Three judges of the High Court of Malawi are going to Egypt for a training in civil law, a legal system where a judge is more of an independent arbitrator.
The three judges are Redson Kapindu, Annabel Mtalimanja and Michael Tembo.
Speaking at the send-off ceremony in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Samuel Tembenu said the training is vital as some cases in Malawi need the element of civil law.
He said: “Egypt is one of the countries in Africa that uses civil law while Malawi uses common law and obviously there are differences in the two systems.
“In civil law, lawyers take the centre stage while in common law, judges are part of the process. There are substantial benefits from transactions that happen in civil law which Malawi can learn from, hence the need for Malawi to learn from Egypt.”
The training, from October 18 to 29, is part of the capacity building programmes the Egyptian Agency of Partnerships for Development is running in Malawi.
Tembo said: “We are living in a global village; therefore, it is important to learn what others are doing. Hence, the training has come at the right time for us to learn on civil law.”
Egypt Ambassador Maher El-Adawy said apart from the civil law training, the judges will also witness of his country’s historical parliamentary elections.
He said: “The polls are largely handled by judges and surely the three will learn something from the process apart from gaining insights into civil law. The Judiciary is an important field to any country.”
The polls, from October 18 to 29 with a second stage starting on November 22, are historical as they mark the completion of the country’s transition to democracy.
