Subcommittees

The Constitutional, Human Rights, Public Interest Litigation & Advocacy Sub-Committee takes on a wider responsibility as it replaces the Human Rights Committee and Public Interest Litigation Committee from within the structures of the Society and it draws direct reference to the Constitution. It is essentially responsible for

• assisting the Secretariat to oversee the pro bono programme and advocate for greater acceptance for pro bono work by the membership, and
• advising and assisting the Executive Committee on matters of public interest protection, advocacy and litigation that can be undertaken by the Society.

It is hoped that through this Sub-Committee, the Society will effectively and sustainably satisfy its section 64(d) mandate under the LELPA as read with section 12(1)(a) of the Constitution and that it will help the Society attain the Key Result Areas 1.1 and 1.3 in the Strategic Plan.

The R &P Sub-Committee follows from the lines of section 64(e) of the LELPA. Its purpose is essentially to assist and advise the Executive Committee on promoting research towards development of the law. Its specific mandate is to encourage research and publication among members of the Malawi Law Society, to stimulate discussion of research ideas and methodologies, to select and review papers for presentation, to provide practical and constructive criticism of research papers and projects, to monitor publication and identifying changes that may impact publication activities and to plan and advise the Executive Committee on key Malawi conferences and research.

The CPD Sub-Committee follows on from section 64(a) and (b) of the LELPA. Its purpose is essentially to assist and advise the Executive Committee on enhancing credibility in the delivery of legal services by promoting the highest professional standards among Legal Practitioners on the prevailing legal standards. The CPD sub-committee is mandated to work with the MLS Secretariat in the implementation of the CPD Calendar of Events, development of the curriculum and content of the program providing policy direction on CPD programs for members of the Society.

The mandate of the Honours Sub-Committee as contained in its Rules includes conducting due diligence and making recommendations to the Executive Committee for recognition of members for highest professional conduct, for certification under the Code of Ethics as specialists or identification of experts in any given field of law practice, for possible conferment of Senior Counsel status or for possible appointment as High Court Judges. It is hoped that through this Committee we will progressively focus on promoting, recognising and rewarding professionalism and specialisation.

With the Society’s building project and the resolution to acquire more land in Lilongwe in place, the Land Development Committee is specially created to help develop and coordinate the strategy for the development of the Society’s land to oversee the creation and implementation of plans for the development and maintenance of any land or infrastructure owned by the Malawi Law Society and to make recommendations to the Executive Committee on any land development related matters.

Events Planning & Social Welfare is a special committee mandated to ensure seamless planning and execution of all MLS organized events, propose and organize professional or social events for the benefit of members, ensure that there are systems in place to support and promote member’s physical and mental health and welfare and to create a social welfare fund and to act as a fund raising think-tank for the Society.

The Elections Sub-Committee is constituted to, from time to time, manage elections for the Society in terms of the Malawi Law Society (Elections) Rules as adopted at the Annual General Meeting of 23-26th March 2021.

Chapter Committees are Sub-Committees at each Chapter of the Society as created under Resolution 5 at the 2021 AGM. Chapter Reps will constitute and chair ad hoc committees from time to time to attend to chapter specific issues affecting the practice of law in the Chapter as such matters arise.

The Legal Practice Committee is essentially concerned with overseeing compliance with rules and standards set in the practice rules such as the Legal Practice Rules, the Legal Practitioners Accounts Rules and the Code of Ethics. It also seeks to facilitate conducive environment for the practice of law by ensuring bottlenecks from other stakeholders in the administration of justice as they affect the practice of law are identified and cleared within the mandate of the Society.