FACULTY OF LAW
Faculty overview
The Midlands State University Law School is located in Gweru in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. It is situated about 5 kilometers from the City Centre. It is located at the Graduate School of Business Leadership, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Commerce Campus. The Faculty currently has a student enrolment of 189. Designated by the Council for Legal Education on the 7th of March 2011. The Midlands State University Law School marks an important chapter in Zimbabwean academic history as it is the first successful law school after independence.
Driven by our motto ‘Pioneering for a better legal frontier’ we have cultivated a culture of hunger for more knowledge as we believe that knowledge is power. Our wide network is made possible, by our enterprising Vice Chancellor, past and current teaching staff, who hail from diverse legal backgrounds. We have ingrained this culture in our alumni who are ever widening their circle of influence while advertising their cradle in regional and world seminars amongst renowned legal minds.
The Law School has all that it takes to fly high and perch on the same branch as the leading law schools of the day, providing quality legal education that is relevant to the needs of the country and the world. From the first day of orientation to the final gathering at graduation, the Law School offers an extraordinary experience. Producing legal professionals that are meticulous, conversant, diverse and adaptive within the global village is the law school’s passion. In addition to our library, our unmatched lecturer-student ratio allows us to offer a vast array of courses. With an average class size of below 25 students and countless opportunities for independent research, writing, and student-organized discussion groups, the school offers a conducive environment for studying law.
The Law school also seeks to expand its networks by establishing partnerships with other academic institutions worldwide. In pursuit of the objective of cross pollinating ideas, the Faculty of Law is a member of the International Association of Law Schools (IALS) www.ialsnet.org.
OUR MOTTO
Pioneering for a better legal frontier
VISION
To be a unique, development-oriented, pace-setting and stakeholders-driven University that produces innovative and enterprising graduates.
MISSION
- Commitment to a culture of problem solving through quality research, teaching and training by means of flexible packaging, work-related learning and strategic partnerships with the University’s stakeholders for the immediate and ultimate benefit of humanity;
- Commitment to improve the performance of the economy through the promotion of managerial skills and generation, dissemination and application of knowledge;
- Commitment to the recruitment, motivation and retention of staff in an environment of a caring institution;
- Commitment to the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the virtual classroom, as principal teaching and training modes of delivery and research;
- Commitment to gender equality and equity in student admissions and staff recruitment policies;
- Commitment to enhance the quality of people’s lives through new ideas and skills for sustainable utilization of resources; and
- Commitment to promotion of quality research through both taught and research post graduate studies as means of generating new knowledge.
ADMISSION
The Faculty has a semesterized system and there are two intakes per year. There is one at the beginning of every year and another one in August. Admission to the 5 year law degree at MSU Law School is extremely competitive. The Faculty admits a maximum of 15 students per semester making it 30 students per year. Of the 15 students who are admitted, 3 are admitted on the basis of mature entry whilst 12 are freshman from High School.
PROGRAMME
The MSU Law School offers a 5 year law degree on completion of which students graduate with a Bachelor of Laws Honours Degree. Upon admission students spend the first 3 years at law school where they take various modules. The fourth year is for work-related learning. This is a compulsory yearlong internship which is placed in the penultimate year of study. Students are mandated to practice in the Magistrates’ Court and Attorney General’s office and the private law firms. There is a wide choice for the latter part as students join legal departments in various organisations other than law firms. These include NGO’s, government institutions and corporate organisations which suit their areas of interest. This attachment period is crucial as it shapes up the individual’s career path. Our alumni are already part of prominent legal establishments in and out of the country. In the fifth year students come back to the Law School where they write their dissertations whilst taking practical modules like Legal Ethics.
LIBRARY
The students at MSU Law School benefit from a well stocked central library that houses volumes of the latest publications. This is complemented by an updated electronic IT facility that provides electronic law reports and statutes as well. Students and staff take full advantage of various online journals.
ALUMNI
Up to date (2012), 3 groups have graduated from the MSU Law School. MSU’s fledgling alumni have excelled in the face of many challenges. Many of the Alumni have since joined government, private practice, corporate world and Non-Governmental Organisations. It is our hope that as the school continues to produce more lawyers our alumni will widen the reach and scope of the Faculty.
