Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Special Report Enforcing the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe The emphasis of the doctrine is on individual freedom by placing limitations on the exercise of power by those in government. This is achieved by subjecting everybody to the same law.’ What do these formulations mean in real-life practice? Laws are made by people, in and through their political institutions, to govern their behaviour as members of a common society. The laws made in Parliaments are enforced by different institutions - police forces and Interpol, courts and judges, prisons and corrective institutions. So the rule of law is complicated by the fact it involves all three ‘pillars of state’ in the exercise of different but balanced powers by the legislature, judiciary and executive. For the rule of law to apply, then, Parliaments must make laws and define the punishments for breaking them. Police forces must investigate and, where the required evidence exists, prosecute all alleged offences, no matter who commits them. Magistrates and judges, courts and tribunals must try people fairly and impartially according to the laws made by their country’s Parliament. Police and prison services must do what the courts order regarding the release or punishment of people tried. The legal goalposts should remain stable, even when particular laws are amended or repealed to suit a changing society. The law must not be changed to suit particular individuals, especially not after they have committed offences. The legal process must not be corrupted by bribery, political interference or violence. In this report, we examine in some detail the evidence of breaches of the rule of law by the three pillars of the Zimbabwean State. 5