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Comparative law and justice/Kazakhstan

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Basic Information

Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia. Related to other countries, Kazakhstan is below Russia, Northwest of China, and bordered by Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. "At 2,724,900 sq km, Kazakhstan is the world’s 9th largest country. Kazakhstan’s capital Astana has a population of 0.3 million. Major cities beside the capital Astana include Aqtau, Almaty and Atyrau." The climate of Kazakhstan has cold winters and hot summers. Kazakhstan has a vast variety of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, gold, uranium, bauxite. Some of the natural disasters that have occurred are earthquakes and mudslides near Almaty.

Kazakhstan is dealing with current issues that are in top priority, "radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges scattered throughout the country pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers that flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices"

"As of July 2010 the population of Kazakhstan was about 15,460,484. The ethnic groups that represent Kazakhstan is Kazakh(53.4%), Russian(20%), Ukrainian(3.7%), Uzbek(2.5%), German(2.4%), Tatar(1.7%), Uighur (1.4%), other (4.9%) as of a 1999 census survey.  The religions that make up Kazakhstan consists of  Muslim (47%), Russian Orthodox (44%), Protestant (2%), other (7%).  And the languages that are Kazakh and Russian."

Brief History
Nomadic tribes have been living in the region that is now Kazakhstan since the first century BC, although the land has been inhabited at least as far back as the Stone Age. From the fourth century AD through to the beginning of the 13th century, the territory of Kazakhstan was ruled by a series of nomadic nations. Following the Mongolian invasion in the early 13th century, administrative districts were established under the Mongol Empire, which eventually became the territories of the Kazakh Khanate." After the emergence of the Kazakh Khante, the rise of the colonization of the Russian empire for about 150 years.  By the time of 1840, many of the Kazakh groups had signed treaties with Russia for protection.

The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) contributed five national divisions to the Soviet Union's World War II effort"

In 1986, young Kazakhs took charge and protested the Soviet Union installing a non Kazakh secretary leader. After these protests, unrest between the Kazakhs and the Soviets began to intensify steadily over time. This unrest lead to Kazakhstan declaring sovereignty in 1990. On December 16, 1991 Kazakhstan declared their independence from Russia. "Under Nursultan Nazarbayev, who initially came to power in 1989 as the head of the Kazakh Communist Party and was eventually elected President in 1991, Kazakhstan has made significant progress toward developing a market economy, for which it was recognized by the United States in 2002. The country has enjoyed significant economic growth since 2000, partly due to its large oil, gas, and mineral reserves."

Economic Development, Health, and Education

EDUCATION SYSTEM: Kazakhstan's education system is partially private and partially state funded.

LITERACY RATE: The adult literacy rate, in 1999, was estimated to be 98.4% (males, 99.1%; females, 97.7%)."

LANGUAGE: The Kazakh language is the official state language of the Republic of Kazakhstan. However Russian is widely spoken particularly in large urban centers.

HIGHER EDUCATION:

The University of Kazakh Al-Farabi State University was founded in 1934 and offers history, philosophy, economics, sociology, journalism, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography.

KARAGANDA STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Қазақстан Республикасының Алғашқы Президентінің ЖОО) was founded in 1964 and has faculties of metallurgy, mechanics and technology, and chemical technology. "

The Karaganda State University was founded in 1972 and teaches philosophy, economics, law, history, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.

The Technical University at Karaganda Metallurgical Combine "

THE ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR: "The school year starts on the first of September and lasts for 210 days, excluding weekends, holidays, and breaks. There are usually four to five 45-minute classes a day in primary school, and five to six classes of the same length in high school. Students are given a 10-minute break between each class and one 20-minute snack break. Homework requiring several hours of study is common, and since admission to universities is highly competitive, many parents hire tutors for their high school children, thus turning the other half of the day, and often weekends, into a second school."

ECONOMY: Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas. The main goals of current structural policy are diversification and the strengthening of the non-oil sector. A number of development agencies and research centers (Development Institutions) have been established and the Government is looking at establishing techno and science parks to support the diversification of higher-value added industries. But there are certain obstacles inherited from the past to quickly achieve this." "According to certain estimates, in the next 10 years the oil and gas sector of the country, particularly the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, could attract between to 150-200 bln. US$. At the same time, the Kazakhstan Government's top priority is to encourage foreign direct investments into industry, agriculture, innovation, processing sectors in order to decrease the dependence of the Economy of Kazakhstan on energy and extracting sectors and to ensure continued growth of Kazakhstan's economy." A major economic support and help for Kazakhstan is the amount of foreign investment and help. "The main driver behind Kazakhstan's economic growth has been foreign investment, mainly in the country's booming oil and natural gas industries. Since independence from Soviet rule in 1991, Kazakhstan has received more than 30 bln. US$ of foreign direct investment - the highest per capita indicator in the former Eastern Bloc."

HEALTH SYSTEM: The Committee of Health draws up the health care budget, controls the republican portion, nominally supervises the national research institutes and national hospitals, and has ultimate control over the mainstream health system. It also monitors environmental health through the Sanitary- Epidemiological Service." Not only does the the Committee of Health have a major priority in the health care system, but also the other departments of the state all have a major influence on the health care system.  There are 14 oblast departments, health departments, the ministry of finance, Ministry of Labour and social welfare, Medical service payment center, and even more departments all have at least a little bit of an influence on the health  care system.  "Kazakhstan began to privatize many state-owned facilities in the economy such as factories and large collective farms from 1991 onwards. Privatization has been more limited in the health care system, mostly involving pharmacies and dentists; for example, over 90% of drugstores were privatized by 1997"

Elections
THE PRESIDENT: The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the Head of State and is elected by direct vote by universal adult suffrage. The term of the President in 7 years. The current president of The Republic of Kazakhstan is Nursultan Abish-uly Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev has been in a high powered political position since 1989. In 1989 he was elected as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. In the next year he was elected as president of Kazakhstan. Each election since the first election that he won he has won the great majority of the public to return yet again as president. "Nursultan Nazarbayev’s supporters credit him with managing to preserve inter-ethnic accord and stability during the reform years. Nursultan Nazarbayev has concentrated extensive powers in his own hands and is accused by the opposition of suppressing dissent. Although Nursultan Nazarbayev says he advocates democracy as a long-term goal, he also warns that stability could be at risk if change is too swift." Also in Kazakhstan, there is a prime minister.

THE GOVERNMENT: The Government of Kazakhstan consists of the Senate and a lower house.

THE SENATE: In the Senate, 7 members are appointed by the president to serve 6-year terms and 32 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 6-year terms.

THE MAKILIS: In the lower house (Majilis), 98 of the 107 Majilis deputies are elected via a proportional, closed list system through popular vote. The remaining nine deputies are chosen by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, an unelected body containing 364 members formed by the President of Kazakhstan"

VOTING QUALIFICATIONS: The legal voting age is 18 years for men and women.

HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: The Prime Minister was Karim K. Massimov. Massimov has held various jobs throughout different areas or Kazakhstan. Some of these positions that he has held are " served as Senior Specialist of the China-based representation office of the Kazakh Ministry of External Economic Ties in Urumqi; held position of the Managing Director of the Kazakh Trading House in Hong Kong. Went on to hold positions of the Chairman of the Board of Almaty Trade and Finance Bank and Chairman of the Board of the People’s Savings Bank of Kazakhstan. Was appointed Minister of Transport and Communications, Deputy Prime-Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From January 2006 served as Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From April 2006 - Vice Prime Minister-Minister of Economic Affairs and Budget Planning. Incumbent Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan since January 2007."

Judicial Review
"The legal system of Kazakhstan is based on civil law and founded-on statutory legislation (the civil code), which provides for a hierarchy of legal acts. Within the hierarchy, international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan take priority over all other laws of the country, except for the constitution. Accordingly, although court judgments may have persuasive power, they are not binding and cannot therefore be considered as primary sources of law. In other words they do not set precedents, as court decisions do under common law." The legislative branch wanted to guide the economy from a man enabling economy into a market economy. Over the years, the economy has had a strong hold on ensuring that the economy has a large importance on the laws. The courts have a strong power over interpreting laws and whether they are constitutional. "Kazakhstan has a hierarchical court system in which the Supreme Court is superior to local courts. Local courts comprise district, regional and oblast courts. District and regional courts are trial forums, but the oblast courts can conduct both trial and appellate proceedings. The system also includes specialist economic, administrative and military courts, which have the same status as district or regional courts.. Within the court decisions in Kazakhstan, precedent does not and cannot be used as a way of deciding a case.  The cases must be decided by the facts and evidence in that particular trial.  The ideas of law in Kazakhstan "The Supreme Court is considering the procedures for the implementation of such jury trials. Administration of justice in Kazakhstan is based on the constitutional principles of independence of judges, equality of all before the law and court, the adversary nature of the process and equal treatment of the parties. Such provisions apply both to citizens and non residents." The highest court that is used to have the final ruling is the Supreme Court.  "Establishment of special and extraordinary courts is prohibited, though specialized courts may be created (military, economic, administrative, juvenile, etc). The Supreme Court, the highest judicial body, dealing with civil, criminal and other cases, as well as cases of common jurisdiction, performs the control over lower courts activities and solves problems of the judicial practice. The Supreme Court includes the supervisory board, civil board, criminal board and plenary session of the court.

The constitution of Kazakhstan has the main components of "It includes the main provisions of consolidation of Kazakhstan as a democratic, modern state in which the individual, his life, rights and freedoms are considered the highest values of the society. The Constitution guarantees the equality of citizens. Private and state properties are also guaranteed, as well as foreign investments, public unions including political parties, and Mass Media." The constitution separates the powers into three separate branches. The three branches are legislative, judicial, and executive. Judges, especially those of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Senate, after they are recommended by the President. Depending on other responsibilities and and statuses are appointed by the president if recommended"Qualification College of Justice or the Highest Court Council." The only way that a judge can be replaced or dismissed from duty is if their are legal grounds for the reason as too why they will be dismissed.

"The legal system of Kazakhstan is built according to the traditions of the continental, Roman-Germanic family of laws. The legal system of Kazakhstan is greatly influenced by the legal theory and practice of the Russian Federation. The Constitution reveals the content of the existing legislative system, which includes constitutional norms and laws, other normative legal acts, international treaties and other state obligations, normative decrees of the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Court." As well as Roman law as an influence of the constitution, Islamic law is another influence on how the constitution for Kazakhstan was written. " The Main Law of Kazakhstan constitutionally requires a presidential form of government. According to it, law reform in present-day Kazakhstan is based on ideological and political pluralism, legislation ensuring the human rights and social-legal guarantees."

THE CRIMINAL CODE
Criminal acts and the ranges of sentences upon conviction are defined in the "Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 3 July 2014 No. 226-V of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

'''GENERAL PART - SECTION 1. CRIMINAL LAW'''

Article 1. Criminal legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan

1. Criminal legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan consists of this Penal Code. Other laws providing criminal responsibility shall subject to application only after their inclusion in the Penal Code.

2. The Penal Code is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and generally recognized principles and regulations of international rights.

The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan has supreme legal force and direct effect on the entire territory of the Republic. In the case of contraventions between regulations of the Penal Code and Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the provisions of the Constitution apply in priority. The regulations of the Penal Code, recognized as unconstitutional, as well as derogating from the rights and liberties of an individual and a citizen, vested by Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall lose legal force and shall not be subject to application.

Regulatory resolutions of the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be a component part of criminal legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

3. International treaties, ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan, shall have priorities before this Code and applied immediately, except the cases unless the international treaty that its application requires the issuance of law.

Kazakhstan's punishment has gone through a change in the past several years. "July 21 Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's President, has signed the law abolishing death penalty in all cases except acts of terrorism entailing loss of life and especially grave crimes committed in wartime. The law includes the right to seek pardon." Before Kazakhstan abolished the death penalty, the death penalty that was mainly used in the country was the firing squad.

Death Penalty: The penalty of death for any criminal offence has been abolished in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Abolishing the death penalty was the one of the main goals that the President, Nursultan Nazarbayev tried to definitely get done during his term in office. This transformation of reforms in the country, with punishment and imprisonment were in 2007. Since Kazakhstan no longer has the death penalty, the harshest punishment any criminal can receive is life in prison. Crimes such as robbery, larceny, arson, homicide, etc... are all accompanied with time in prison which varies from what the judges decide on each case when each is heard.

Kazakhstan focuses on retribution as the main idea of how the criminal must repay for the crime they committed. According to the King's College London’s International Center for Prison Studies, Kazakhstan ranks 16th in the world with index 378 prisoners per 100.000.

PRISON CONDITIONS: Conditions in prisons are very harsh. State of crime in colony-settlements is getting worse. There is two-time increase in the number of crimes in 2007 in comparison with 2006. 4 extra-heinous and 18 heinous crimes were committed." Human rights are also ignored in the confines of the prisons.

HUMAN RIGHTS. Human rights defenders believe that despite of reforms in the country’s criminal-prison system, the situation worsens. Director of the Charter for Human Rights Fund Zhemis Turmagambetova thinks that toughening of the current legislature in March 2007 has changed situation to worst. The article on insubordination to the legitimate requirements of the management criminalizes every attempt of detainees’ protests. And norms about obligatory “confidential” HIV test, forced tuberculosis treatment for freed from detention, on interior organs’ control over those put on probation and a number of others arouse anxiety. Accordingly to Turmagambetova, the law “will have serious and long-term negative consequences”. Besides, last years' reshuffle in the Kazakh criminal system forces good experts to leave their jobs: some were “sent away”, some went away themselves."

