LME3701 ASSIGNMENT 2 MEMO – SEMESTER 1 2022 – UNISA

Description

ASSIGNMENT 02
UNIQUE NUMBER: – 701666
DUE DATE: – 4 APRIL 2022
THIS IS THE HISTORICAL RESEARCH APPROACH
You are almost at the end of your undergraduate legal studies and thinking about pursuing postgraduate studies. You recently read of an incident where a woman was infected with HIV through consensual sexual intercourse with her partner. Her partner knew about his HIV status but did not disclose this to her at any time during their relationship. You decide that this will be a good topic for postgraduate research to investigate how the law deals with intentional HIV transmission. Is it a crime? Even if there was consent? Is HIV testing of the accused in such a case compulsory? Does the offender get a harsher sentence if found guilty? How is the victim protected? Is the victim provided with any form of treatment? These are just some questions that come up in your mind. Write a draft research proposal for a prospective postgraduate study on the topic setting out how the law deals with intentional HIV transmission. Decide what the focus of your research will be. Will you focus on the rights of the accused or the rights of the victim? Will you focus on the criminal procedural or the criminal law aspects, for example? You have to consider the relevant legislative framework, law reform commission reports, case law and writings by scholars. Make sure to also focus on the relevant constitutional rights that play a part in the debate on these issues. When writing your proposal, you have two options in terms of research approach:
1) Write the proposal using the historical research approach. This means looking at the historical development of the law on the issue from a specific date in the past up to the present day. You will look at relevant case law and legislation that might have contributed to the law as it stands today. You will also consider law reform commission reports. Writings by scholars can assist in interpreting the law and evaluating its application and effectiveness.