THE CONSTITUION

OF THE

MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY LEGAL AWARENESS SOCIETY(MSULA Soc.)

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1. PREAMBLE:

Through the spirit of the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe; we the Members of the Midlands State University Legal Awareness Society; Recognize that the achievement of human rights in Zimbabwe is an ideal to be strived for; Realize that university students are in a position to further the attainment of social justice and the values of freedom, equality and dignity for all Zimbabweans; Believe that it is our duty to contribute to this goal as conscientious citizens; Endeavour to campaign passionately and vigorously against injustice of any kind and Undertake, through the values of reciprocity and respect, to educate and to empower those around us with knowledge of their rights in the Bill of Rights of the Zimbabwean Constitution and the law in General Bearing in mind that the first step to exercising of rights is to be conscious of their very existence.

2. NAME & FOUNDING CLAUSE: 2.1. The Midlands State University Legal Awareness Society is hereby

established. 2.2. The full name of this society shall be Midlands State University Legal Awareness Society and may be abbreviated MSULA Soc for the purposes of convenience and is herein after referred to as the Society.

3. DEFINITIONS:

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3.1. Ex Officio Members: members without voting powers. 3.2. Members: any registered student who has paid the subscription fee. 3.3. Students: registered students of the Midlands State University. 3.4. SRC: refers to the Student Representative Council of the Midlands State University. 3.5. Honorary Member: a person outside of the student body of the Midlands State University who has been selected by the Executive Committee for exemplifying the values of the Society. 3.6. Facilitator: a person who is selected by the Executive Committee to act as a link between the Society and the community (see section 12).

4. OBJECTIVES: 4.1. The Objectives of the Society include inter alia(a) To research and identify areas of the law that are of particular importance to the community;

(b) To run regular workshops and conduct outreach programs with the community and Students aimed at informing people of their rights and the law; (c) To create and maintain meaningful relations with the community; (d) To equip the facilitators with the necessary workshop facilitation skills and knowledge of the relevant areas of law; (e) To raise awareness on legal issues and campaign against human rights abuses;

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(f) To actively engage with the law in Zimbabwe with the goal of realizing social justice and the values of the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe. (g) To create a legal astute students force led by law students whilst students from other faculties will be welcome. 4.2 Modus Operandi (a) Members must be apolitical and must desist from making any political

comments in all activities that they will be involved in. (b) Members must desist from pursuing any agenda outside the spirit and purpose of this society as reflected in the preamble supra. (c) The Society shall not partner with political parties, movements and any political groups in discharging its mandate. (d) Any activity that contravenes the Zimbabwean Constitution, the Midlands State University Act (Chapter 25:21) and the rules and regulations of the University shall not be countenanced. (e) Workshops, members meetings, outreach programs, legal writings and any other method of informing the members of the community of their rights may be used to achieve the objects in section 4.1 (f) Members may not give legal advice to members of the community for the purposes of going to courts and may not participate in representative capacity in any court or tribunal.

5. CONTROL AND ADMINISTRATION: 5.1. Control of the Society, its funds and ownership of its assets and property shall be vested in the SRC. 5.2. The Society shall be managed by an Executive Committee elected by the Members.

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6. MEMBERSHIP: 6.1. All bona-fide full-time registered Students shall automatically have the right to be Members of the Society. 6.2. On the recommendation of the Executive Committee, all bona-fide

registered students who upon payment of a subscription fee, fixed from time to time by the Executive Committee, shall become a Member of the Society. 6.3. On the recommendation of the Executive Committee an honorary membership may be granted to any person. 6.4. The Minister of Legal Affairs (SRC) shall be an ex officio member of the Executive Committee of the Society.

7. SUBSCRIPTION FEES: 7.1. Subscription fees will be set annually by the Executive Committee. Except as provided in 7.2, the fee shall remain constant throughout the year.

7.2. In the event of a subsequent membership intake after the official sign up, the Executive Committee may use its discretion to set an alternative subscription fee. 7.3. In deciding upon an appropriate subscription fee, the Executive Committee must consider inter alia: (a) The aims of the Society, noting that it is funded to educate the community and not the personal enrichment of its Members; (b) The expected number of Members for the following year; (c) The minimum amount required for the healthy maintenance and growth of the Society.