Legal Personnel
"Under the new Constitution, judicial power is carried out through constitutional, civil, administrative, criminal, and other types of judicial procedure as established by law. The courts of Kazakhstan are the Supreme Court of the Republic and the local courts of the Republic established by law." The judges in the Kazakhstan society are thought of being regular citizens. They must be of the age of 25, they must have a higher juridical education, they must complete and pass a qualification exam, and they must have at least two years of service in a legal profession. These qualifications are determined by the Kazakhstan constitution to best fit the needs for the people that the judges must pass the requirements. "The republican budget must finance the courts and provide housing for the judges, thus ensuring complete and free exercise of justice." The government fully supports the housing of the judges and the upkeep of the court houses.

Like many other court systems in the world, Kazakhstan has lower courts and then their top court called the supreme court.The lower courts vary between district courts, to city courts, to specialized courts, and military courts. Special and extraordinary courts are prohibited from being created in Kazakhstan. The Supreme Court is the highest court that a case can be heard. They have the ultimate power to overrule any verdict form the previous courts. The Supreme Court deals with all cases from criminal to civil to any other case that is brought. "The Chairperson of the Supreme Court, the Chairpersons of the Collegiums and Judges of the Supreme Court are elected by the Senate on the nomination of the President based on the recommendation of the Highest Judicial Council of the Republic. The Chairpersons of oblast and equivalent courts, the Chairpersons of the Colleguims and judges of the oblast and equivalent courts are appointed by the President at the recommendation of the Highest Judicial Court of the Republic. The Chairperson and judges of other courts of the Republic shall be appointed by the President at the proposal of the Minister of Justice based on recommendations of the Qualification Collegium of Justice. "  With many of the positions that are held within the courts are nominated by a higher position in the government such as the president of Kazakhstan. " The organization of courts, status of judges and enforcement of justice are regulated by the Constitution, Constitutional Law “About Court System and Judges Status in the Republic of Kazakhstan“ (2000) and other legislative acts. Only courts administrate justice, which gives all the judicial power to judges and jury, acting on behalf of the courts. No other juridical and physical bodies are empowered to perform the duties of a judge and execute judicial power. Judges are independent and submitted only to the laws."

Juries are a new idea in the Kazakhstan court system. Just recently as of 2007 Kazakhstan has started to use Juries as well as judges in order to impose verdicts in court. In the first implemented year of taking regular citizens and putting them on juries to hear a case they had a difficult time. Many people responded that they had other obligations that they could not disregard. Even with many citizens avoiding it, they were able to have successful juries and are now using them more often.

Law Enforcement
The law enforcement of Kazakhstan is based largely on the factors from the era of the Soviet Union when they had control of the area that Kazakhstan land is now. Kazakhstan is a Decentralized multiple coordinated system and is common law. "Major legislative changes have concentrated on commercial law, with a view to improving the atmosphere for foreign investment. Formal responsibility for observation of the republic's laws and for protection of the state's interests is divided among the National Security Committee (successor to the Kazakh branch of the KGB), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Office of the Procurator General. Intelligence and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the National Security Committee." In Kazakhstan the police are referred to as the 'militia'. "Investigation of crimes shifted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which also is responsible for fire protection, automotive inspection, and routine preservation of order. As of 1992, Kazakhstan became a member of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), and Kazakstani authorities have worked particularly closely with the law enforcement agencies of Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan." Kazakhstan, like many other countries deal with the common crimes, for example, homicide, theft, robbery, etc. IN 1992, Kazakhstan joined INTERPOL. "INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 188 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime." . With Kazakhstan joining INTERPOL, it helps them defend the crimes that have increased lately in their society, first by defending the crimes that are occurring in neighboring countries that influence the crimes that are affecting Kazakhstan society. Preventing the crime outside of the country will help the police officers inside the country by limiting the sources, for example, of drugs that increase the crimes inside of the country.

Some data that has been collected about the citizens of Kazakhstan and some crime that revolves around them are, in 2006 there were about "1,729" homicides by any means. Of those homicides, there were about "71" reported homicides that were caused by guns. In order for the Kazakh government to keep track of the legal guns and ammunition that is allowed in the country by leaving identifying marks on each gun and or ammunition that shows that they are legal. In other attempts to regulate different aspects of illegal guns,"The United Nations Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition has been signed and ratified by Kazakhstan" and " On 21 July 2001, Kazakhstan committed to a consensus decision of the United Nations to adopt, support and implement the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects" A major concern of the government of Kazakhstan is the human rights. In recent years the idea of human rights has been low in the government.

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
Policing in Kazakhstan over the years have been under staff by a large margin, overworked, and financially underfunded by the country in order for it to completely do the job needed to ensure the country protection from all criminals. Since independence, crimes have increased since officers and investigators have left to go to other countries that offer much more money than they were receiving in Kazakhstan. "In numerous instances, police officers themselves have been involved in crime, especially in such potentially lucrative branches of law enforcement as highway patrol and customs inspection. Under these circumstances, public respect for the police declined seriously." Crime has increased tremendously since 1991 when Kazakhstan received their full independence from Russia. "The incidence of reported crimes has grown by about 25 percent in every year since independence, although in the first months of 1995 the growth rate slowed to about 16 percent. The average crime rate for the republic is about 50 crimes per 10,000 population, but the rate is significantly higher in Qaraghandy, North Kazakhstan, East Kazakstan, Aqmola, Pavlodar, and Almaty. Crime-solving rates have fallen to under 60 percent across the republic and to as low as 30 percent in cities such as Qaraghandy and Temirtau." During the days of the soviet control it was noted that not many of the convicts that were incarcerated were much older in their lives. In the middle of the 1990's more young men and teenagers had been committing more crimes and being incarcerated.

In Kazakhstan there are three prisons. There are approximately 69,000 police officers. As of 2002, there are approximately 58,300 prisoners incarcerated within the three prisons, 4.2% of the inmates were female. There were approximately 78,000 people that were convicted, and 201 were acquitted. As the youth started to participate in the crimes, it was reported that 631 youths had committed a murder and are incarcerated.

