CHANCELLOR COLLEGE Faculty of Law Quick guide ... - SSRN papers

CHANCELLOR COLLEGE Faculty of Law Quick guide to legal referencing and etiquette Sunduzwayo Madise © sunduzwayo@@yahoo.co.uk [email protected]

6th January, 2011 Updated : 21 November 2014

Quick referencing and legal etiquette guide

CITING AUTHORITIES 1. CASES Case may be reported (in Law reports ) or unreported (copies of the judgement) A. Reported cases You cite the parties first then where the case can be found . The format is therefore :

S Madise © Faculty of Law

• Parties (always in italics and normal sentence case)

• Year (round or square brackets) • Name of Law Report (in abbreviation) • Page in the Law report on which the case starts being reported. • Division of the Court (though not always, depends on the Law report system or to show the tier that made the decision where you have several) • If it is a quotation or similar , actual page in the Law Report where the quotation or similar words can actually be found



CITING AUTHORITIES Round or square brackets ? • As a general rule, square brackets are used when the year is crucial to locating the actual report volume. Otherwise, round brackets are employed. • Brackets are used in some countries in the citation of law reports to identify parallel citations to nonofficial reporters • In some other countries (such as England and Wales), square brackets are used to indicate that the year is part of the citation, as opposed to optional information. • For example, National Coal Board v England [1954] AC 403, (1954) 98 Sol Jo 176 – the case report is in the 1954 volume of the Appeal Cases reports (year not optional) and in volume 98 of the Solicitor's Journal (year optional, since the volumes are numbered, and so given in round brackets).



CITING AUTHORITIES Round or square brackets ? In summary then : • Use square brackets where the date is essential in order to find the information required: [1974] 2 All E R 653 • Use round brackets where the date is not essential since the publication has an issue number running sequentially from the first issue: (1988) 138 NLJ 86 • Some law publishers admit to having no idea of the reason for the distinction between the use of square or round brackets, so use of the device in practice may be inconsistent.



1. CASES

CITING AUTHORITIES

Parties are always in Italics. They are the only part of the citation in italics! More than one party on either side Where there are two parties, use the ampersand i.e. Phiri & Gama. Where there are three or more parties, use “and others” or the abbreviation “ors” or “Ors”)or indeed the Latin abbreviation “et al”

Abbreviations v or vs – versus (the v is normally in small caps) R – Regina/Regis (English cases) & Republic for Malawi Rep. or Rep - Republic S – State



1. CASES

CITING AUTHORITIES

Abbreviations [D] ‘Re’ and ‘Ex parte’ Procedural phrases such as ‘In re’ and ‘In the matter of’ should be abbreviated to ‘Re’. ‘Ex parte’ should not be abbreviated. Cr. or Cr – Criminal Civ / Civ. – Civil App. / App – Appeal Appl. / Appl - Application PR – Principal Registry Misc / Misc. = Miscelleaneaous Note : Registry may mean the administrative registry i.e. Mzuzu or denote the type of registry i.e. civil or criminal - “registry within a registry”


CITING AUTHORITIES 1. CASES

Volumes 15 MLR means Volume 15 of the MLR (report) 16(1) MLR means the first issue of Volume 16 of MLR. S Madise © Faculty of Law

It follows that where there Volume only contains one issue the Volume number suffices. This means 15(1) is wrong if there is only one issue of 15(1) because by writing 15(1) it denotes there is a 15(2) or more.



CITING AUTHORITIES

Major Law Reports Malawi N.L.R. / Ny.L.R – Nyasaland Law Reports (19221952) R & N / R & Ny – Rhodesia & Nyasaland Law Reports (1956-1963) ALR Mal. – The Malawian reports of the African Law Reports series. (1923-1972) MLR. – Malawi Law Report MLLR. – Malawi Labour Law Report???? (Although Subordinate Courts are not courts of record; the MLLR included decisions of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, High Court and Industrial Relations Court)



