Ministry of Justice has finally published the much-awaited three Judiciary Reforms Bills, an indication that the pieces of legislation could be ready for tabling and debate in Parliament at its next meeting.
A notice dated November 16 2024 from Clerk of Parliament (CoP) Fiona Kalemba shows that the draft Bills were published in the Malawi Gazette Supplement on November 15 2024 for introduction in Parliament.
The three draft Bills are the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Judicial Service Administration Bill of 2024 and the Courts Act (Amendment) of 2024.
The ministry has also published two other draft Bills, namely Insurance Bill 2024 and Financial Services Act (Amendment) Bill.
The publication of the Judiciary Reforms draft Bills comes a week after Malawi Law Society (MLS) wrote the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) demanding immediate release of the Bills to ensure they are tabled and passed in Parliament.
MLS, in its letter dated November 12 2024 co-signed by MLS president Patrick Mpaka and honorary secretary Gabriel Chembezi, wondered why the full Cabinet was not approving the Bills after a Cabinet Committee on Legal Affairs did so on September 12 this year.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said in an interview yesterday that the publication was a process of officially making them available to the public after they were circulated to parliamentarians.
He said the step is crucial because it allows citizens, stakeholders, and other interested parties to review the proposed legislations before being presented in Parliament.
Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament chairperson Peter Dimba confirmed that the Bills were circulated a day after the ministry published them.
However, he said his committee was waiting from the ministry to first take the committee through the draft Bills.
“At the moment, there is nothing much I can say about the Bills because the Ministry of Justice has yet to take the Legal Affairs Committee through the Bills for scrutiny as per our parliamentary procedures according to Standing Order 159,” said Dimba.
Meanwhile, MLS through its MLS-Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Bill Advisory Team has started reviewing the Bills before making its submission to the ministry as well as the Legal Affairs Committee before the Bills are tabled in Parliament.
The society started reviewing the Bills yesterday and will end on Sunday, according to a memo sent to its members dated November 20, 2024 signed by Chembezi.
