Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act, 2018

This section gives the Act’s short title and says it starts on a date the Minister appoints by Gazette notice.

This section defines key terms used in the Act.

The Malawi Council of Legal Education is established as a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

The Council must supervise legal education in Malawi and carry out listed functions such as making rules, advising authorities, approving qualifications, and doing other minister-directed tasks.

The Council has power to set up committees, delegate functions, enter contracts, borrow money, receive donations, publish information, and do other necessary acts for its functions.

The Council must include the Attorney General as chairperson and the listed members and officeholders.

Council appointees serve a 4-year term, may be reappointed once, and vacancies can arise from listed events; the Minister may remove an appointed member, and resignation needs one month’s written notice.

The Council may invite any person to attend and take part in its deliberations, but the invited person may not vote at the meeting.

The Council must meet at least once every three months, and the chairperson sets the place and time.

The Council must regulate its own procedure, and its quorum is five members.

Members of the Council must be paid an allowance, and the Minister determines the amount from time to time.

The Council is to be funded for its operations, and it may raise money through fees, donations, subscriptions, gifts, or charges.

The Council must keep proper accounting records and comply with the Public Finance Management Act and Public Audit Act; its accounts are audited annually by the Auditor General or an approved auditor.

This section establishes the Malawi Institute of Legal Education and says the Institute must follow the Council’s general or special directions when carrying out its functions.

The Institute must provide practical legal training and carry out related training, examination, certification, and seminar functions, subject to Council approval or direction where stated.

The Institute may charge and receive fees and other charges, if approved by the Council, and enrolled persons must pay the fees or charges for courses, programmes, activities, services, or facilities offered by the Institute.

This section creates the office of Executive Director, requires the Council to appoint the Executive Director, and sets qualification and term requirements.

The Executive Director manages the Institute and controls its staff, subject to the Council’s directions, and may attend and address Council meetings without voting.

The Council may remove the Executive Director from office for specified grounds, but only after giving the Executive Director a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

The Council may appoint Institute officers, set their terms and conditions, and delegate appointment power to the Executive Director in writing.

The Council may hire consultants or instructors for the Institute and decide the terms and conditions. It must hire consultants based on their knowledge, experience, or competence, and assign them tasks for the Council’s or Institute’s functions.

A person may not practice as a legal practitioner in Malawi unless admitted under the Act; the Chief Justice handles applications and issues certificates.

A person may be admitted to practice as a legal practitioner only if the listed citizenship, enrolment, examination, and qualification conditions are met, and an admission fee is paid.

A qualified public officer may apply to the Chief Justice to be admitted to practice as a legal practitioner.

The Chief Justice may admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner for one specific cause or matter if the listed conditions are met.

To be admitted to practice law in Malawi, a person must pass the Malawi Law Examination, and the Institute must manage the exam and provide the syllabus and fees information.

An applicant for admission to practice as a legal practitioner must serve the petition on the Attorney General and the Society.

An applicant for admission as a legal practitioner must fully disclose all material facts that could affect the application.

Applicants for admission to practice law in Malawi must take the prescribed oath or affirmation before admission, and the Registrar administers it and issues a certificate on admission.

A legal practitioner needs a valid annual licence to practice, and the Society and Registrar have specific duties and conditions tied to issuing and renewing it.

Unlicensed people must not do legal-practitioner work; breaches are offences punishable by a K5,000,000 fine and 10 years’ imprisonment.

Every legal practitioner is treated as an officer of the court.

Legal practitioners must follow a set order of precedence.

The Society must publish a yearly Legal Practitioners List around 31 March in the Gazette and at least two widely circulated newspapers.

A legal practitioner may not set up a legal firm unless they have practised law for at least 5 years and the office complies with the Practice Rules.

Legal practitioners receiving client money must first open a client account and deposit the money into it immediately; they may keep more than one client account.

Legal practitioners must keep proper accounting records for client money and retain those records for at least seven years; breaches may lead to disciplinary action.

A legal practitioner who embezzles client-related money or property commits an offence and, if convicted, faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

A Remuneration Committee of the Society must advise the Minister on legal practitioners’ remuneration, and the Minister may make rules on charges and costs based on the Committee’s recommendation.

A legal practitioner and client may make a written fee agreement for contentious business, and the Registrar may later uphold, vary, set aside, or tax it in specified cases.