CITING AUTHORITIES England (Public) A.C. / App. Cas – Appeal Cases All E.R. – All England Law Reports Q.B. / Q.B.D.– Queen’s Bench Division K.B. / K.B.D. – King’s Bench Division Ch.D / Ch. – Chancery Division Ex. / Ex. D.– Exchequer Division LR - Law Reports E.R. – English Reports P. / P.D. – Probate Division UKLR – United Kingdom Law reports UKHL – United Kingdom House of Lords W.L.R. – Weekly Law Reports



CITING AUTHORITIES England (Private) A. & E. – Adolphus & Ellis Beav. – Beaven Bing. – Bingham Burr. – Burrow C.B. – Common Bench H. Bl. – Henry Blackstone (Blackstone, Henry) Rep. Or Co. Rep. – Coke’s reports T.R. – Durmford & East Lloyd’s Rep. – Lloyd’s Report



CITING AUTHORITIES South Africa ILJ – Industrial Law Journal (JUTA) – because it is a journal it is italicised! BLLR – Butterworths Labour Law Reports



Courts

CITING AUTHORITIES

Malawi – High Court system MSCA – Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal (proper way) SCA –Supreme Court of Appeal SC –Supreme Court HC – High Court CC – Constitutional Court division of the High Court IRC – Industrial Relations Court RM – Resident Magistrate FGM – First Grade Magistrate (and not Fourth Grade Magistrate) SGM – Second Grade Magistrate TGM – Third Grade Magistrate (No known abbreviations in common use for Fourth Grade Magistrate)


Courts

CITING AUTHORITIES

Malawi – Traditional Court system (old) NTAC – National Traditional Appeal Court RTAC – Regional Traditional Appeal Court



CITING AUTHORITIES

Courts England


PC – Privy Council HOL / HL – House of Lords CA – Court of Appeal HC – High Court



Courts

CITING AUTHORITIES

South Africa ZACC – South African Constitutional Court SCA –Supreme Court of Appeal SC –Supreme Court HC – High Court LAC – Labour Appeal Court LC – Labour Court



CITING AUTHORITIES Regional and International ECHR – European Court of Human Rights ECJ – European Court of Justice ICJ – International Court of Justice (“World Court”) ICC – International Criminal Court ICTR – International Criminal Tribunal for (Rwanda) ICTY – International Criminal Tribunal for Yogloslavia ACHR – African Court of Human & People’s Rights


CITING AUTHORITIES REPORTED CASES : You cite the parties first then where the case can be found . Example :

Division of the Court

Year of decision S Madise © Faculty of Law

Chung Chi Cheung v R [1939] AC 160 (PC) at 167-68,

Parties always in italics. You can use “vs” or “v” for “versus”

Name of Law Report

Actual page(s) in the Law Report where the citation can be found

First page in the Law Report where the case can be found


CITING AUTHORITIES Another example (Malawian case) Year of reporting (the actual decision may well have been made earlier. In this case it was the same)


Chihana v R (1992) 15 MLR 86 Volume of Law Report

Parties always in italics.

NOTE : 1. The Division of the Court is not indicated here. It is not always done but if you know the division you can. This is important especially where a case moves through all the tiers of appeal. 2. If you are just citing the case (not an actual qoute) then the first page is enough.

Name of Law Report (First) page in the Law Report where the case can be found


1. CASES

CITING AUTHORITIES

B. Unreported cases

You cite the parties first then where the case can be found . The format is therefore : S Madise © Faculty of Law

• Parties (always in italics and normal sentence case) • Division of Court (though not always) • Case Number which indicates case type (whether civil or criminal) • Registry • If it is a quotation or similar , actual page in the printed case or a paragraph if available where the quotation or similar words can actually be found • Normally the abbreviations “cr/civ/misc/appl etc” apply to unreported cases.



CITING AUTHORITIES An (Malawian case) Division of the Court (Though sometimes this may be omitted). For now the MSCA is at PR

Chihana v R MSCA Cr. App No. 9 of 1992 (being Criminal Case No. 1 of 1992)

Parties always in italics.

Case Number Case are always numbered in ascending numerical order per calendar year. 1 of 2000 is the first filed case of 2000 in that registry.

