Law Society consults on draft Bills
Malawi Law Society (MLS) has embarked on public consultations on the Judicial Service Administration Bill 2023 and the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill of 2023 expected to be tabled in Parliament early next year.
The public consultations come after the society last week received feedback from the Ministry of Justice on the two draft Bills.
MLS president Patrick Mpaka in an interview said the society and the Judiciary would be required to review the Bills, conduct their own consultations and then provide feedback to the ministry by January 5 2024.
He said in a bid to obtain further input and support for the Bills there would be a consultative meeting to consider and deliberate on the Bills at an all stakeholder consultative meeting scheduled for the second week of January 2024.
Mpaka said the target is that the Bills would be finalised by January 31 2024 in readiness for tabling in the February-March meeting of Parliament.
“The society would like, therefore, to announce that it will embark on a campaign to solicit views, garner support and sensitise the general public and various relevant stakeholders on the contents of the two bills that have come from the Ministry of Justice and the effect of their enactment,” he said.
MLS is expected to hold regional public consultations in Blantyre on December 11, in Lilongwe on December 13 and finally in Mzuzu on December 15, 2023.
The society will also embark on a media campaign intended to sensitise the public to the importance of the Bills to the country’s justice system and how the various provisions within it will ultimately benefit Malawians.
MLS-Judicial Service Commission Bill Advisory Team chairperson Raphael Mhone said this would be the first time the country will put in place an Act to regulate the Judiciary.
He said: “We have never had an Act to regulate the Judiciary so this Judicial Service Administration Bill 2023 is very crucial. But for that to be accomplished there is need for a constitutional amendment.
“So the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill will look into the Constitution and ensure those provisions that are in the Constitution are actually also giving powers to the Judicial Service Administration Bill 2023 to do certain things.”
There are 14 seasoned lawyers in the advisory team.
Among others, the Judicial Service Administration Bill has provisions that would promote transparency and accountability in the appointment, execution of duties, transfer, discipline and removal of judicial officers and funding of the Judicial Service Commission without interfering with the constitutionally entrenched independence of the Judiciary.
