the law and how legal doctrine affects our understanding of women’s rights.
LM607 Refugee Law
The module aims to inculcate an appreciation of the national and international legal framework for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers and the attendant state practice using Zimbabwe as the main case study.
LM608 Child Rights
The module examines the scope of children’s rights as protected by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), the Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013) and the Zimbabwean legislation that seek to protect children’s rights. Additionally, the module seeks to scrutinize the ideas and attitudes towards children on one hand and family dynamics, educational practices, socio-economic structures as well as cultural and social differences.
LM609 Disability Rights Law
The module explores disability as a legal category with implications for the rights of PWDs. Students will be taught various concepts and theories of disability rights with the aim of showing how the law constructs and regulates the lives of PWDs. In essence, historical approaches and contemporary arguments pertaining to disability are discussed within the context of national laws, policies and institutions addressing disability rights. Further, regional and international laws directly and indirectly addressing disability are explored and unpacked.
LM610 Comparative Constitutional Law
The module introduces students to the study of constitutional law through the lens of comparative law. Students are introduced to the theoretical foundations of comparative constitutional law and to the rich diversity of constitutional law in the world today.
LM611 Constitutional and Human Rights Litigation
The module focuses on the central ways in which constitutional claims are actually litigated in Zimbabwe. The bulk of the course looks at constitutional litigation, procedures, institutions, jurisprudence, and the interface with human rights law.
LM612 Constitutional Property Law
The module is rooted in the convergence between constitutional law and property rights law. It enables students to appreciate mainstream debates emerging from the conflict between private property rights and governmental interests in land reform, land tenure reform and land redistribution in the public interest.
LM613 Advanced International Humanitarian Law
The focus of the module is on contemporary international humanitarian law issues that have human rights implications and how such issues can be understood from a humanist perspective which considers the concept of humanity as the foundational basis of both international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
LM614 Dissertation
Students are required to produce and submit a dissertation (thesis) of between 20,000 to 25,000 words at the end of the third (final) semester for examination. The dissertation shall be completed over a period of two semesters.