Original Case Number in trial court if matter is on appeal – always in brackets. [ A court a quo, the court from which an appeal has been taken; a judge/magistrate a quo is the “trial judge/magistrate”] Sometime the specifics of the court a quo may be given i.e. PR, Lilongwe although this info will be on the case.



CITING AUTHORITIES

Other works Books

1. Surname of Author / editor 2. Initials of author / editor 3. Title – In Italics (or underlined if handwritten) 4. Number of edition (except first) 5. Town of Publication 6. Name of publisher 7. Date of Publication (not date of last impression) – usually year For authors/editors, use up to two otherwise use “and others / & others” or “et al”


CITING AUTHORITIES

Other works Books

Example Tembo BM, The politics of chickens 2nd ed. Zomba, Chancellor College Publications, 2010 S Madise © Faculty of Law

Example Mzwanya Chikumbutso (ed), Collection of poems of Agulugufe Blantyre, Dzuka Publishing, 2009 Sometimes you use full names of authors, especially where there may be similarities. Sometimes you may need to include the state (USA) or country in brackets for obscure towns



CITING AUTHORITIES

Other works Articles

1. Surname of Author / editor 2. Initials of author / editor 3. Title of article – In single inverted commas ‘ ’ and not italicised (quoted in its original language) 4. Year, although not always – may be important where the volumes do not run continually 5. Title of periodical/journal - in italics (or underlined if handwritten). Most journals have short forms for example Malawi Law Journal is abbreviated MLJ 6. Volume number / issue number (in brackets of month) 7. First page of article in the journal (sometimes you include last page too i.e. p. 731 -732)


CITING AUTHORITIES

Other works Articles Example


Goodhart CAE and Schoenmaker D ‘Should the Functions of Monetary Policy and Banking Supervision be Separated?’ Oxford Economic Papers Vol 47(4) 539. Kehl JR ‘Emerging Markets in Africa’ (2007) African Journal of Political Science and International Relations Vol 1(1) 001-008. Nkowani Z ‘Supervision of Banks and Financial Institutions in Malawi’ (2008) Malawi Law Journal (MLJ) Vol 2(1) 49-66.



CITING AUTHORITIES

Other works

Internet sources 1. Surname of Author / editor / 2. Initials of author 3. Title of article – In single inverted commas ‘ ’ and not italicised (quoted in its original language) 4. Title of publication if available and if it is a journal/newspaper/periodical - in italics (or underlined if handwritten). If online paper, include date. 5. Where you can find it (usually “available at” is the most used and the full citation of the hyperlink italicised and underlined. If you have correctly written/copied your hypertext/link, when you hit the return at the end or press the space bar, it must turn blue and should be immediately possible to be accessed if you are online, i.e. www.cc.ac.mw 6. When accessed (in brackets)


CITING AUTHORITIES

Other works

Internet sources Example ‘African Economic Outlook : Malawi’ available at http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/southernafrica/malawi/ (accessed 17 September 2010).

S Madise © Quintyn M and Taylor MW ‘Should Financial Sector Regulators be Faculty of Law Independent?’ (2004) IMF Economic Issues No 32 available at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues32/#1 (accessed 14 March 2011).

‘Reserve Bank of Malawi’ available at http://www.rbm.mw/ (accessed 23 March 2011) Chiyembekeza C ‘Stock market closes 4-day trading week flat’ The Nation 13 September 2010 available at http://www.nationmw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id =5770:stock-market-closes-4-day-trading-week-flat&catid=11:businessnews&Itemid=4 (accessed 17 September 2010).


