Hong hands over the report to Muluzi to symbolise the launch

Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (Pasi) has said failure to recognise the role paralegals play in the country is undermining efforts to transform the justice system and give constitutional rights of access to justice for all.

Pasi national paralegal coordinator Chimwemwe Ndalahoma said this on Friday at Liwonde in Machinga District during a conference on formalising the role of paralegals in Malawi the institute organised in collaboration with Malawi Law Society (MLS) and Malawi Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter.

In an interview, Ndalahoma said paralegals play an important role in justice delivery.
He said: “We have 70 paralegals in various districts across the nation and 2 400 community paralegals who are helping the flow of cases in the formal justice system.

“These cadres are doing a commendable job in enhancing access to justice for the poor and vulnerable people as you know that lawyers are expensive for common Malawians. But we are failing to make headway due to lack of recognition.”
Ndalahoma urged government to recognise and regulate paralegals, saying this will improve criminal justice delivery.

In her remarks, MLS vice-president Tadala Chinkwezule said the conference would help address concerns between paralegals and lawyers; thereby offering a clear roadmap for their jurisdictions.

“We anticipate fruitful discussions from the conference because our professions depend on each other. Like a tree cannot survive without its roots, we depend on paralegals,” she said.

Misa-Malawi chairperson Teresa Ndanga described the forum as timely, saying vulnerable Malawians need the services of paralegals to have their rights protected. n