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SOME LESSONS ON CONSTITUTION-MAKING FROM ZIMBABWE
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2001
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Comparative Constitutional LawColonialismAfrican LawConstitutional LawLawComparative Public LawAdministrative LawInternational Constitutional LawSocial SciencesSouth AfricaAfrican DevelopmentUnited States ConstitutionJustice Ismail MohammedInternational LawAfrican PoliticsPublic International LawAfrican Human RightsTransitional JusticeFederal Constitutional LawChief JusticePolitical ScienceConstitutionGlobal Justice
The former (and late lamented) Chief Justice of South Africa, Justice Ismail Mohammed, once observed that: “The constitution of a nation is not simply a statute which mechanically defines the structures of government and the relations between the government and the governed, it is a ‘mirror of the national soul’, the identification of the ideals and aspirations of a nation, the articulation of the values binding its people and disciplining its government.” Further, as van der Vyer has warned, “. . . a superimposed constitutional formulae or constitutional arrangements that . . . do not address the real causes of discontent, are sure to generate their own legitimacy crisis.” It follows that the development of an appropriate procedure for constitution-making is of the greatest practical importance. This short comment seeks to examine critically the much-publicized efforts in Zimbabwe to develop a new autochthonous constitution and to draw some lessons therefrom.