Sources of Law in Zimbabwe
Sources of law are the origins of laws, the binding rules that enable any state to govern its territory. The term "source of law" may sometimes refer to the sovereign or to the seat of power from which the law derives its validity.
Sources of Zimbabwean Law
With the exception of Criminal Law, Zimbabwe’s law is mainly uncodified. There is no one single source of law in Zimbabwe, the law is derived from various sources and has various sources and has various origins. The Criminal Law of Zimbabwe was recently codified and the Criminal Law [Codification and Reform] Act came into effect on the 1st of July 2006. Even though the criminal law has recently been codified it is still scattered and can be found in other statutes apart from the code. As it was then, the code was still an experiment and its constitutionality was yet to be tested.
The following are sources of Zimbabwean law:
- Legislation (Legislative Law in Zimbabwe) (Acts of Parliament or statutes, statutory instruments, Orders in Councils etc)
- Precedent / Case Law / Court Decisions (decisions of the higher courts, or “courts of record”, which are binding on and must be followed and applied by less senior courts)
- Customary Law
- Common Law in Zimbabwe
- Authoritative Texts
The Legislature (Bicameral System)
Legislation refers to the law validly enacted by the legislative authority of Zimbabwe and assented to by the President of Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe the legislative authority of Zimbabwe vests in the President and parliament of Zimbabwe which is the Primary Legislation states as follows:
Legislative Authority
- The Legislative authority of Zimbabwe shall vest in the Legislative which shall consist of the President and Parliament.
- The provisions of subsection (1) shall not be construed as preventing the legislature from conferring legislative functions on any person or authority.
