1. UNIT 1: Essay writing and answering problem questions
LEGAL PROCESS
UNIT 1: Essay writing and answering problem questions

2. Learning objectives
Posses the required knowledge and skills required to produce a successful piece of written work.
Differentiate between skills needed for problem questions and those for essay questions.
Be able to provide references and avoid inadvertent plagiarism
Be able to find cases that have been reported and understand the Correct way of reading a case

3. What makes a good essay?
answers the question by demonstrating a range of written and analytical skills
construction and the content of an essay
i.e. how law and commentary is applied by the writer
A good essay must have the following:

4. What makes a good essay?
accurate and relevant knowledge about the legal topic that is the subject of the essay question.
A vast range of appropriate research for the subject matter
Effective use of materials sourced

5. What makes a good essay?
should have a flowing line of argument and a clear structure including an introduction and conclusion.
Should have good written communication skills
It should be well referenced

6. What does the question ask?
Focus on what the question is asking, and not on what the essay is about
E.g:
‘Critically discuss the sources of law in Zambia’.
What is the question asking?

7. Rewording the question
Rewrite the essay question in your words with the aim of discovering one or two clear questions that you understand
This is done to enhance ones understanding of the question

8. Rewording the question
E.g.:
‘Critically discuss the sources of law in Zambia’
When reworded:
What are the sources of law in Zambia?
What are the disadvantages/shortcomings of the sources of law in Zambia?

9. Gathering materials for support
Text books:
to support your argument
Statutory provisions:
indicate the name of the statute and the section and subsection that you are referring to
paraphrase the provision of the statute or select a segment of the statute

10. Gathering materials for support
Case law
As the source of a legal principle
As an elaboration on the meaning of a word or phrase
To ascertain the scope of law & application in certain situations
How courts considered issues that are relevant to your essay

11. Gathering materials for support
Academic commentary
Usually in the form of journal articles
This can provide valuable support for the arguments that are made in your essay

12. Planning a structure: Essay type questions
This is important as it determines the coherence of your argument
It must have:
Introduction
Main body
Conclusion

13. Problem solving technique: IRAC
Issue: identify the legal issues
Rule: state the position of the law
Application: apply the law to the facts
Conclusion: answer the question/advise

14. How to read a case
Reading a case name criminal cases /civil cases. The difference between these cases must be understood.

15. Criminal cases
The People v Banda (1993)1 ZR 160(H.C)
the parties are the State v Accused
Banda v The People(1993)1 ZR 160(S.C)
In an appeal the parties are the accused v the state

16. How to read a case
‘The People’ refers to the state. The other party is the accused ( in our example Banda).
R v Mainza Chona (1962) R and N.R.L.R 368
In criminal cases which were decided before 1964 the letter ‘R’ was used instead of ‘The People’

17. How to read a case Civil cases Kaniki v Jairus (1967) ZR 71
The parties are the Plaintiff v the Defendant
In an appeal, the parties are the Appellant v the Respondent
Ex – Parte Addleson
Party is an Applicant

18. Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from (by or for) [the/a] party“ An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present In Re Whaley [1908] 1 Ch 615 ‘in re’ means in the case of Whaley

19. Case citation
abbreviated form of reference to a particular report of a case
makes it possible for lawyers , magistrates and judges to be able to find the case more easily

20. Making sense of case citations
Banda and Phiri v Siliya(2011 HP/EP/11&39) [2012]ZMHC39
This case has 2 citations
[2012]ZMHC39 is the neutral citation
facilitates the publication of judgments online, and the access of judgements that are stored on electronic databases

21. Making sense of case citations
[2012]ZMHC39 [2012] The year of the judgment, given in square brackets ZM for Zambia in relation to the jurisdiction of the court HC an abbreviation of the court; the High Court 39 is the serial number of the case

22. Making sense of case citations
(2011 HP/EP/11&39) is the other citation
2011 is the year the case was commenced the HP High Court, principal registry
EP denotes the nature of the case; an Election Petition
11&39 denotes the cause number of the case

23. Making sense of case citations
Supreme court judgments
Simeza and others v Mzyeche (APPEAL NO. 87/2011) [2011] ZMSC 3 (25 November 2011); SCZ JUDGMENT NO. 23 OF 2011
‘(APPEAL NO. 87/2011)’ is the case number. It was appeal number 87 in 2011
‘[2011] ZMSC 3’ is the media neutral citation

24. Making sense of case citations
[2011] the year of the judgment is given in square brackets ZM for Zambia in relation to the jurisdiction of the court SC is an abbreviation of the court; the Supreme Court 3 is the serial number of the case.

25. Law report citations
The judgments of cases are also reported in various series of law reports. They contain:
A case name
The year
The volume
The law reports in which the case was reported
The page in the volume on which the case starts and
The court in which the case was decided

26. Law report citations The People v Banda (1993)1 ZR 160(H.C)
1993 the case was reported in 1993
1 volume 1 of the law report
ZR is an abbreviation for the Zambia Law Reports.
160 is the page on which the case is found
H.C is abbreviation for the court; the high court

27. Law report citations R v Mainza Chona (1962) R and N.R.L.R 368
1962 means the case was reported in 1962
R and N.R.L.R is an abbreviation for the Northern Rhodesia Law Reports
368 is the page on which the case is found

28. In Re Whaley [1908] 1 Ch the case was reported in it is found in volume 1 of the law report Ch is an abbreviation for Chancery division law reports. In recent publications denoted by EWHC (Ch); EWHC means England and Wales High Court 615 is the page on which the case is found

29. R v Mirza [2004] UKHL 2; [2004] 1 AC 1118
[2004] UKHL 2 is the neutral citation
UKHL jurisdiction of the court
[2004] 1 AC 1118 is the law report citation
2004 means the case was reported in 2004
AC is an abbreviation for the Appeal Cases Law Reports
1118 is the page on which the case is found

30. Structure of a reported case Judges names Date on which case was heard Catch phrase/fly note Head note Summary of heads of arguments Date on which judgment is given Judgement Orders of the court

31. Reported and unreported cases
Only a small portion of cases end up being reported
As such a vast number of cases are unreported
In Zambia these are available online on these free databases
e.g.

32. Distinction between reported and unreported case
The People v Banda (1993)1 ZR 160(H.C)
R v Mainza Chona (1962) R and N.R.L.R 368
These are reported cases

33. Banda and Phiri v Siliya(2011 HP/EP/11&39) [2012]ZMHC39
Michael Chilufya Sata v Hakainde Hichilema 2012/HP/0626
These are unreported cases

34. What is plagiarism?
to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another person as one's own
Plagiarism amounts to literary theft : 
One presents the ideas of another person that are derived from an existing source as new and original

35. When to reference
Statements of law: should be attributed to the relevant case or statutory provision
Direct quotations: should be attributed to their source in a book article case or other material
Factual material: such as statistics or findings of a case study should be attributed to their source

36. Definitions: of legal concepts or any other matter should be attributed to the appropriate source in a dictionary case law statute article or other material

37. Incorporating the work of another
There are 3 main ways of doing this:
Summarising: authors original words are rewritten in a shortened form, but the key points that were made by the author are captured
Paraphrasing: the authors original words are rewritten but the original meaning is retained

38. Direct quotation: the authors original words are reproduced exactly
A reference is needed for summarising paraphrasing and direct quotation

39. Unilus house style: OSCOLA
Footnotes
Citation of cases
Citation of legislation
Citation of secondary sources
Table of statutes
Table of cases
Bibliography

40. The end Questions?