STATUTES REQUIRING CONSTITUTIONAL ALIGNMENT __________________________________________________________________________________ • Part VA of the Act, which deals with compensation for improvements on “specially designated land”, is unconstitutional in that it does not provide for “fair and adequate” compensation as required by section 71 of the Constitution; instead it lays down the principles that must be followed in assessing such compensation. The right of appeal conferred by the Part is nugatory since it does not allow the Administrative Court to assess the compensation payable. 41. Legal Aid Act [Chapter 7:16] The Act needs to make it clear that accused persons in criminal cases have a right to legal aid at the expense of the State if substantial injustice would result if they are not given that aid (section 70(1)(e) of the Constitution). Section 8 of the Act should be amended to state that in such cases courts must recommend to the Director of the Legal Aid that the accused be granted legal aid. 42. Marriage Act [Chapter 5:11] This Act needs to be amended in order to prohibit the marriage of persons under the age of 18. This will bring it into line with sections 78 and 81 of the Constitution, as interpreted by the Constitutional Court in Mudzuru & Anor v Minister of Justice & Ors CC-12-2015 (the “Child Marriage case”, instituted by Veritas). 43. Matrimonial Causes Act [Chapter 5:13] The Act must be amended to alter the current position under which the law of the husband’s domicile governs rights of both parties in a marriage. Under section 26 of the Constitution, the State must take appropriate measures to ensure that there is equality of rights and obligations of spouses during marriage and at its dissolution. The amendment will necessitate a reconsideration of section 3 of the Act, which gives courts special jurisdiction in cases where the wife is domiciled in Zimbabwe and the husband is not. 44. Medical Services Act [Chapter 15:13] The Act should include a provision stating that no one may be refused emergency medical treatment at any hospital, government or private, as provided in section 76(3) of the Constitution. For private hospitals, this should be a condition of Ministerial approval in terms of section 11 of the Act. 45. Mental Health Act [Chapter 15:12]* Part IV of the Act, which deals with the detention of “mentally disordered or intellectually handicapped patients who are dangerous” – i.e. sociopaths – needs to be reexamined so that adequate safeguards are in place to ensure that they are incarcerated only if there is no other way to protect the public, and that they are released as soon as they cease to be a danger. As the Act stands, they can be detained for life in a special institution without having committed an offence. 46. National Biotechnology Authority Act [Chapter 14:31]* This Act establishes an authority to regulate and control, inter alia, research into biotechnology, i.e. the use of living organisms to make or modify products or improve plants and animals. To the extent that the Act covers research, it limits freedom of research guaranteed by section 61 of the Constitution. The Act should contain a pro- 14