CITING AUTHORITIES

Judicial officers Malawi

CJ – Chief Justice JA – Justice of Appeal AJA / Ag. JA– Acting Justice of Appeal J – Justice (Judge) S Madise © AJ / Ag. J– Acting Judge Faculty of Law R – Registrar (A/R – Assistant Registrar) The above are normally at the end of the surname when used as reference or in academic and legal writing for example “Munlo CJ”, “Ansah JA”, “Kalembera J” or “NyakaundaKamanga R” Hon. - Honourable W/S – Worship The above are in writing used before the surname for example “Hon. N’riva” or “W/S Usiwa-Usiwa”


CITING AUTHORITIES

Judicial officers England


LC – Lord Chancellor CJ – Chief Justice LLJ – Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal and HOL LJ – Lord Justice of the High Court Division J –Judge of the County Court MR – Master of Rolls (has the same judicial and administrative functions as the Registrar)



LEGAL WRITING IN BRIEF Common Latin words and their meaning et al – and others inter alia – among(st) others Cross referencing Supra – that which has gone before Infra – that which is to come/ which comes after Normally used in reference to statutory material. ibid (ibidem) – in the same place (used to refer to an immediately preceding footnote) – do not use it as the first citation on a page! op cit (opere citato) – in the work cited loc cit (loco citato) – in the place cited – therefore is never followed by a page number!



Legal Etiquette Malawi Formal address (examples): Chief Justice : The Honourable the Chief Justice or The Hounourable Mrs. Anastasia Msosa SC, Chief Justice of the Malawi Judiciary

Justice of Appeal : The Honourable Justice of Appeal or The Honourable Mr. Twea JA, SC. Judge : The Honourable Judge or The Honourable Dr. M. Mtambo J or The Honourable Justice Dr. M. Mtambo or indeed His Lordship Honourable Justice Dr. M. Mtambo The Honourable Lady Justice Dr Jane Ansah, SC (Mrs)

(as you have noticed, initials may be used or even full first names in formal address)



Legal Etiquette Malawi • The correct term for a lady justices is Her Lady or Her Ladyship or the Hounourable Lady Justice • It is important to understand that these titles emanate from the Lord and Lady of the manor, during the feudal systems. Lord is masculine and Lady is feminine. Simple as that. • To refer to a lady justice as Her Lordship is the same as referring to Honourable MchekaChilenje as Madam Deputy Speaker, Sir!



Legal Etiquette JA, SC ????? • Of course there is debate as to how judicial officers who have never been on the bar can be referred to as Senior Counsel. • However it is important to understand that in terms of the rules governing how lawyers attain wear silk; they specify that once a person is appointed justice of appeal; they automatically become senior counsel. • Should this be the case though? It must be noted that SCs can be called upon by the President to offer their legal advice advice and opinions. Qauere separation of powers when the SC is a judicial officer?


CITING AUTHORITIES

Addressing Judicial officers Malawi Formal address : Registrar and Assistant Registrars : - The Honourable Registrar (Assistant Registrar)


For the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) The Chairperson (Deputy Chairperson) : -The Honourable Chairperson (Deputy Chairperson) Magistrate : His Worship or Her Worship Other officers of the court including lawyers should never be addressed using any of the titles reserved for judicial officers. They are counsel or senior counsel otherwise “Mr. Masumbu” or “Dr. Silungwe” suffices.


Legal Etiquette

Addressing Judicial officers Malawi


In Court Justice of Appeal & Judge (including acting ones) “My Lord / Your Lordship/His Lordship” - “My Lady / Your Ladyship/Her Ladyship” • And when writing, especially pleadings, never use “LORD” unless used in all all-caps heading! • This is not respect, it is blasphemy, there is only one LORD and YAHWEH is his name! • The Justice will not feel any less respected by being addresses as “My Lord” or “Your Lordship”.


Legal Etiquette

Addressing Judicial officers Malawi In Court


Registrar of the High Court and all Assistant Registrars of the High Court and the Industrial Relations Court - “Your Honour / His or Her Honour” Magistrates, whatever their grade – “Your Worship / His or Her Worship”


Legal Etiquette

Addressing Judicial officers Malawi


• Would it not be better to adopt the American system that addresses all judicial officers as Your Honour? • Indeed there have been times when lawyers have wrongly addressed judicial officers in Malawi. It is important to note that there is no statutory basis for these addresses; they are relics of a bygone-era of colonialism and coloniality and the common law. • But for now it would be foolhardy to try to be wise! Flow with the stream is the advice!



