By Elvis Howahowa:
The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has called for the operationalisation of laws which will reform the Judiciary
The laws are Constitution Amendment Act, Judicial Service Administration Act and Courts Amendment Act. The laws were passed in Parliament on December 20, 2024, with the-then president Lazarus Chakwera assenting to them on January 24, 2025.
Speaking to The Daily Times, MLS Chief Executive Officer Chrispine Ngunde said the changes had been necessitated by complaints from members of the public over delays in delivering judgements and the absence of laws that discourage malfeasance by judicial officials.
Ngunde said it was uncommon to hear that judges had been suspended or fired from their positions on grounds of misconduct in the Judiciary.
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Under the Judicial Service Administration Act, one of the provisions stipulates that there shall be established an independent complaints commission which will be working independently to act on complaints lodged by an affected party against a judge and will submit its findings to Parliament for action.
The law also empowers the commission to hear the side of an accused judge before making any recommendation.
Gunde added that the new legislation demands that judges should undergo interviews so that they are appointed on merit.
“We want to see adverts floated in the newspapers calling for those with the necessary qualification to apply to ensure fairness,” Gunde said.
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Gunde also expounded on the issue of changes made to the Judicial Service Commission.
He said, under the Constitution Amendments Act, the commission shall consist of 11 members, with the new ones being a law lecturer from an accredited law school in Malawi, appointed by the President after consulting the Malawi Council of Legal Education, and two lay Malawians of good standing.
Gunde has since called on President Peter Mutharika to appoint members of the Judicial Service Commission and commit funds for the hiring of staff at the Independent Complaints Commission.
On Monday, when lawyers, judges and other stakeholders in the legal profession engaged in the second edition of the bench-bar symposium, where they discussed ways of strengthening their working relations, MLS President Davis Njobvu hailed the passing of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, Judicial Service Administration Bill and the Courts (Amendment) Bill under the Judicial Reform Acts.
“What is important is that we now have a law that has given hope to the common man seeking justice in our courts that his [or her] case will be heard and a decision will be rendered in good time so that he can know his fate without further delays. This law has also given hope that if there is an unexplained delay, the responsible judicial officer can be held accountable,” he said.
However, Njobvu decried that since the enactment of the judicial reform acts, there have been no meaningful efforts to operationalise other laws.
“We do not have a Judicial Service Commission. There are no efforts to operationalise the Independent Complaints Commission. There is no progress on the promulgation of the regulations under the Judicial Service Administration Act. With the absence of the Judicial Service Commission, we obviously cannot have the Code of Conduct of the Judicial Officers,” he said.
Monday’s event was held under the theme ‘Accountability of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession: Reflections on Regulatory Frameworks of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession’.