A legal practitioner cannot sue to recover fees until 3 months after the bill of costs is delivered to the client, unless the court gives leave and the practitioner reasonably believes the client is likely to leave Malawi.

The Society must assign pro bono work annually to every legal practitioner, working with the Director of the Legal Aid Bureau.

The Society may ask the High Court for an order stopping a legal practitioner from employing or paying a clerk, and a clerk subject to such an order must not be employed until the order ends or is revoked.

Suspended, struck-off, or inactive legal practitioners must arrange within 21 days to give clients their documents and money, and the Society can order delivery if they do not.

Qualified legal practitioners may apply to the Chief Justice for a notary public certificate, and the Registrar must keep a register of notaries public.

A notary public may perform the listed notarial and document-authentication functions.

A notary public certificate lets the named person practise as a notary public and charge fees, subject to payment of the set fee and the certificate’s validity period.

A notary public must state the place and date in the jurat or attestation when an oath, affidavit, declaration, or acknowledgement is taken or made.

The Chief Justice may suspend or cancel a notary public certificate in specified cases.

A person must not hold out as a notary public or take a fee as one unless entitled to practice or perform notary duties.

The Chief Justice may make rules to help carry out this Part.

The President may confer Senior Counsel on a legal practitioner on the Honours Committee’s recommendation. A legal practitioner may also apply to the Attorney General for letters patent if eligibility conditions are met.

The honour of Senior Counsel lasts for life, and a person who has received it may add “Senior Counsel (SC)” after their name.

The President may confer Senior Counsel honours, but not more than three legal practitioners can receive them in one calendar year, excluding a serving Attorney General or Solicitor General.

The President may confer the honour of Senior Counsel on a sitting Attorney General or Solicitor General who has served that office for at least two years.

The President may confer the honour of Senior Counsel honoris causa on a person after consulting the Honours Committee, if the person consents.

The Society must have an Honours Committee.

Most Honours Committee members serve for three years and may be re-appointed once. An elected member may resign with one month’s written notice to the Society. A vacancy arises on specified events, and no one may be elected to fill a vacancy if the remaining term is under six months.

The Honours Committee must meet at least twice a year, and the chairperson sets the place and time.

The Honours Committee may regulate its own procedure, and half its members form a quorum.

A member of the Honours Committee who has a relevant interest must disclose it soon after the meeting starts.

The Chief Justice may make rules to carry out this Part.

The Malawi Law Society is established as a body corporate and may hold land and sue or be sued in its corporate name.

The Society’s objects include raising professional standards in legal practice, improving credibility and transparency, protecting public-interest matters, promoting legal research, and regulating the setting up, management, and dissolution of legal practice.

The Society has power to carry out activities that support the study of law, discipline legal practitioners, manage property and money, and do other incidental things for its objects.

The Society’s membership consists of legal practitioners who qualify under section 67(l), persons admitted under section 67(4), and honorary members elected under section 68.

People whose names are entered on the Roll automatically become members of the Society, remain members until removed from the Roll, and the Society can also grant membership to other eligible applicants.

The Society may grant honorary membership to a person it considers fit, if the person consents.

Society members must pay fees and subscriptions set by the Society from time to time. Honorary members do not have to pay subscription.

Some Society members may not resign while their practice licence is in force, and certain other members may be expelled for bankruptcy, loss of qualification, or conduct bringing the Society into disrepute.

A Society member who is not an honorary member automatically stops being a member if they no longer qualify for membership.

The Society may delegate its powers or functions to one or more officers or to a committee.

The Society may make rules for matters under this Part, and the High Court may make orders needed to enforce rights created by those rules.

The Society may establish chapters from time to time, and those chapters must comply with this Act.

The Society establishes an Executive Committee, made up of the chairperson, one representative from each chapter, and any other officers the Society decides on.

Executive Committee members serve two-year terms, may be re-elected for another two years, and their seats become vacant on specified events; the Society fills vacancies, except it may wait if less than three months remain.

The Society must meet at least every three months. The chairperson may choose the place and time, must call the Annual General Meeting before 31 March with at least 7 days’ written notice, and must convene an extraordinary meeting when requested by one third of members.

The Society’s Secretariat consists of the Director and other staff appointed under this Part.

The Society appoints the Director, who serves as the Society’s chief executive officer and must be legally qualified with at least five years’ legal practice.

The Director must manage the Society day to day and exercise executive and administrative control over its staff, subject to the Society’s general and special directions.