Family Law
Family law is fully enforced by the courts and the legal system. On June 8th, 1994, the government ratified the rights of the child. Children are, under the law, looked highly upon. Restrictions are in place in order to keep the safety and welfare of the children of the country in tact. " The Marriage and Family Act contains special chapters on “Establishing the parentage of children” and “Rights of the child,” and lays down the right of a child to live and be raised in a family, the right of a child to protection, to express his or her opinion, to protect his or her property rights, to restore of maintenance, to protect the interests of the child in the event of improper treatment, including the removal of the child where there is a direct threat to his or her life or health, and also to protect the rights and interests of children who are left without parental care. The legal guardian of a child has the right to determine independently the manner in which the child is to be raised, taking into account the views of the child and the recommendations of the guardianship authorities." Kazakhstan has the complete mind frame of protecting the children of the country to make sure that what is at issue is for the best for them. At the age of 10, they are given the chance to speak their mind and give their opinions on issues that affect them directly. For example, they have the right to speak about their interests within the family as well as being able to be heard by a judicial council. The only time that someone can step in on the children rights, is when what they are deciding is going to oppose their best interests. Some of the legal restrictions "Parental rights may be restricted (the child is removed from his or her parents without depriving them of their parental rights) if leaving the child with the parents is dangerous because of circumstances outside the parents' control, or on grounds related to their behavior. If the parents do not modify their behavior, the guardianship authorities must, once six months have passed after the adoption of the court ruling restricting their parental rights, apply to the court for them to be deprived of those rights. This period may be shortened in the interests of the child.  During this period, social services works with the parents whose parental rights have been restricted with the aim of restoring a normal situation in the family and creating appropriate conditions for the return of the child. This work promotes the reconstitution of the family.  In any court proceedings dealing with the separation of a child from his or her parents, all interested parties are given an opportunity to participate and express their views."

Marriage was once a common occurrence for young women, to be married off and become the mother of a household and do all of the chores in the house. Times have changed, now marriages are pushed further down the road in life so that both education can be pursued and encouraged to gain the education that can help them move forward in their life. Arranged marriages by parents are becoming rarer as the years go on. There are three ideas of tradition when it comes to marriage, the first being that forbidden relationships of relatives within seven generations, the second being the male partner should be older than the female in the relationship, and finally a nomadic tradition of stealing a bride is still practiced by some Kazakhs but it is very rare in the customs of the time. Weddings are huge traditions in Kazakhstan, they consist of a three day celebrations. The role of the family is an intricate part of the festivities and in the wedding itself. Before the ceremonies, both sides of the family sit down and trade gifts and dowries to the other. After marriage, Kazakhs normally immediately have children. Many households have one or two children while others may have more than seven. Divorces are not uncommon in Kazakhstan. Many feel that not every marriage is expected to last even though they try to make them. When a divorce is granted their are no real rules and regulations as to who gets what from the relationship but the one idea that is normal and consistent is that the women often get to keep the children after the divorce is finalized. Family is a large importance in the Kazakhstan tradition. Extended families are welcomed, relationships with second and third and even fourth cousins are natural, not only knowing the first cousins. Care for elderly people is a large custom in this society. When a family has a number of children, it is normally the youngest son who stays with the parents until they pass away. The youngest cares for the parents in their elderly years and makes sure they alright. Even if he marries and has children it is still his main obligation to take care of his parents until their passing.

Social Inequality
Equality is an important idea in many countries. Equality between both men and women, equality between different elasticities, and even equality between young and old. It is all important to every country, even to Kazakhstan. "Article 14 of the 1995 Constitution of Kazakhstan upholds the principle of legal equality for all citizens, but Kazakh legislation does not yet refer specifically to gender-based discrimination; the government plans to propose a bill addressing this issue. Article 4 of the Constitution gives force of law to all international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan. As a result, there are grounds to apply in every day law the definition of discrimination given in Article 1 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women." Like human rights, equality is an issue that is being looked into by legislation and representatives, but has not yet been fully enforced into everyday culture and life. " The Kazakh Family Code does not appear to discriminate against women. The 1998 Law on Marriage and the Family sets the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 years for both men and women. If there are “legitimate grounds”, a registry office can authorize marriages at 16 years. Early marriage does occur in Kazakhstan: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 7 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Religious and traditional marriages are not registered by the administration, a practice that can undermine women’s rights." Unlike other countries, for example Yemen, most women have the chance in their life time to receive an education before they are forced or put into a situation of marriage. One area where women are still discriminated somewhat is in inheritance of land. "The Kazakh Civil Code guarantees equal ownership rights for women and men, making provisions for them to possess, use and inherit property. The country’s land reform was based on the principle of gender equality and more than half of the country’s farmers are women. Yet, overall, women continue to experience discrimination in regard to access to land (especially in rural areas) and access to property other than land." This shows how women still do not have equal rights to that of men in all areas of life compared to men.

Human Rights
Kazakhstan has had trouble in the past and present with Human rights. Attempts to make Human rights a high priority in the country have been on going but has not been yet successful. "In May, President Nazarbaev approved a National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009 to 2012. This was to allay concerns of domestic and international human rights organizations that Kazakhstan was failing to comply with its human rights obligations on the eve of assuming the chairmanship of the OSCE in January 2010." In July, the president signed amendments to a law about the internet that now everything on the internet can and will be labeled and classified as mass media. Because it is now classified as mass media anything online can be used with strict rules, for example, speech for criticizing different areas of the government or the president.

Problems in prisons and prisoners being held in custody has been a specific hot spot for human rights not being looked after. In 2008, National members visited Kazakhstan, and "received many credible allegations of beatings with hands and fists, plastic bottles filled with sand and police truncheons and of kicking, asphyxiation through plastic bags and gas masks used to obtain confessions from suspects. In several cases, these allegations were supported by forensic medical evidence." It has been thought that because there is no clear evident definition for detention may be the problem, "Despite amendments to the criminal and criminal procedural codes to clamp down on abusive practices, torture and other ill-treatment remained widespread. Confessions reportedly extracted under torture continued to be admitted as evidence in criminal trials, and individuals continued to be held in unregistered detention for longer than the three hours allowed for in national law. The lack of a clear definition of detention remained unaddressed despite recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture in November 2008" Also, in prisons, many prisoners are denied necessary health benefits and medication. Freedom of religion is also not fully accepted. People participating in practicing their religions outside of mosques and other religious ceremonial places, are often targeted and harassed by the police. "In February, following a request from the President, the Constitutional Council assessed a controversial draft law on freedom of conscience which would severely restrict the rights of religious minorities. The Council held that the draft law was incompatible with the Constitution and international human rights obligations. A revision of the draft law remained pending at the end of December. "

The counter terrorism plans set fourth in Kazakhstan usually pin point certain groups of small minorities that may have a possibilities of being terrorists or spies. "The National Security Service (NSS), which carries out special operations relating to national security and corruption, continued to use counter-terrorism operations to target minority groups perceived as a threat to national and regional security. Groups particularly affected were asylum-seekers and refugees from Uzbekistan, and members or suspected members of Islamic groups or Islamic parties, either unregistered or banned in Kazakhstan. Some high-profile political actors targeted in anti-corruption operations continued to be held in arbitrary and incommunicado detention." These small groups of people that are targeted are more likely to be treated with inhuman treatment and cruel punishments. The officers in control of interrogation are usually accused of treating prisoners and detainees with inhuman treatments, cruel and harsh punishments. During interrogation, some officers beat, hit, and put bags over the people that are being interrogated. During trials, defendants are sometimes not told exactly what they are detesting, not being treated with a due process of law, and normally not told their normal rights.