LEGAL AID CLINIC
A variety of free legal services are rendered by lawyers and trainee lawyers. These services are however available to those individuals who qualify in terms of the ‘means test’.Rendering of the below listed services is meant to provide free legal aid to the indigent who have very little chance of obtaining these services from private practitioners due to unaffordability.
These matters include the following:
1. Divorce.
2. Maintenance matters.
3. Delictual claims e.g. motor vehicle accidents.
4. Other civil litigation.
5. Criminal matters – bail applications only.
6. General consultations.
7. Labour matters.
8. Debt counseling.er
The Law Clinic does not:
• Conduct any consultations telephonically or by emails.
• Charge any fees for professional services rendered to our clients. The clients are only liable to pay for our disbursements such as revenue stamps and sheriff’s fees.
DISABILITY RIGHTS UNIT
The MSU Faculty of Law is hosting an OSISA sponsored project on disability rights. The project has three objectives namely, the teaching of disability rights to law students thus helping in the development of a pool of lawyers with specialized skill and knowledge in the field of disability in Zimbabwe. Secondly, the project aims to provide free legal aid services to PWDs in Zimbabwe through our Legal Aid Clinic. Thirdly, the Faculty is partaking in community engagement activities which go a long way in improving awareness of disability rights and entitlements in Zimbabwe.
Intellectual Life
The MSU Law School enhances the intellectual life of its academic community by sponsoring a variety of studies, programs, and workshops, inspired by the interests of its
faculty and students. These offerings extend the
curriculum, support faculty research through the Staff Development Fellowship program which is run by the University. Most of the current teaching stuff have benefitted from the program.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Moot Courts
Students participate in numerous moot court competitions. These competitions are fundamental in providing students with litigation skills. Through these moot competitions, students establish networks that are strategic in their future careers. Examples of such moot court competitions are the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition organised by the Centre for Human Rights, Pretoria; the Pan-African International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross; the Phillip Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition organised by the International Law Student Association, Washington DC; the African Trade Moot Court Competition, etc. The MSU Law School was the 2011 African Trade moot court winners.
Student Life
MSU Law School students are at the center of the vibrant community of Gweru. Whether attending classes, conducting research, on academic field trips, our students bring their idealism and passion into every aspect of their lives. Our students are campus and community leaders, taking part in an array of
student organizations and enjoying the social and recreational opportunities that Gweru has to offer.
DONATIONS
An enduring notion at MSU Law School is that every lawyer is a trustee for the common good. The Law school education is rooted in a commitment to academic excellence, egalitarianism, and intellectual intimacy. This commitment requires that we forego the larger class sizes that are the easy route to increased revenues, and that we welcome those students who have the most to gain from this place, and the most to give to it, regardless of their means. Our goal is that our students become expert practitioners and renowned scholars in Zimbabwe and abroad. We aim that they do groundbreaking work in critical fields such as development, property, mining, commerce and human rights which will work for the greater good of Zimbabwe. Your gift can support an unparalleled array of academic programs and legal services, nourish creativity in teaching and scholarship, promote research, and assist students and recent graduates.
CONTACT US
Faculty of Law
Midlands State University
P Bag 9055
Senga Road
Gweru
Tel: +263 54 223205
Fax: +263 54 223795
E-mail: lawfaculty@msu.ac.zw
The Executive Dean of the Faculty
Mr G Manyatera, LLBS Hons (UZ), LLM, University of Turin, MSc CLEF (IUC Turin) LLD candidate
He joined the Faculty in 2006.He became the Dean of Law in 2011. His research interests are in the law of taxation, intellectual property, constitutional law, human rights law and law and economics. E-mail, manyaterag@msu.ac.zw
The Faculty Administrator
The Faculty’s Administrator is Mr L Mhike. Mr Mhike has been with the faculty since June 2007.
mhikel@msu.ac.zw
The Chief Secretary
Mrs Makotore is the law school’s chief secretary and is stationed in the Dean’s office.
