Malawi hosts Sadc lawyers meeting

The Malawi Law Society (MLS) will from August 1 host lawyers from the Sadc region who will be in the country for a three-day 14th Annual Sadc Lawyers’ Association Conference to take place in Lilongwe.

President Joyce Banda will officially open the conference at the Bingu International Conference Centre on August 2 before former president of the Republic of South Africa Thabo Mbeki makes a keynote address.

The conference will attract eminent academics and experts from across the region to make presentations on topical issues that include creating a 21st century legal practice, developing tailor-made solutions for cross-border deals and Sadc mechanism on conflict resolution and Malawi: from Mutharika to Banda—averting an unconstitutional change in government.

The conference, under the theme—Constitutional Making and Constitutionalism in Sadc: Opportunity or Illusion for Justice, Peace and Shared Values?—will also discuss the promotion of good governance, the rule of law and social security, assessing the economic utility and impact of public-private partnership (PPP).

Chairperson of the main MLS organising committee, lawyer Samuel Tembenu, said in an interview on Saturday the conference is “very important” because it is going to discuss relevant issues affecting the region. Tembenu, a former MLS president, said resolutions to be made at the conference would be passed on for discussion at the Sadc Heads of State meeting to follow shortly after the lawyers’ conference.

Tembenu said the Malawi Constitution will be a case study in some practical presentations to be made, emphasising this is how significant the conference is to Malawi.

The gathering, which will open with a cocktail at Ufulu Gardens on August 1, where Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara is the guest of honour, closes with a gala dinner and dance, where Professor Mathews Chikaonda, chief executive of Press Corporation Limited, will be the guest of honour.