title: Comparative law and justice/Kazakhstan


text:
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Comparative law and justice/Zimbabwe

Basic Information
Zimbabwe is a country located in the southern part of Africa. It is bordered by South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique and Botswana. It is also located between the Limpopo and Zambezi River. The capital of Zimbabwe is Harare which has a population of around 2 million people. Zimbabwe stretches about 150,871 square miles across southern Africa. A majority of the land is elevated 1200 to 1600 meters above the land. The main natural resources are coal, copper, gold, nickel, asbestos, chromium ore, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, and tin. The country has a tropical climate that has a rainy season from November to March. Zimbabwe sees recurring droughts due to this tropical climate.

There are ten official languages with the three most spoken languages in Zimbabwe being: English, the Shona and Ndebele. The Shona is the Bantu language with the most native speakers. The total population of Zimbabwe is about 11,651,858. The population by percentages are Africans 98%, mixed and Asian 1%, and whites with less than 1%. Of the 98% Africans, the Shona people make up 82% while the Ndebele make up 14% and 2% is other. There are more women seeing older ages than men across the country. The population aged over 65 years is about 195,000 for men while there are about 250,000 women. The median age for the people of Zimbabwe is 17.8 years; the men median age is 16.7 years while the women’s is higher at 18.9 years of age.

Being born and living in Zimbabwe leave a child at risk once they come into the world. Infant mortality rate is about 31 deaths per 1,000 births and when they enter the world their average life expectancy is about 47 years old. There is a high risk of getting infectious diseases living in this country. A few risks that pose a serious threat are bacteria in the water, malaria, hepatitis A and even animal contact diseases such as rabies. Another major problem in Zimbabwe is the HIV/AIDS problems. The adult prevalence rate is about 15.3% and there are currently 1.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS. This is among the top ten worst in the world.

The Zimbabwe Flag

The flag of Zimbabwe is equally symbolic of the country’s history. It has seven equal stripes running horizontally across it and a yellow bird which has always represented their history. There is a white triangle where the yellow Zimbabwe bird is imposed on a red five pointed star. This symbolizes peace and what they ultimately stride to achieve across the country. Each stripe stands for a certain characteristic Zimbabwe believes in; green represents agriculture, yellow represents mineral wealth, red is the bloodshed to achieve their independence and black stands for the native people.

 The Zimbabwe Coat of Arms

In their coat of arms, which was adopted in 1981 is a picture of two Kudus who have the banner and other attributes around them symbolizing Zimbabwe’s rich history. The Kudus stand for unity and they stand on what is known as an “earthly mound”. This mound includes wheat, cotton and a head of maize which resembles the need to provide for the fellow people. This need to maintain unity is shown with the bird of the country imposed on the red star atop the banner. Along the bottom runs the motto “Unity, Freedom and Work.”

Brief History
As early as 200 B.C. people have been inhabitants in the country of Zimbabwe. The San people were believed to be the first inhabiters. The San people were part of the Khoisan tribe who were said to be hunter-gathers. After the San people came the Bantu and the Shona people who were followed quickly by the Nguni and Zulu tribes. In the mid 19th century the Nguni and Zulu tribes, known as the Ndebele, decided this country was their own kingdom.

In the 1850’s the British came to southern Africa and took over. They took Zimbabwe and made it their colony naming it Rhodesia. In 1923, European settlers of Rhodesia voted to being a self governing colony of the British. This lasted until 1970 when the white minority of Rhodesia declared their independence from Britain and turned Rhodesia unto a republic. Ian Smith who led this w was in favor of the whites and resisted to all Black Africans’ demands. This led to a war in which the white minority agreed to transfer power to the Black majority while still being under Smith's rules.

Two years went by and there were issues still concerning the white minority and black majority. In 1980 the White minority decided on holding multiracial election to settle all national issues and the Blacks majority won by a long shot. Robert Mugabe was voted on to lead their country in April 1980. The country celebrated independence and changed their name to Zimbabwe. Mugabe became the president of Zimbabwe and in 2008 violence against opposing parties stirred up when the elections came around. A new type of government was pushed for and set into place from these issues. In 2009 a power-sharing government was enacted with Robert Mugabe as the president and Morgan Tsvangirai being appointed as prime minister of Zimbabwe. Currently there is a parliamentary democracy in the country.

Government and Constitution
The type of government is Democratic, where the people select their representatives i.e. senators, parliamentarians and the President. The President then appoints his ministers, vice presidents and other top representatives. The President of Zimbabwe is Emmerson Mnangagwa.

According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe the president is considered the head of the government. The president is elected for a term of five years. This is decided by popular majority vote. The parliament holds about one hundred and twenty members and these members have up to five years they can serve. These members of the Parliament, known as the House of Assembly, are voted in by a common roll electorate. There are more than just these one hundred and twenty members to Parliament. There are also twelve spots for presidential appointees.

The Zimbabwe Constitution was created and put in place in 1979. . The goal for putting this in place was to instutionalize the majority rule and still protects the rights of the minority class. In the constitution there are bills of rights which contains the protection of human rights. When first put in place the bill of rights were not to be amended for at least the first ten years of interdependence. The only way to rid them was by one exception, an unanimous vote from the House of Assembly.

In the 2013 Presidential election where Zanu-PF beat Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC, the unity government was dissolved and the new constitution that the people had voted for in 2013 came into effect after the elections, currently Comrade Emmerson Mnangagwa holds the post of President and Prime Minister

Who can vote
Voting in Zimbabwe is a very sensitive aspect of politics in society. The legal age to vote in this country is eighteen. This is similar to many other countries however it has one main difference. This is voter registrations. Voter registration is a test given to all eligible voters and those who pass are allowed to partake in the political campaign. Instead of just having first time voters take a onetime registration test, the people must always take one or they will not have a say. The registration tests their political knowledge

Courts system
The Court system was put together by customary laws and the Local Courts Act of 1990. This act was first enacted in 1981 and the purpose was to put an end to the previous court system which dealt with indirect rule. Now the aim was to transfer to direct rule and put authority in the hand of judicial officers who were appointed by popular election. Before this act the indirect rule was dealt with by traditional leaders and now the people were given a vote on who should be dealing with them. Through this new act came a hierarchy of courts. The hierarchy starts from the lowest which were village courts, to community courts, then magistrates’ district courts, the High Court, Supreme Court and at the top stands the Constitutional Court which was introduced by the Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013).