Legal Etiquette England LC – Lord Chancellor CJ – Chief Justice LLJ – Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal and HOL LJ – Lord Justice of the High Court Division J –Judge of the County Court The above are all addressed as “My Lord” or “Your Lordship” in court



Legal Etiquette Remember that in Malawi and England (and most countries) : You bow before the court (judicial officer) when entering the court or chambers (offices) if the judicial officer is present in the “room” you are entering in. If you are a non judicial officer or one of lower ranking, then you have to do this all the time and everywhere!

You do not bow when there is no judicial officer. The court is not the building!



Legal Etiquette If you are in court and the presiding judicial officer walks in or you are notified that he or she is about to walk in (usually there is a loud unmistakable knock and a “court stand” order preceding the entry), you are required to stand and when the judicial officer walks in to his or her chair (throne) he or she will nod (not bow) to those before him or her and those before the judicial officers will bow and sit after the judicial officer (normally the judicial officer will bow and sit thereafter).


Legal Etiquette •


• •

If you are in court and the presiding judicial officer stands up (for whatever reason including at adjournment) or when the court announcer or the judicial officer announces that the court is adjourned, you must immediately stand up before the judicial officer, bow to his or her nod and only take your seat (should you so wish)or walk out after the judicial officer has exited the building or room. Should you wish to go out whilst the “court is in session”, stand up quietly, bow, walk to the door, bow and walk out. In the old days of the common law, one had to walk always facing the judicial officer even whilst walking backwards. The rule was never to give your back to the court! This rule is still in application in other parts of the world!



Legal Etiquette Legal etiquette demands that junior judicial officers give respect to those senior by bowing to them. However this seniority is of office and not entry position. Therefore legally speaking the following are the tiers of judicial respect : • • • •

Chief Justice Justice of Appeal Judge Registrar, Chairperson of IRC and Assistant Registrars • Magistrates



Legal Etiquette The Judge President (or Judge in Charge) Apart from being a judicial officer the Judge President is in charge of a high court registry and is therefore given some administrative powers but this does not make him or her rank above other judges just because of this. However, the Judge President is usually the Judge who was appointed first amongst the judges in that registry and is thus considered the senior amongst his or her peers. So far these are the high court registries : • Principal (Civil & Criminal); in Blantyre • Principal Commercial; in Blantyre • Lilongwe (Civil & Criminal) • Lilongwe Commercial • Mzuzu (Civil & Criminal) • Zomba (Civil & Criminal)



Legal Etiquette The Chief Resident Magistrate Apart from being a judicial officer the Chief Resident Magistrate is also a regional overseer of a judicial region subject to the Registrar of the High Court. He or she is therefore the most senior judicial officer in the judicial region but has the same jurisdiction as all other magistrates. However, all Resident Magistrate are above all other magistrates. In terms of ranking therefore it is : Resident Magistrate Magistrate of the First Grade Magistrate of the Second Grade Magistrate of the Third Grade Magistrate of the Fourth Grade



Legal Etiquette Magistrates All Resident Magistrate are above all other magistrates. In terms of ranking therefore it is : • Chief Resident Magistrate • Principal Resident Magistrate • Senior Resident Magistrate • Resident Magistrate (though none has been appointed to this for some time as entry point of professional magistrates (with honours law degrees) is now SRM) • First Grade Magistrate • Second Grade Magistrate • Third Grade Magistrate • Fourth Grade Magistrate (The most senior is usually in charge of a registry and where there are several of the same grade, one is designated senior)



Legal Etiquette • However should a senior judicial officer walk into a court that a junior judicial is presiding, as a witness, spectator or otherwise than his or her own duties as a judicial officer, that judicial officer must respect the court in all aspects as would a non-judicial officer. • By respecting the authority of the junior presiding judicial officer, the senior judicial officer in turn preserves his or her own respect and ensures that respect of the court is not undermined at any one moment.