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8. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: 8.1. There is an Executive Committee consisting of(a) Chairperson, who will oversee the effective running of the Society and the Executive Committee. (b) Secretary, who will be responsible for keeping records and minutes of meetings, as well as coordinating Society administration. (c) Treasurer, who will be responsible for the Societys finances and compiling a financial report to be presented at the Annual General Meeting. (d) Public Relations Officer, who will be responsible for liaising between the Society, the SRC and the University at large. (e) And an additional of four committee members. (f) And an advisor from any department of the law faculty staff shall be consulted by the Executive Committee from time to time. 8.2. The Executive Committee shall manage the affairs of the Society within the general regulations laid down by the all the Members. 8.3. The Executive Committee should meet on a regular basis. 8.4. The quorum of these meetings shall be two thirds of the number of members of the Executive Committee. 8.5. The secretary shall maintain a file of minutes of all their meetings that will be available for inspection by any University Officials.

8.6. Election of Executive Committee Members-

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(a) The Executive Committee shall be elected annually at a general meeting after the election and declaration of SRC election results. (b) Nominations for each position on the Executive Committee should be called for in writing at least 1 week, but not more than one month, before the date of the general meeting. (c) Votes shall be cast by means of secret ballot during either the general meeting (contemplated above) and/or at alternative times preceding the general meeting. (d) At the completion of the voting process, votes shall be counted by two people nominated by the Executive Committee provided that neither of these are nominees in the current election. (e) The person who receives a majority of votes for a position shall be announced by the Chairperson as the successor to that Executive Committee position and will assume office immediately thereafter. (f) Each Executive Committee member may hold only one position. (g) Once an Executive Committee member has assumed office s/he will remain on the Executive Committee until the following general election, unless as provided in 8.8 and 8.9 below. (h) The elections of Executive members must be guided by the principle of gender equality. 8.7. Eligibility(a) With the exception of the position of Chairperson, any person who has been a member of the Society for at least one semester may be nominated for a position on the Executive Committee.

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(b) The Chairperson may be nominated only if s/he has served at least two semesters on the Executive Committee. (c) In the event that two or fewer Executive Committee members do not intend to run for the position of Chairperson, the nominations must be opened to the Societys membership. 8.8. Dismissal of Executive Committee members-

An Executive Committee member may be removed from office only if the following procedure is followed(a) The Executive Committee must issue a warning to the member, detailing the reasons for the warning and detailing recommendations for compliance. (b) If the member fails to follow such recommendations, s/he may be removed following a majority vote of the Executive Committee. (c) The member may not be present at the meeting in which s/he is under discussion. (d) All other Executive Committee members must be present at this meeting. (e) The Committee may make arrangements for the replacement to that position in accordance with 8.9. 8.9. Special Circumstances(a) In the event that an Executive Committee member will be absent or unable to fulfil his/her duties for a period of at least two months, or if s/he has been dismissed in accordance with section 8.8. Then a Special General Meeting should be called by the Chairperson, during which the position will be filled in accordance with the procedure laid out in 8.6(b) to 8.6(f).

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(b) Any person so elected shall assume office immediately and will retain this position until the following general election. (c) Should the absent Executive Committee member return, s/he may elect to continue to sit on the Executive Committee but will have no assigned portfolio. (d) In the event that the Chairperson will be absent or unable to fulfil his/her duties for a period of at least two months or has been dismissed in accordance with section 8.8, the Secretary shall assume the position of Chairperson for the duration of his/her absence. (e) In the event of 8.9(d), the position of Secretary may be filled in accordance with the procedure laid out in 8.6(b) to 8.6(f) at his/her discretion.

