Centre for Applied Legal Research (CALR)

Centre for Applied Legal Research

The Centre for Applied Legal Research (CALR) is an independent research institute that empowers people, organizations and governments with sound and evidence-based legal and policy solutions and services that enhance development. CALR seeks to ensure that the law is utilized to respond to everyday societal challenges.^[1]

Background

CALR offers legal expertise, resources, tools and technical support to governments, developmental partners, and civil society organizations. Its work links the law (as it is and as it ought to be) with developmental needs across the multiple sectors of a country’s economy. In this manner its inter-disciplinary work revolves around two thematic areas, namely: (a) Law, Democracy and Governance (b) Law, Economics and Science

The work involving law, democracy and governance seeks to promote a democratic dispensation embedded on the rule of law while the work involving law, economics and science seeks to promote socio-economic development in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Although CALR’s work has been mainly in Zimbabwe; it has gained significant experience in the southern, eastern and northern Africa sub-regions. Since its humble beginnings in 2010, CALR has worked with a variety of governments, developmental partners and civil society organizations in diverse sectors including: constitutionalism and rule of law; access to justice; promotion of human rights; public health; water and sanitation; agriculture; forestry; local government; electoral systems; and information and media.

Vision

CALR aspires to be a world-class international legal research, advisory and capacity development institution that addresses the needs of present and future generations to live a life in decency, safety, good health and freedom.

Mission

The Centre for Applied Legal Research’s mission is to contribute, through collaborative applied research, capacity development and advisory services, to efforts to resolve pressing national and sub-regional problems of human survival, development and welfare. It provides legal education leadership on aspects of good governance, public health, human rights, financial regulation, environment and natural resources management etc. with a special emphasis on collaboration between Zimbabwean and non-Zimbabwean legal education institutes. It therefore serves the people of Zimbabwe and the Southern Africa sub-region with state-of-the-art applied legal research and with the accumulated knowledge in these areas.

Governance

CALR is managed by a Board of Trustees and a Management Team. The Board currently consists of 6 Trustees, who were selected on the basis of their past and continued contribution to scholarship in various legal and non-legal areas. Specific membership is reserved for: permanent teaching staff of the Faculty of Law of recognized Universities; members of the legal fraternity, recognized for their experience and knowledge in legal practice in the private, public and/or NGO sectors; and the Executive Director of the Centre.

The Board

Otto Saki - Chairman of the Board

Otto is a human rights lawyer, with a keen interest in governance issues, regional economic communities, civil society and supra national human rights mechanisms.

Prof. Geoff Feltoe - Board Member

Prof. Geoff Feltoe has extensive experience in research and teaching on a wide range of areas. He is currently a Lecturer and Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Zimbabwe.

Petina Gappah - Board Member

Petina, an international trade law expert, has worked for the Advisory Centre on WTO Law advising developing countries on a wide range of matters relating to trade law and policy.

Itai Chirume - Board Member

Itai is an investment banker with diverse experience in treasury management, investment management, corporate advisory and stockbroking, with over 15 years’ work experience in the financial services sector. He is currently the Executive Director at MMC Capital.

Tracy Maguze - Board Member

Tracy holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Zimbabwe and is part of the Group Legal Services Division at CBZ Holdings Limited. Before moving to the financial services sector Tracy worked as a Legal Research Consultant with particular interest in regional and international trade law, finance and development.

Nyasha Chishakwe - Executive Director

Nyasha is a leading international lawyer and academic. He has worked as Legal Counsel for various international organizations including Bioversity International and IUCN-The World Conservation Union.

Team

Nyasha Chishakwe - Executive Director

Nyasha is a leading international lawyer and academic. He has worked as Legal Counsel for various international organizations including Bioversity International and IUCN-The World Conservation Union.

Aminata Chatira-Ruwodo - Projects Coordinator

Aminata holds a Master of Laws (LLM) specializing in International Law from the University of Cape Town, and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from the University of Zimbabwe.

Gift Muponda - Finance and Administration Manager

Gift holds extensive working experience in various sectors of industry. Before coming to CALR Gift had worked for CARE International as an Accountant, CTDO as Grants Accountant and Agricultural Cooperative Development International.

Clever Kudakwashe Mlambo - Information, Research and Communications

A communications professional with interests in the Digital Media and Public Relations, Clever holds a Bachelor of Science Media and Society Studies Honours Degree from the Midlands State University.

Tatenda Murenje - Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Tatenda holds a Masters in Development Studies from Midlands State University and an Executive Certificate in Practical Monitoring and Evaluation from the University of Zimbabwe. She has more than six years’ experience in the field of Monitoring and Evaluation.