Legal Etiquette • This mutual respect does not undermine the authority or respect of the more senor judicial officer but reinforces the authority and respect of the legal system in general. • However, should a judicial officer no longer be exercising a judicial function (such as a Judge being appointed Attorney General or Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau ), then the appointee will have to give respect to all tiers of the Court system as would other court users.


Legal Etiquette Other titles Malawi SC - Senior Counsel is not a judicial title and is given to deserving (practicing) lawyers although now all JA automatically become SC even if they have never served as counsel

UK (England) S Madise © Faculty of Law QC - Queen’s Counsel is likewise not a judicial title and is only given to deserving counsel (normally barristers). Zambia SC - State Counsel is not a judicial title but is given to deserving practicing lawyers. The titles are always after the surname (or in the case of a judicial officer) after the judicial title for example “Chinangwa JA, SC”



Legal attire



Legal attire • Open Court : full attire in the high court and MSCA (some courts dispense with this, usually at HC level, but almost never at MSCA level) – applicable to both judicial officers and counsel • Open Court : subordinate courts and other tribunal – black or dark suit, black or dark shoes and white or whitish colour (although this is not strictly adhered to) – applicable to both judicial officers and counsel • All chamber matters : black or dark suit, black or dark shoes and white or whitish colour (although this is not strictly adhered to) – applicable to both judicial officers and counsel • An officer of the court must always be properly attired within the precincts of the court (this usually denotes at least a jacket and necktie for men)



Legal attire Wigs!

• In most countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, judges sometimes wear wigs. • The long wig often associated with judges is now reserved for ceremonial occasions, although it was part of the standard attire in previous centuries. • A short wig resembling but not identical to a barrister's wig would be worn in court.



Legal attire


Legal attire Wigs! • Malawi (legal practitioners) & UK (barristers)


Judge’s bench wig

barrister’s wig


Legal attire Wigs


Difference between a Judge’s bench and barrister’s wig


Legal attire Wigs


ceremonial judge’s full bottom wig


Legal attire Wigs


ceremonial wear



Legal attire



Justices of the Malawi Judiciary in ceremonial gear



Legal attire Full attire White shirt with doubletabbed linen band that serves as a collar

Wig

Gown Black suit or dark (black preferred)

Black shoes or dark ones (black preferred)



Linen bands

Legal attire

At an investiture ceremony held at Middle Temple Hall on May 2, 1594, the then Lord Chief Justice advised new recruits about court dress. Referring to the pair of linen "bands", suspended from a stiff collar, that counsel still wear in court, he said: "These two tongues do signifie[sic] that as you should have one tongue for the rich for your fee, as a reward for your long studies and labours, so should you also have another tongue as ready without reward to defend the poor and oppressed."



Legal attire Why do Judges wear black? • In most countries of the world justices wear black, or at the very least garments with some black trim or lining. This tradition is said to have begun in 17th Century England. • In 1694 all of the nation's judges attended the funeral of Queen Mary dressed in black robes as a sign of mourning. The official period of morning lasted many years, and overlapped with much of Britain's colonial adventures in other countries. • The black robe tradition spread around the world and thus still persists today. • In most common law jurisdictions black is won for civil trials (in the US however even in criminal trials)



Legal attire Why Judges wear red? • Red is the second-most popular colour for judicial robes, which likely reflects the fact that red has historically been a colour associated with royalty, and judges were originally appointed as servants of the monarch. • Red is worn in ceremonial functions such as wearing-in ceremonies etc • Red is also worn in all criminal matters – applicable for Malawi, England and most Commonwealth countries.


Legal attire United Kingdom


High Court Judge

Lower Court Judge

Lord Chancellor


Legal attire United Kingdom


Criminal Court Judge

Civil Court Judge



Legal attire • The British judicial branch is very complex, and is composed of dozens of different courts of jurisdiction with grandiose names like the "Queen's Bench" the "Chancery Division" and the "Crown Court." • Depending on which branch the judge belongs to, he could wear one of many different costumes. Unlike many other countries which limit their judges to wearing only red or black, in Britain judges wear almost every colour. • There are judges with blue robes, green robes, white robes, and even purple and pink ones.