Customary laws amongst the people of Zimbabwe influenced the Act. The Act now indicated the cases which customary law should apply to and how the procedures should be handled. In 1990 the Act was re-enacted. Most provisions were held from the Act in 1981 however two changes were made to it. These changes dealt with the family. The first dealt with the husband and wife and instead of the husband being responsible for maintaining the wife they are now both equally responsible for the marriage. The second changed the father as the primary care to both parents becoming responsible for the child or children. The Local Courts Act of 1990 along with the customary laws of the Zimbabwe people is still in effect today.

In the courtroom the constitution plays a major role in how cases are carried out. The constitution of Zimbabwe provides for the right to a fair trial for everyone involved. The judiciary enforces this right to the fullest. The legal system of Zimbabwe is based on Roman Dutch law and at the top of the courtrooms is the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court is headed by a chief justice of the court. The Constitutional Court has the jurisdiction over alleged violations of fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

The next Court in line is the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. It is comprised of essentially the same Judges of the Constitutional Court. the major difference is that the Constitutional Court full bench has a sitting of nine Judges whilst the Supreme Court full bench has a sitting of five Judges. The Supreme Court is an Appellate body for the decisions from the Labour Court and the High Court of Zimbabwe.

The next court in line is the High Court. The High Court consists of general and appellate divisions across Zimbabwe. Below this High Court are regional magistrates who have civil jurisdictions and deal with both civil and criminal cases. Separate African courts before independence had jurisdictions over cases involving traditional law and customary law and in 1981 these courts were integrated into the Zimbabwe national court system. In the High Court the head of the courtroom is the chief justice. The chief justice is appointed by the president who is recommended of the Judicial Service Commission. This commission also tells the president who he should pick for all other judges throughout the courtrooms.

The Judicial Service Commission is comprised of the following members: the Chief Justice, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, the Attorney-General, and two or three other members appointed by the President. One of these appointees must be a person who is or has been a Supreme Court or High Court judge. The President of Zimbabwe has the role of appointing the Chairman and Attorney General as well as the many other roles of the Commission and Court systems.

The Supreme Court and High Court judges are appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission. In the Constitution there are no limits imposed on the number of courtroom judges that are appointed at a time. The Constitution has no rules or regulations regarding this procedure of how the President and Judicial Service Commission should ultimately follow. Removing a judge from office can be done and is followed through by the Judicial Services Commission and the president.

Law Schools
There are three Universities in Zimbabwe which have a Law School. There is the University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University and Great Zimbabwe University. The University of Zimbabwe offers a Bachelor degree which is done after completing four successful years in the school. The study of law at this university is rigorous and comprehensive and the students are required to undergo periods of practical attachments with the courts and legal firms in Zimbabwe. Midlands State University and Great Zimbabwe University offer a degree of the same value but after completing five years of successful study in the school.

In Zimbabwe there is another college to attend to study legal matters which is the Judicial College of Zimbabwe. This college was established by the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary affairs. Here the college is meant to train Magistrates, Prosecutors and Judicial officers of the courtroom.

The University of Zimbabwe also offers a Masters Degree in Women's Law and Masters of Philosophy in various aspects of the law. Further Africa University offers some various Masters Degree Programs for Law including a Masters Degree in Industrial and Intellectual Property Law.

Police system
Zimbabwe uses a single centralized police structure throughout the country. A single central police structure uses one national police force that is responsible for enforcing the laws throughout the entire country. This police force is the Zimbabwe Republic Police, ZPR. Its headquarters is in the Harare and consists of at least 21,800 officers. The ZRP was not the first known policing in Zimbabwe. The British South Africa Police was created 1889. The police was put into South Africa to protect the members and the interests of the Pioneer Column who came to the country. In the force blacks had a certain role. The primary role of the black contingents was to do the manual dirty work which the white superiors wouldn’t have to do. They were known as the Black watchers and were on foot patrol. They also had to escort the sick horses which the white superiors rode while on patrol to the capital city, which was Salisbury at the time, and this was brutal for them walking almost 300 Km’s. The white superiors also made the blacks perform barbaric acts such as burning houses down of black people and beating up black people who disobeyed the white man’s rule.

In this old system of policing the white men were superior to the black men. The black men had to do everything the white man didn’t want to do. These were all the tough aspects of the job. Also the training was very different for the two types of policemen. Black police men were trained at the Native Police Training Depot (NPTD) which in Tomlinson Salisbury while the whites were sent to train at a better equipped training center called the Moris Depot. Blacks had to wear different uniforms than the white officers. They were even expected to do their duties barefoot while the white officers were given shoes. This police system remained in effect until 1980.

In 1980 Zimbabwe got their independence as their own country and this quickly changed their police force. Now the police were known as the Zimbabwe Republic Police. Section 93 of the Constitution was put into effect immediately which made sure the police force was restructured. The police were required to train and provide the best services to the people and ultimately get the support from the public. Since 1980 Zimbabwe has kept this police system in effect and they follow their vision statement of creating a sound policy and legal environment in order to guarantee security, order and peace of mind for all Zimbabweans.

Some locals refer to the ZRP as the Zimbabwean Rotten Police (ZRP) due how corrupt they are, they are well known to harass innocent people for bribes in false charges

MISSION STATEMENT
To undertake the country's internal security – related responsibilities involving maintenance of law and order, control of entry and exit of people, issuance of personal documents and to preserve national and historic documents and heritage

Zimbabwe Republic Police Service Charter
We are committed to providing:

-The most effective and efficient service

-Professionalism in our dealings with the public

-Accountability and transparency in our operations

-Diligency and courtesy in the discharge of our duties

 * Honesty and Integrity is Our Motto*

 * Together We Can Fight Crime*

How can you help:

-Supply any information you think can solve a crime

-Report to the nearest Police station anything suspicious

-Join/support the local neighbourhood watch committee

-Use suggestion boxes or hotlines

-Assist the police when they are making an arrest (Do not hinder them)

Military
Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) is compiled of three branches of service. They are the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and all three were created in 1980. The military service age requirement is from age 18 and up. Women are also given the eligibility to serve their country. For compulsory military service the age requirement is 18 to 24. The expenditures for the military in Zimbabwe are 3.8% of GDP which in comparison to the world is 29th highest.

The roles and functions of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces are as follows; •To ensure the protection and security of Zimbabwe's territorial integrity and independence. •To provide military aid to civil power and civil authorities in Zimbabwe. •To provide military support to promote Zimbabwe's economic, political and social interests. •To fulfill international obligations and responsibilities with regard to international treaties and other states in the field of support operations, collective security, confidence and security building measures and humanitarian relief activities.