Elysium Rubaba - Legal Research Officer

Elysium holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in Commercial and Corporate Law from the University of Southampton, and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (LL.B (Hons)) degree from Brunel University London.

Dickson Bhewu - Legal Research Officer

Dickson is a holder of a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLBS) (Hons) from the University of Zimbabwe. He has a keen interest in advancing the rights of marginalised people and areas of the Society, Constitutionalism and Industrial Relations laws.

Obert Bore - Legal Research Officer

Obert Bore holds a Master of Laws (LLM) specialising in International Trade Law from University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from University of Venda. Before joining the Centre, Obert worked in private legal practice. He has also worked as a Researcher for judges of the Supreme Court of Namibia and other different organisations in South Africa.

Charity Kayiya - Assistant Procurement and HR Officer

Charity has extensive experience working as a finance and administrative officer for regional and international organizations, namely the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and IUCN. She holds a BSc in Counselling.

Paidamoyo Mutezo - Assistant Administration Officer and Receptionist

Paidamoyo Mutezo is a qualified Executive Secretary and has been working with the Centre since 2012. She coordinates and schedules meetings, workshops, as well as attending to external calls.

Research Fellows

Brian D. Crozier - Research Fellow

Brian is a senior legal scholar with extensive experience in applied legal research and legislative drafting in a wide range of areas. He is currently a Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.

Dr. James Tsabora - Research Fellow

Dr. Tsabora holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, obtained with the University of Zimbabwe, a Master of Laws (Environmental Law) studied with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and a PhD in Law, awarded by Rhodes University, South Africa. Currently, he is a senior legal consultant and researcher in mining and environmental law, property rights and constitutional law, where he has worked with various governmental and non-governmental organisations and state institutions. He has researched and published widely in natural resource governance, human rights, constitutional law and property rights law. Dr. Tsabora is also an academic, a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law, a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe. His legal practicing experience is in the following areas; Mining law; Environmental Law; Land, Agriculture and Agricultural Markets; Democratic Governance and Property rights.

JUSTICE Moses Chinhengo - Research Fellow

Justice Chinhengo is a respected judge with extensive experience in legal drafting and has made a remarkable contribution to Zimbabwe’s legal reform process.

Prof. Geoff Feltoe - Research Fellow

Prof. Geoff Feltoe has extensive experience in research and teaching on a wide range of areas. He is currently a Lecturer and Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Zimbabwe. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Harare Legal Projects Centre and a Consultant for the Legal Resources Foundation.

What they Do

Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law

The full implementation of the constitution remains a top priority in their interventions. In this light, they are implementing a project aimed at alignment of legislation to the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Constitutional Legislative Alignment Initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) through the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (MoJLPA). CALR’s mandate under this project is to provide technical legal support to all Government Line Ministries that administer relevant laws that are subject to alignment.

They are also implementing a project entitled Legislative Drafting Capacity Building Initiative, wherein they are enhancing institutional capacity of the Attorney-General’s Office of Republic of Zimbabwe in the specialized discipline of legislative drafting.

CALR also co-hosts the Rule of Law Public Lecture Series in collaboration with academic institutions in the country. The Public Lecture Series provide a much needed platform for different sectors of the public to have informed debate/ discussion around topical issues that promote democracy, transparency and accountability in Zimbabwe.

Learn more about the Constitutional Legislative Alignment Initiative here: http://www.ca-lr.org/flagship-projects/constitutional-legislative-alignment-initiative/

Access to Justice

Under this thematic area, their interest is to ensure that citizens’ justice demands are met by a justice delivery system that is sensitive and responsive to their needs. In this light, they undertook a national survey in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (MoJLPA) and the UNDP aimed at assessing citizens’ perceptions on the justice delivery system in Zimbabwe. The survey was structured to solicit perceptions on the modalities that are required to enable citizens (including the poor and marginalized) to obtain effective remedies within the formal and informal justice systems.

Realisation of Human Rights

Our work is motivated by the need to have an empowered citizen who makes use of the newly introduced constitutionally-guaranteed socio-economic and environmental rights. We believe that if enforced, these human rights can be a transformative tool that makes a difference in the day to day lives of the poor and marginalized communities.

To this end, we have been implementing several projects aimed at empowering communities with knowledge and information required to realize their socio-economic and environmental rights.

Learn more about the Right of Access to Information Initiative Project here: http://www.ca-lr.org/flagship-projects/right-access-information-initiative/