Judiciary responds to three draft Bills
Three Judiciary Bills are now set for submission to Cabinet office after several months of uncertainties following endorsement by the Judiciary, it has emerged.
The Judiciary has submitted feedback to the Ministry of Justice on some key aspects on the drafting of the Judicial Service Administration (JSA) Bill.
The submission also comes after the Malawi Law Society (MLS), one of the key stakeholders in the Bills’ preparation, wrote the ministry demanding an explanation.
Besides the JSA Bill, the other two draft Bills to be submitted to the Cabinet office are the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the draft Courts Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale confirmed in an interview that the Judiciary provided feedback on the outstanding aspects regarding its establishment warrant.
“The Judiciary has submitted the High Court structure according to their approved establishment warrant, and our ministry is now finalising the Bills for submission, probably this week, to Cabinet office,” he said.
However, the Judiciary failed to meet the July 12 deadline because Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda, according to High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal acting registrar Innocent Nebi, was not around.
He said: “We submitted our input. Of course we delayed because the Chief Justice was outside the country and we needed his input which has since been incorporated into the ills by the ministry.”
Malawi Law Society president Patrick Mpaka confirmed in an interview yesterday that the society wrote the ministry seeking an explanation on the silence. According to MLS special report on the tripartite engagement meeting dated July 6 2024, the meeting agreed, among others, that members of the Judicial Service Commission appointed by the President should be nominated by their respective bodies or associations.
