Colonial court rules scrapped off
Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda has scrapped off court procedures and rules drawn during the colonial era. The move aims to eliminate unnecessary detentions of suspects and improve the processing of cases.
The new rules and procedures contained in the latest government Gazette will also see every case go through a mediation process for possible settlement before it is heard in open court.
It will also lead to a reduced number of days from the commencement of a legal suit to disposal of the matter.
The Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament has since welcomed the changes saying “they will help eliminate unnecessary detentions and fast track the processing of cases”.
Chairperson of the parliamentary committee Maxwell Thyolera welcomed the move saying the changes are a step towards ensuring that Malawians have fair and impartial trials.
Malawi Law Society Honorary Secretary Michael Goba Chipeta said the changes are long overdue
“This is a good development in as far as criminal procedure history in Malawi is concerned, this is an excellent job by the chief justice” Chipeta said.
The new rules also set a time frame for a judge to hand down a ruling within 90 days with an allowance of an extension of 14 days maximum.
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