The Zimbabwe National Army was created to change the type of style of the army which used to be the Rhodesian Army. It went from the guerilla warfare types to a unified army which was more about aiding in protection. The Air Force of Zimbabwe, once called the Rhodesian Air Force, and now air defense was a worry for Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe created a long range air surveillance system that covers from the ground and this is able to protect and prevent any enemies or problems from arising. These long range surveillance can cover targets up to 600km away. Since these two branches of service were reformed and put into effect in 1980 the view for the Zimbabwe military went from a guerilla warfare type to a protective military.

Crime Rates and Law Enforcement
Since a 2002 survey on crime done throughout the world Zimbabwe has a total of 351,153 crimes occurring. Zimbabwe crime rate is 26th highest in the world for countries. The total crimes per capita are 28 per 1,000 people. .  This is is not high compared to many other countries who have crime rates in the millions. Zimbabwe sees its share of both non violent and violent crimes. Zimbabwe is a deprived economic country and this leads to burglary being one of the highest crime rates in the country. In the survey it has been shown that 55,280 of crime is burglary. This puts Zimbabwe at risk for tourism because people who have wealth are suitable targets for Zimbabwe people.

Zimbabwe is known for their “smash and grab” tactics. Because they are deprived economically many go seeking to find wealthy tourist and rob them. This “smash and grab tactic” occurs when the people of Zimbabwe run up to cars currently stopped and break the windows and take whatever they can. . These people will work in groups and attack the car slashing the tires and grabbing everything in sight. The people of Zimbabwe walk around society with firearms and weapons. They do this so when walking around and they encounter someone they will be able to torment them into giving up everything. This results in the high amount of assaults that occur in the country because the people of Zimbabwe will ultimately go beyond their limits when robbing the tourist or richer people. Assaults account for 93,062 of the total crime rates in the country which is relatively high across the world. .

The reported homicide rate in Zimbabwe is not their top concern for crime. 912 murders occur in Zimbabwe and with those 598 have firearms in the case. Even though Zimbabwe sees a good amount of homicide for the size of the country the main crime has to do with burglary. Other types of crimes seen throughout the world such as illegal border crossing, smuggling, stock theft, and illegal mining are seen throughout Zimbabwe however the police force has seem to put a decline in these activities. In 2007 reports illegal border crossing went down by 64%, smuggling into and out of the country has dropped 54%, thieving of live stock has dropped 32% and illegal mining has gone down 5%.

In Zimbabwe the law enforcement is known as ZRP. The Zimbabwe Republic Police have seen their abilities to control the country lessen due to the economic struggle the country is in. Due to the lack of money the police force is not able to equip and train themselves thoroughly enough to run a controlled country. It is known throughout Zimbabwe that their police force is not a strong force so the people, who also see the harsh economic times, do not hesitative to commit crimes such as burglary. Everyone needs to provide for themselves and knowing it’s tough to be stopped plays a huge role in the reoccurring crimes. The ZRP has improved some crimes such as the illegal border crossing and mining however the overall crime is not where they would like it to be at this time.

Punishment
Zimbabwe’s punishment before colonization was a little different than it is nowadays. The traditional ways to carry out punishments are a little different but have similar ties to them. Back then in settling a murder case it was accepted that the murderer would be haunted by the dead and his family would have to make reparations to the wounded parties. These payments would usually include cattle or other valuables and may even be a human replacement for the person who was murdered. The community was involved a lot with this and would make the murderer pay heavy fines. They held ritual cleansing ceremonies after the murders which would act as their deterrence. The community labeled the criminals as failures to act as proper human beings and this would carry with them into society. Zimbabwe society has inherited some of this before colonization thinking on how to treat criminals and prisoners. Instead of just labeling these murderers as failures to society Zimbabwe now enforces the death sentence when it is needed. There is a professional hangman who carries out the executions. The hangings or the murderers are photographed and put into the press so that society sees justice and that the victims of the crime are assured it as well. In Zimbabwe a murderer loses all their rights the moment they terminate another life and nothing is throughout about how harsh they are with their death sentence. They feel if someone murders they deserve to be executed.

Instead of tax payers money going to prisons and keeping these violent murderers in jail the people would rather execute them and put the money towards other necessities in life. These necessities the money could go to are hospitals, city clean up, schools, and school textbooks. In Zimbabwe everyone does have the right to only a fair trial. This fair trial also means they have a fair sentence handed to them and a fair execution if they commit the worst of crimes, such as murder. Zimbabweans all feel the “eye for an eye” discipline when dealing with murderers. Prisons Zimbabwe prisons are a very harsh atmosphere. Criminals who are sent there know that even if they are only there for a short time, they will never want to go back. In some instances criminals who go to prison get out and will go back in because they have nothing on the outside or they aren’t afraid to commit another crime because punishment in prison wasn’t that bad. In Zimbabwe these criminals do not want to make their way back in. Prisoners are not given any bit of a homely environment to help rehabilitate them and make them better people when they get out. Prisoners get one meal a day and they are starved inside the prison walls. The prisoners are dying of diseases due to the conditions of prison and lack of food they get. Many people a jail in Beitbridge, which is close to the South African border, are ravaged by diseases such as tuberculosis and even lost their control of bodily functions. Across the country Zimbabwe’s prisoner rehabilitation charity says that in the country’s 55 jails, 20 inmates are dying a day.

In Zimbabwe when a crime is committed by a person the saying is that “your crime never rots" .  The crime lingers around the person who has committed it and society knows what they did.  Even after their sentences are carried out people who had the crimes done against them will hold grudges against the criminal and when they are out they try to punish the criminal further.  In Zimbabwe performing a crime, just like many other places in the world, is the worst possible thing done in society however they will never let the criminals get away from what they did even after their time has been done in prison.

Judicial Systems for Violent Crime
In court criminals do sometimes escape harsh sentences. This usually happens by bribing a few magistrates who take the bribe. When it comes to violent crime cases there are two systems which the courts follow. The first of the two is more of a formal one. The courts use formal laws to convict or pardon a criminal. Here the judge uses the evidence and weighs in the evidence to determine what to do with the criminal. After the judge lays down his sentence the second system for dealing with violent crime cases occurs. This is the people’s court. Here the people use culture and tradition and weigh the sentence the magistrate or judge put forth in the formal court. They may determine the sentence was too harsh, too soft or just right. Usually with the corrupt court cases and letting off criminals easy the people’s court will make the criminal carry out orders to make peace with the offended persons and society.

An example of how the people’s court would step in and provide justice would be if someone was driving their car and hit someone who ended up dying. The person who was driving could hire a smart and clever lawyer that worked the magistrate or judges to only give them a fine and not a suspended license and this would enrage the people’s court. The people’s court would then call on the criminal and make them pay somewhat for their crime. They would send the criminal to visit the family to apologize for what they did and pay for the funeral costs. If this is not enough the people’s court may make you pay in valuable to the family such as cattle and you must pay and not use the excuse that you already paid your fine to the formal court.