Legal attire • There are several constants, however. All upper court justices in Britain wear the famous "full bottomed" powdered wigs while lower court judges wear the shorter "barrister" wig. • This is a holdover from the time when judges were members of the aristocracy, and it was considered fashionable for important people to show off their social status by wearing long flowing wigs. • Once a year there is a special ceremony in Westminster Abbey during which all of the nation's judges assemble to commemorate the start of the legal year. On formal occasions such as that, all judges wear "full bottomed" wigs.



Legal attire • Most British judges also wear a special stiff white "cross" collar, sometimes called "Geneva tabs." The exact origins of this collar are obscure, but some have speculated it was supposed to represent the twin tablets of the ten commandments that were carried by Moses. ????? • The same collar is worn by high-ranking clergy within the Anglican church, and the clergy of some other Protestant denominations • Britain's highest-ranking judicial official, and de facto Chief Justice is the Lord Chancellor. He wears a special gold and black robe.


Legal attire Former British Colonies


JAMAICA

UGANDA

ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE



South Africa

High Court Judge

CJ of Afghanstan

Legal attire

High Court Judge

Chief Justice of Iran

Constitutional Court Judge

Libyan Judge



Legal attire

CJ of Pakistan

Judge - Brazil

CJ of Malaysia

Supreme Court Judge - Canada

Judge - Peru

Typical US Judge



Legal attire

Int. Criminal Court

International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea

Court of Appeal - Norway Con. Court Judges - Germany

European Court of Justice

CJ of India


The Malawian Judiciary


The Honourable Lady Justice Anastasia S E Msosa, SC Chief Justice



Justices of the MSCA

The Honourable Lady Justice Anastasia S E Msosa, SC Chief Justice

The Honourable Lady Justice Dr Jane Ansah, JA, SC (Mrs)

His Lordship Honourable Justice Andrew K C Nyirenda, JA, SC

His Lordship Honourable Justice Robert Reidson Chinangwa, JA, SC

His Lordship Honourable Justice Edward B Twea, JA, SC

His Lordship Honourable Justice Rezine R Mzikamanda, JA, SC



Justices of the MSCA

His Lordship Honourable Justice His Lordship Honourable Justice Lovemore P Chikopa, JA, SC Anacklet C Chipeta, JA, SC His Lordship Honourable Justice Maxon Mbendera, JA, SC

His Lordship Honourable Justice Frank E Kapanda, JA, SC

His Lordship Honourable Justice Dunstan Mwaungulu, JA, SC



Justices of the High Court (Principal Registry)

His Lordship Honourable Justice Healey S Potani

His Lordship Honourable Justice Rowland S Mbvundula

His Lordship Honourable Justice Maclean L Kamwambe

His Lordship Honourable Justice John M Chirwa

His Lordship Honourable Justice Sylvester A Kalembera

The Honourable Lady Justice Dorothy Kamanga (Mrs)


Justices of the High Court (Principal Registry)

His Lordship Honourable Justice Michael Tembo

S Madise © Faculty of Law The Honourable Lady Justice Dorothy Kamanga (Mrs)

The Honourable Lady Justice Rachel Sikwese

His Lordship Honourable Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda



Justices of the High Court (District Registries)

The Honourable Lady Justice The Honourable Lady Justice Esme Chombo (Mrs) Ivy Kamanga (Mrs) LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY

The Honourable Lady Justice Annabel Mtalimanja (Mrs) LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY

The Honourable Lady Justice Fiona A Mwale (Mrs) LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY

The Honourable Justice Lloyd Muhara LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY



Justices of the High Court (District Registries)

The Honourable Lady Justice Zione Ntaba ZOMBA DISTRICT REGISTRY

His Lordship Honourable Justice Dingiswayo T K Madise MZUZU DISTRICT REGISTRY

His Lordship Honourable Justice Dr Redson Kapindu ZOMBA DISTRICT REGISTRY

His Lordship Honourable Justice Godfrey J Mwase MZUZU DISTRICT REGISTRY



Justices of the High Court (Commercial Division)

