Socio-economic rights in Zimbabwe: Trends and emerging jurisprudence
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Date
2017
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Pretoria University Law Press
Abstract
In a country such as Zimbabwe where many are deprived of opportunities
and resources owing, in part, to injustices of the past, socio-economic
rights are of the outmost importance. As a result, the new Constitution of
Zimbabwe, adopted in 2013, expressly provides for socio-economic rights.
While these are yet to be extensively tested, two cases discussed in the
article illustrate the willingness of the courts to enforce these rights. In the
Mushoriwa case, it is shown that state as well as non-state actors have to
refrain from negatively interfering with constitutionally-protected and
enforceable socio-economic rights. The Hopcik case shows that there is a
positive obligation on the state, which may involve the allocation of
resources, to ensure that socio-economic rights are realised. These two
cases serve as a good platform from which the courts can continue to
develop the jurisprudence on socio-economic rights in Zimbabwe. It is
suggested that guidance in dealing with more complex socio-economic
rights cases can also be obtained from South African jurisprudence,
particularly from the Grootboom case.
Description
Keywords
Socio-economic rights, Trends, Emerging jurisprudence, Justiciability, Institutional protection, Constitutional protection, Judicial enforceability, Transformative constitution, Zimbabwe
Citation
Kondo, T. (2017). Socio-economic rights in Zimbabwe: Trends and emerging jurisprudence. African Human Rights Law Journal, 17: 163-193