The constitution of a nation is not simply a statute which mechanically defines the structures of government and the relations between the government and the governed, it is a ‘mirror of the national soul’, the identification of the ideals and aspirations of a nation, the articulation of the values binding its people and disciplining its government. – Former Chief Justice of South Africa, Ismail Mohammed1 Introduction Zimbabwe is currently engaged in a constitution-making process led by a Select Committee of Parliament on the New Constitution (COPAC). The adoption of a new democratic constitution is a key requirement of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed in September 2008 by the three political parties represented in parliament – the Zimbabwe African National UnionPatriotic Front (ZANU-PF) led by Robert Mugabe, and the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), namely, the MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai, and the MDC-N led by Welshman Ncube. The GPA, brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), ended the 2007 election dispute between Tsvangirai and Mugabe, and led to the formation of the transitional inclusive government that assumed office in February 2009. The current constitution-making process is the latest in a series of post-independence constitutional-reform endeavours that have been variously led by government, civil-society organisations and political parties. These endeavours had, by 2011, produced three draft constitutions, none of which have been adopted (see ZLHR 2011). This paper examines Zimbabwe’s constitutional-reform process. The first section traces the background to constitutional reform in Zimbabwe. A brief discussion of the Constitutional Commission’s draft of 1999/2000 is followed by a description of the development of a draft by the Constitutional Assembly (NCA) in 2001. Then the process leading to the so-called Kariba Draft of 2007 is outlined. The COPAC-led constitutional-reform process, including some of the challenges it has faced, is then examined. This is followed by an overview of how the draft COPAC constitution deals with issues of justice and reconciliation. The final section focuses on prospects for a constitutional referendum in 2012 and for the likelihood of elections occurring thereafter. Background Zimbabwe’s constitutional-reform process has been built upon the Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979. This settlement plan, through which Zimbabwe obtained independence in 1980, has been widely criticised as being largely preconceived by the British. Present at Lancaster House were the British government, the Patriotic Front (led by Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union [ZANU] and Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African Peoples Union [ZAPU]), and the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia government (represented by Abel Muzorewa and Ian Smith). The negotiations concluded with a ceasefire agreement, arrangements for the pre-independence period, and the so-called Lancaster House Constitution. 1