His Lordship Honourable Justice John N Katsala BLANTYRE REGISTRY

His Lordship Honourable Justice Kenan T Manda LILONGWE REGISTRY

His Lordship Honourable Justice Dr Michael C Mtambo BLANTYRE REGISTRY

His Lordship Honourable Justice Chifundo Kachale BLANTYRE REGISTRY



Other Judicial officers His Honour Joseph Chigona Registrar of The High Court and Supreme Court His Honour Justuce Kishindo Senior Deputy Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court

His Honour Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa Deputy Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court P.D Mlauzi Deputy Sherrif of The High Court of Malawi


Judges on leave • His Lordship Honourable Justice Charles C Mkwandawire (serving as Registrar of the SADC Tribunal in Windoek, Namibia)


Judges on secondment • His Lordship Honourable Justice Maxon Mbendera, JA, SC (serving as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission)



Recently retired Justices of the MSCA



Recently retired Justices of the MSCA

Justice Duncan G Tambala, JA, SC (Retired)

Justice Issac J Mtambo, JA, SC (Retired)

Justice Atananzio K Tembo, JA, SC )Retired)

Justice Elton M. Singini, JA, SC (Retired)


Recently deceased Justices His Lordship Honourable Justice Joseph S Manyungwa


• His Lordship Honourable Justice Michael Mtegha, SC, JA (deceased) • His Lordship Honourable Justice George Chimasula Phiri, SC, JA (Deceased) • His Lordship Honourable Justice Chiuza Banda (Deceased)


Law Officers


The Honourable Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale The Honourable Solicitor General Dr Janet Banda (Mrs)



Former Law Officers at Court • The then Honourable Attorney General, Dr. Jane Ansah, SC (Mrs) & the then Honourable Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga, SC • Note that instead of wearing a black suit; Mr Kamanga, SC is wearing a grey stripped barrister pair of trousers.



Law Officers and precedence

• The Attorney General is the head of the bar.

• In the absence of the Attorney General, he is deputised by the Solicitor General. The Solicitor General is therefore the statutory deputy to the Attorney General. • The Attorney General may be a civil servant or otherwise (may even be a minister)

• The Solicitor General is also the controlling officer of the Ministry of Justice. • The terms “Attorney General” and “Solicitor General” are anomalous and remnants of the colonial era. Malawi has no solicitors per se; and the Attorney General is unlike other attorneys in Malawi, he cannot be granted audience in criminal matters


Law Officers and precedence In terms of audience before the court (for civil matters); precedence is as follows: • The Attorney General • The Solicitor General


• President of the Malawi Law Society • Senior Counsel (precedence according to who was appointment earliest) • Other Legal Practitioners (precedence based on the earliest to have signed the roll of legal practitioners upon admission to the bar)



Other key Government positions

The Honourable Minister of Justice Samuel Batson Tembenu

Secretary for Justice Dr Janet Banda (Mrs)

Director of Public Prosecutions Mrs Mary Kachale

The Chief State Advocate Dr. Zolomphi Nkowani



Other key positions

Speaker of the National Assembly, Right Honourable Richard Msowoya, MP

Acting Clerk of Parliament Roosevelt Gondwe

The Speaker being congratulated after being elected and robbed by the Acting Clerk of Parliament. Note: The robes of the Speaker and the Clerk of Parliament should not be confused with court attire. These are parliamentary robes. However the Clerk of Parliament is traditionally a lawyer and usually robes as a barrister


Other key positions

Director Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Mr Lucas Kondowe, MBA, FCCA, PA,CFF, CFE


Ombudsman Justice Tujilane Chizumula (retired) Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Justice Maxon Mbendera, SC. JA

Law Commissioner Mrs. Getrude L Hiwa



Other key positions

Mr Dye Mawindo Director of Public Procurement

Director of Public Officers' Declarations Christopher Tukula

Chief Legal Aid Advocate Vacant

Administrator General Vacant

Registrar General Beauty Movete (Mrs)