In Zimbabwe the people never let go of the criminal actions people perform. From before colonization until the present day the people put labels and let the criminal pay for the crimes they commit. With the harsh prison conditions that are in all of Zimbabwe’s 55 prisons the intentions are to make the criminal pay and never come back. These prisons do take the make the criminal pay form of punishment to the extreme by only feeding the inmates once a day and let them die of starvation.

Family Law
In Zimbabwe there are three types of marriages; Civil, Registered Customary and Unregistered Customary marriage. Men and women are given the right to these however it is the women who see less of this right. In a civil marriage the legal age to marry is different in men and women. Men have to be 18 years or older while women must be 16 years or older. Also polygamy is a widely accepted practice in Zimbabwe which is practiced by three quarters of the population. This results in 1 in every 10 Zimbabwe women being involved in polygamous unions. Polygamy is widely accepted in Zimbabwe; however it is prohibited in civil marriages. It is very popular among unregistered customary marriages.

Civil marriages are the best option for women to enjoy most of the rights men do. When it comes to unregistered marriages, the family can arrange marriages without their daughters consent. This is a terrible and gives the women no say in her life path. Sometimes the daughters are offered to others to marry because of a dispute between two families. Women whose husbands pass away can be taken by the brother of the deceased if he wants. Women are subjected to the male’s option to marry them or to give them away as a bribe for resolving family disputes and by these actions women are subordinate to men in the family aspect.

Civil marriages give the women the most equality to their husbands however they are still considered second to their husband’s in house authority. In the event of a divorce, the custody of their young child is actually given to the mother. The father is obligated to pay child support if the court rules it. When the child is older the courts do not just give the child to the mother in the event of a divorce. They weigh in the best interests of the child and then make their decisions.

In Customary marriages husbands are given the chance to take all of their children away from the mother if they so please. The women have no legal response to this and must stand by while their husbands do this. They are not given the chance to fight it in court and get custody. In these types of marriages it is very common for men to take away the children and leave the women with nothing.

When it comes to inheritance women who become widows cannot inherit their husband’s property. The father is the sole owners of the property and the only way a female of the family can inherit the land is if there is a daughter and no sons are present. This does not typically happen. When a husband passes away the son is usually the inherit and they take the land and sell it for profit, giving nothing to their widowed mothers. Only in civil marriages are the women given the chance for equal inheritance rights. Women are discriminated against with ownership and inheritance of land. Women are rarely the land owners; the land is usually reserved for the head of the household which is always the male. In a divorce the women doesn’t get the chance of ownership or to fight in court for ownership. Civil cases, which give the most equality, does give the women the opportunity to own land with their husbands however the male is the main owner, with the women secondary. In order to get a loan for property husbands must be present especially if the woman goes to apply for it.

Domestic violence is very common for women to face in their marriages. Approximately two thirds of the cases brought in family court are involving women as the victim and the husbands both physically and sexually violate them. They cannot easily file a claim of rape because they are in fear of their social stigma being jeopardized and they be the outcast of society. Zimbabwe courts do not order violent husbands to leave the marriages and this contributes to the continuing abuse women see in their marriages. It is says that in the “law” of Zimbabwe women are given freedom and equality which the men have however when it comes to practicing this freedom and equality the men are the ones with constant control over their wives.

Human Rights
The Human rights of all Zimbabweans have been at jeopardy on a yearly basis. They are mainly being jeopardized by the taking of their homes by governmental force. Across Africa hundreds of thousands of people each year are left homeless when they are forcibly evicted from their homes by the authorities. In most cases evictions are conducted without any due process, consultation, adequate notice or compensation. Mass Forced Evictions have been popular cases for most people living in Zimbabwe. Other countries to face these Mass Forced Evictions are Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Swaziland. Across these countries, especially Zimbabwe, the governments are acting violent and have been violating the people’s human rights.

Zimbabweans have not only lost their houses but also have been forced to live different lifestyles because of these Forced Evictions. President Robert Mugabe started what is known as Operation Murambatsviha and through this the people have all seen their rights taken away from them. This operation has displaced over 700,000 men, women and children as well as leaving about 100,000 families homeless. The operation was put into play in 1990 when President Mugabe wanted to implement land reform programs. These land reform programs were aggressive, taking peoples land without giving them their legal rights to defend it and allowed the government to seize white-owned farms without compensation. The whole purpose of the operation was to redistribute white-owned commercial farms to native Zimbabweans who were dispossessed and forbidden from owning property under the colonial regime. This land redistribution was an attempt to overcome the inequality between white and blacks who owned land.

In November 2013 the Government embarked on another mass demolition of homes that were not built with approved plans by city council leaving a lot of people homeless during the rainy season it could be referred to as operation Murambatsvina 2.0

This land redistribution seems to be positive and negative for the people. It is an attempt to give equality a chance among the whites and blacks however it is negative in the sense of taking land and houses away from thousands of people. Yearly the hundreds of thousands of people are losing their homes, personal possessions and even social networks. By forced eviction the people are put in poverty and have no access to the essential needs to survive, such as clean water, food, sanitation, work, health and education.The officials who carry out the evictions have been using force against the people of Zimbabwe. Sometimes the force becomes excessive and leads to firearms and other weapons being used. Through these forced evictions the people become homeless and never get the opportunity or chance to be compensated for what they lose. The government takes the land with forced, not giving the family their rights to defend themselves or protecting their rights, and they turn their backs on the people leaving them with nothing.

Human Right Activists
Human rights activist have attempted to stand up for themselves however through violent government repression they have been denied of receiving help from the government. They are often preaching to no one because the government doesn’t take interest in what these activists have to say. The fundament human rights which are given to the people of Zimbabwe have been taken from them due to the Mass Forced Evictions. The government, under President Mugabe, is using excessive force to take land away from hundreds of thousands of people across the country. The reason for taking away the land was to redistribute the land and make equality amongst the people however these forced evictions have taken away from the people and their rights to live in their country.

Inequality in the country of Zimbabwe is shown through these forced evictions. White land owners have had more land than black land owners and through President Mugabe’s ways, the strive for equality seems to mean that something must be taken away from one to be given to the other. Not only is inequality amongst the men, but it is between men and women of Zimbabwe. These inequalities give certain genders more than other genders. For instance in marriage, the man is given more rights to land and other family rights than the women are. This is tough to strive for equality amongst the people when sex determines how much a person gets in life. In the United States of America equality is a moving progress in which women have become more and more equal to the men. They are given the same human rights and can access them equally. In Zimbabwe this is not the case. Men are the main people who see the most human rights as opposed to women who see much less.

title: Comparative law and justice/Zimbabwe