Unima law students urge govt to amend Act
University of Malawi (Unima) Students Law Society (SLS) on Monday lobbied government to urgently amend the Legal Education and Legal Practitioner’s Act to address existing anomalies.
According to a member of the SLS, Khama Maere, they met Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo and Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda over the issue of fairness and effectiveness in legal education and legal practice.
Ministry of Justice public relations officer Frank Namangale confirmed in an interview on Tuesday that the meeting took place at Capital Hill in Lilongwe.
He said the minister and the AG have acknowledged the concerns made a commitment to push for the amendment of the Act.
He said: “The SLS team requested government to pass the amended Act in the November sitting of Parliament this year.”
The SLS team was led by its patron Professor Garton Kamchedzera.
According to Namangale, the law students said some of the anomalies are that the Act combines supervisory and oversight functions of the Council for Malawi Institute of Legal Education, with the delivery of legal education.
Mvalo has since ommended the students for what he described as a good and honest discussion because being a lawyer by profession himself, he told the team he believes in high legal standards and also high standards in legal practice. n
