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LME3701 Assignment 3 (Final Research Proposal) Memo | Due 11 June 2025. Both Historical and Comparative Research Approach Provided. Your work at a legal research institute focusing on human rights. Recently you noticed that the issue of
human trafficking has been receiving a lot of attention. You’ve also noticed an increase in adults with
small children begging at traffic lights in your area. You realize from your work at the institute, that
this could possibly be considered human trafficking. You delve deeper into the topic and what can be
done under the Criminal Law in such cases to bring the offenders to book and, at the same time,
protect the children. You also wonder about what is being done in other African countries, like Kenya
for example, about this topic. You’ve registered for your post-graduate studies and decided that human
trafficking is a good topic for your dissertation.
Before you can start writing your dissertation, you have to submit your research proposal setting out,
inter alia, your research idea, research questions and the basic theory underlying your research. To
write the research proposal, you must research the law on human trafficking in South Africa. Focus on
the Constitutional rights of the victims of human trafficking and the relevant legislative provisions in
place to combat human trafficking. Consider relevant case law, law reform commission reports books
and journal articles on the topic. (if you choose the comparative approach (see below) you also have to
look at the law in Kenya). You must formulate a unique title for your research related to the given
research topic/scenario guided by which aspect of the research you choose to focus on and the research
approach you choose (historical or comparative – see below).
You can look at the situation holistically, or you can choose to focus on a particular right, a particular
piece of legislation or whatever you feel warrants investigation. Since there is a plethora of issues to
investigate within 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 6 of the proposal). You must choose whether you are researching the given topic using the
historical approach or the comparative approach (see explanation below)
A) 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 on the given topic. Writings by scholars can assist in interpreting the law and
evaluating its application and effectiveness. For purposes of the historical approach, you focus on the
historical developments in South Africa only.
OR
B) Comparative research approach: This means 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 analyze and compare the
current legal position.
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