116 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal expression that the legislative objective sought to be achieved is outweighed by the extent of the restriction. The law should not in its design have the effect of overreaching and restricting expression which is not necessary for the achievement of the objective concerned. Not every case of actual or potential harm to the public interests listed in s 20(2)(a) justifies the imposition of restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression. Restriction must be imposed by law Section 20 of the Constitution requires that any restriction must be “contained in ... any law” or “done under the authority of any law”, that is, that the restriction must have all the universally recognised characteristics of a legal norm. A criminal law must define its essential elements and the law must not be unconstitutionally vague. The rationale underlying the principle of unconstitutional vagueness of a statute is that it is essential in a free and democratic society that people should be able, within reasonable certainty, to foresee the consequences of their conduct in order to act lawfully. This is a fundamental element of law and order and therefore peace. If arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of criminal law is to be preventable laws must provide explicit standards for those who apply them. The discretion of those entrusted with law enforcement should be limited by clear and explicit legislative standards. The standard is one of sufficient clarity. It is not one of absolute clarity. A criminal law imposing restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of expression will be unconstitutionally vague if it fails to provide a clear basis for deciding whether a particular conduct violates that law. B. Application of law to offence in question Does the offence in question serve to protect a public interest? The court held that the offence of making a false statement intended to undermine public confidence in a security service clearly restricts freedom of expression and therefore the issue was whether it fell under any of the permissible grounds for imposing restrictions. The protecting public confidence in a security service institution is a means of ensuring that the