By Cathy Maulidi:
Parliament Wednesday tabled the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Bill which seeks to amend the Act in order to address challenges identified during the course of implementing the law that lawmakers passed in 2018.
However, the bill could not be passed by the House as the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, which was supposed to provide a report on the bill, could not since its mandate expired and the committee is yet to be reconstituted.
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Madalitso Kazombo broke the news to lawmakers.
“I have consulted my table clerks [and found that] this bill was referred to the Legal Affairs Committee.
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“Unfortunately, their mandate lapsed today (Wednesday) and, as per our own Standing Orders, I believe that this bill will not be passed today until the committee is reconstituted and able to bring the report for this bill. As such, this bill will not be passed as it is important that we get feedback through the report,” Kazombo said.
Even though this was the case, the bill went through all required stages except the passing one.
Justice Minister Titus Mvalo presented the bill and a few members commented on the bill while the House is waiting for the Legal Affairs Committee’s report on the bill.
Mvalo said government wants the Act to be amended in order to address challenges observed during the implementation of the Act.
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“One notable challenge pertains to redundancy. Currently, the Act requires holders of a law degree seeking to be admitted to the bar to attend Malawi Institute of Legal Education (Mile) [sessions] and subsequently write and pass the Malawi Law Examinations.
“However, some learning institutions that are accredited to offer legal education in accordance with [provisions of] the Act, notably Chancellor College [now called the University of Malawi], already offer courses similar to those offered by Mile during their degree programme,” he said.
“Therefore, the requirement for persons graduating from those institutions to attend Mile and pass the Malawi Law Examinations are creating unnecessary redundancy and resource inefficiency,” Mvalo said when presenting the bill.
According to Mvalo, the bill proposes to delete duplicated provisions, correct errors and address inconsistencies in the Act.
“It seeks to exempt holders of a degree in law awarded by an institution accredited to offer legal education, in accordance with the Act, from meeting the requirement to enroll with the Malawi Institute for Legal Education and pass Malawi Law Examinations in order to be admitted to practice law in Malawi,” Mvalo said.
