LME3701 Assignment 2 Semester 2 2026 (Historical & Comparative) - Due 4 September 2026

LME3701 Assignment 2 Semester 2 2026 (Historical & Comparative) - Due 4 September 2026 compile your assignment/portfolio exam, your assignment/ portfolio exam will not be marked. 3 Prescribed research topic THE RESEARCH TOPIC IS PRESCRIBED BELOW. YOU MAY NOT CHOOSE YOUR OWN RESEARCH TOPIC. THE RESEARCH MUST BE CONDUCTED ON THE BELOW TOPIC USING EITHER THE HISTORICAL OR THE COMPARATIVE APPROACH (see details below). YOU WILL GET 0 IF YOU DO THE RESEARCH ON THE INCORRECT TOPIC OR IF YOU USE THE INCORRECT COMPARATIVE JURISDICTION (in other words, if you choose the comparative approach, you must use the prescribed jurisdiction; you cannot choose one). PRESCRIBED RESEARCH TOPIC You have been hired as a researcher at an organisation advancing human rights. A faith-based association sent a submission to this human rights organisation, stating that the rights of the unborn child in South Africa should be reconsidered. The submission refers to the Constitutional Right to life and that the wording in the Constitution says “everyone” has the right to life, which should, according to the submission, include the unborn child. They are particularly unhappy with the stance the court took in S v Mshumpa 2008 (1) SACR 126 (E) and demand that the law be changed, that the common law must be developed to reflect the legal convictions of the community, which, according to this submission, is that killing a foetus should be a crime. You decide to delve deeper into this issue and make it the topic of your post-graduate studies. The starting point for any postgraduate study is to draft a research proposal that sets out the legal issue to be investigated, the research questions, the aim of the study, and what you already know about it. To this end, you must now compile a draft research proposal on the above topic us ing the prescribed headings set out later in this document. You can approach this research from the criminal law perspective, looking at the definitional elements of a crime, the legality principles regarding liability and perhaps also the need to develop the common law in this regard (or not). Or you can consider the issue from a more philosophical angle, considering, for example, the “pro-life” arguments, the nasciturus fiction, the sanctity of life argument, etc. Note that this is not a proposal on the legality of abortion, (although it might be relevant in some of the arguments you make) but rather a proposal on the broader argument pertaining to whether an unborn child is or should be acknowledged as a person. Consider Constitutional provisions, relevant legislation, case law, law reform commission reports and the writings of scholars in your work. The Constitutional rights involved in these matters should form the basis of your research. You must choose if you want to research the above given topic using the historical approach or the comparative approach (see explanation below) A) Historical research approach. This means examining the historical development of the law on the issue from a specific date in the past to the present day. You will review relevant case law and legislation that may have contributed to the law as it stands today. If there are Law Reform Commission reports on the given topic, it is important to consult them. Scholarly writings in books and journal articles can assist in interpreting the law, evaluating its application and effectiveness, and proposing solutions to the problem. For the purposes of the historical approach, you focus only on developments in South Africa. OR B) Comparative research approach (comparative jurisdiction is prescribed; you cannot choose one): This means, for purposes of this module, looking at the current legal position in one jurisdiction and comparing it to the current legal position in another jurisdiction. For purposes of this research proposal, you must look at the laws of South Africa and KENYA. Legislation, case law, Law Reform Commission reports and writings by scholars should be consulted. You will not go into detail about the historical developments of the law on the issue in these two jurisdictions, but rather focus on and compare the current legal position. You must formulate a unique title for your research proposal related to the given topic, guided by which aspect of the research you choose to focus on and the research approach you choose (historical or comparative – see above). Since there are numerous issues to investigate in this topic/scenario, each student’s work must be unique. Consult the PowerPoint presentation under additional resources for a detailed explanation of what is required under each heading of the research proposal.