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Panellists shun Industrial Relations Court sittings

Absence of panellists who sit on hearings at the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) is delaying settlement of disputes at the court.
Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula confirmed in an interview that the IRC was facing severe challenges in concluding cases because some panellists have not been turning up.
A visit to the IRC in Lilongwe by Nation on Sunday in the week, found that scores of court cases have been deferred to later dates as the backload of cases swells.

Mvula: It is different from the High Court
Mvula: It is different from the High Court

Unlike other courts dealing with criminal and civil procedures, the IRC, mandated to settle labour-related disputes, does not rely on single judges or magistrates.
Its determinations are formulated with input from a panel comprising judicial officers and representatives of labour and employer bodies.
The system demands that these non-judicial officers, appointed from the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) and Employers Association of Malawi (Ecam,) are present during hearings where a sitting allowance of K2 000 per day is paid to each member.
At the Lilongwe IRC, Nation on Sunday on Friday witnessed officials sending back several people seeking assistance from the registry and telling them new course registry will only be released in September.
One complainant, whose case was registered in 2014 and was seeking to find out if the case had been allocated a new date for a hearing, was told the case was relatively new and should come back after September as the office was focusing on older cases.
But Mvula said most panellists have either ceased to appear before the court or have changed jobs, necessitating a need for recruitment of new panellists.
“We have to ensure all people are available. It is different from the High Court.  At IRC, we cannot do without the panellists. We are trying to review the situation by improving the sitting allowance, in case it is the reason,” said Mvula.
According to Mvula, some of the panellists travel long distances from outside the court’s location, including from other cities, but they are only paid the K2 000 sitting allowance without any other additional allowance such as accommodation or food.
Mvula said the situation is the same in Blantyre.
The development is a blow to the Judiciary as it attempts to clear massive backlogs of cases in several courts. n

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