9. PORTFOLIO GROUPS: 9.1. All Members of the Society will assume a role in one or more of the Portfolio Groups. The Portfolio Groups may include (but are not limited to) the following areas of law(a) Public Law (b) Private Law (c) Commercial Law 9.2. The purpose of each Portfolio Group is to organise at least one workshop or outreach program for the community aimed at educating people on important aspects of their specific area of law. 9.3. To fulfil this task each group must necessarily undertake the following-

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(a) Endeavour to find out the key areas of the law that are of particular importance to their portfolio and (b) Research the law in order to construct and maintain a manual from which the workshops shall be structured. 9.4. Each Portfolio Group is responsible, at the beginning of each semester, to elect a Portfolio Leader. 9.5. Each Portfolio Leader will sit on the Portfolio Committee. 9.6 All Portfolio Leader must submit to the Secretary reports of any meeting.

10. PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE: 10.1. The Portfolio Committee is charged with the responsibility of liaising between the Portfolio Groups and the Executive Committee. 10.2. The Portfolio Committee should endeavor to meet on a regular basis and should report back to the Secretary. 10.3. The Portfolio Committee is responsible for achieving the goals and objectives set by their respective Portfolio Groups and the Executive Committee.

11. SOCIETY LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE: 11.1. The Society shall consist of an Executive Committee that is in charge of overseeing the running of the Society. Under the authority the Executive Committee the Portfolio Committee shall operate to ensure the effective and efficient running of the Portfolio Groups. 11.2 The Minister of Legal Affairs in the SRC shall be an active advisor and member of the Executive Committee, this therefore means one Committee Member seat created in terms of section 8.1 (e)
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is reserved for him or her.

12. FACILITATORS: 12.1. The roles of the Facilitators are inter alia(a) To help the Society identify areas of law which affect the community; (b) To assist the Society in the running of workshops; (c) To establish and maintain healthy connections with the community. 12.2. Facilitators are selected, as and when needed, at the discretion of the Executive Committee. 12.3. The Executive Committee should endeavor to have at least one

Facilitator per Portfolio Group and to ensure an equitable distribution of males and females.

13. SPECIAL AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS: 13.1. The Executive Committee of the Society shall convene an Annual General Meeting of the Society in the second semester of each academic year. 13.2. At least two weeks notice shall be given to all Society Members of an Annual General Meeting. 13.3. The agenda of the Annual General Meeting shall include the election of the Executive Committee. 13.4. A majority of the Executive Committee may convene a Special General Meeting. 13.5. At the request of at least twelve full Members, the Executive Committee shall convene a Special General Meeting. 13.6. At least one weeks notice shall be given to all Society Members of a Special General Meeting and the matters to be discussed therein.
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13.7. Only Members of the Society shall be entitled to vote at a General (Special) Meeting. 13.8. A quorum at any General (Special) Meeting of the Society must be at least 25 percent of the Societys membership. 13.9. The standing Rules and Orders of the SRC shall apply at all General (Special) Meetings of the Society.

14. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CLAUSE: 14.1. This Constitution may only be amended in accordance with the following procedure-

(a) Any member may propose the amendment; (b) The Chairperson must call a General (Special) Meeting; (c) The proposed amendment should be publicized at least one week before the General (Special) Meeting; (d) Votes shall be cast by means of secret ballot by the members during either the General (Special) Meeting and/or at alternative times preceding the meeting. (e) At the completion of the voting process, votes shall be counted by two people nominated by the Executive Committee; (f) Immediately after the votes have been tallied, the Chairperson shall announce the success or failure of the proposed amendment. (g) A constitutional amendment shall only succeed if at least two thirds of the votes cast are in its favor.

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15. INTERPRETATION: 15.1. This Constitution should be interpreted in light of the values and purposes enshrined in the Preamble. 15.2. The sections of this Constitution are considered binding in so much as they do not conflict with the University policy. 15.3 ONLY THE COPY OF THE CONSTITUTION SIGNED BY THE CHAIRPERSON, THE SECRETARY AND THE MINISTER OF LEGAL AFFAIRS SHALL BE REFERRED TO DURING MEETINGS.

16. ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION: NAME Signed by the Chairperson: SIGNATURE

Signed by the Secretary :

Signed by Minister of Legal Affairs (SRC) :

THE CONSTITUTION IS HEREBY ADOPTED ON THIS THE DAY OFTHE MONTH OFAND THE YEAR OF 2013 AT MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LAW.

DRAFTED BY: VUSUMUZI BHEBHE vusumuzibhebhe@yahoo.com

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