The Society may remove the Director for specified grounds, but only after giving the Director a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

The Society may appoint other officers and may delegate junior-officer appointments to the Director by written directions. The Director must report each such appointment to the Society.

The Society’s funds come from subscription fees, a Society Levy, and other money paid to it. The Society must use the funds for its functions, and it may invest any surplus if the General Assembly approves the investment method.

Legal practitioners must charge a 1% Society Levy on client bills, pay it monthly to the Society, and pay within 30 days after notice unless the related bill is still unsettled.

A legal practitioner who fails to pay the Levy as required must pay an extra 20% of the unpaid Levy as a penalty.

The Society must keep proper accounting records, have its accounts audited every year, and the auditor must personally present the audit report to the Society at an Annual General Meeting.

Every legal practitioner is subject to the High Court and the Disciplinary Committee for discipline matters.

This provision preserves the Chief Justice’s and judicial officers’ power to deal with misconduct or offences by legal practitioners.

The High Court may discipline a legal practitioner by striking them off the Roll, suspending them, or admonishing them.

This section establishes the Disciplinary Committee, sets out its membership, and lets it inquire into legal practitioners’ conduct in specified situations.

The Disciplinary Committee must receive complaints, investigate them, hold disciplinary hearings, and impose penalties under section 96.

The Disciplinary Committee must keep minutes of every meeting.

Members of the Disciplinary Committee serve for three years, can be reappointed for up to two more terms, and may be removed by the Attorney General on specified grounds.

The Disciplinary Committee controls its own procedure, may make rules for applications or complaints, must meet when and where the chairperson तयs, and half the members make a quorum.

The Disciplinary Committee must dispose of matters within 90 days, may extend that period by up to 30 days for good and justifiable reasons, and must tell the complainant its decision within 7 days. If it misses the time limit, the complainant may refer the matter to the Chief Justice.

The Disciplinary Committee may penalize a legal practitioner for misconduct and may also order costs or compensation; an aggrieved person may seek judicial review within 30 days, and that application does not stay the Society’s decision.

A legal practitioner whose name has been struck off the Roll must not practice law in Malawi.

A suspended legal practitioner may not practise law in Malawi while the suspension lasts.

The Society must publish the names of legal practitioners who have been struck off or suspended in the Gazette and at least two widely circulated newspapers.

A struck-off legal practitioner may apply to the Chief Justice for re-admission only after 10 years.

Committee members with a relevant interest must disclose it soon after the meeting starts and generally must not take part in the matter unless the Disciplinary Committee directs otherwise.

A person summoned before a committee must attend, give evidence, take the oath or affirmation, produce requested materials, and answer lawful questions; false evidence on oath is also an offence.

A legal practitioner facing a complaint before the Disciplinary Committee is entitled to legal representation.

A committee member must take the prescribed oath of secrecy when appointed.

Committee members under this Part must be paid allowances set by the Society.

A fidelity fund is established and the Society must administer and manage it; the Society may also invest surplus funds that are not immediately needed.

The Fund must be used to compensate certain people for pecuniary loss from theft by a legal practitioner, clerk, or employee, and may also be used for specified claims and Fund expenses.

The Fund’s sources of money include contributions, payments from the Society, interest, investment revenue, insurance-company receipts, and grants, donations, gifts, or charges from داخل or outside Malawi.

The Society may enter into a fidelity insurance contract, and claimants against the Society do not get a direct right of action against the insurer or a right to insurer payments.

A legal practitioner must have a Fidelity Fund Certificate before practising on his own account or in partnership; the Society may exempt a practitioner, but trust money still cannot be accepted, received, or held.

A legal practitioner who wants to practise in Malawi on their own account or in partnership must apply to the Society’s secretary for a Fidelity Fund Certificate, unless exempt.

Legal practitioners must pay a contribution when applying for a Fidelity Fund Certificate; those starting practice on or after 1 July pay half the yearly contribution, and the Society must remit contributions to the Fund within 30 days of receiving them.

The Society may refuse or postpone payments for section 107 purposes if the Fund falls below 50% of the previous year's total income.

The Fund is not liable for certain theft-related losses, and only the remaining balance of a loss after other recoveries may be claimed from the Fund.

A person cannot claim against the Fund for theft unless notice and required proof are given within the stated time limits; the Society may extend those periods if it is satisfied the claim or proof was lodged or furnished as soon as practicable.

A claimant cannot sue the Fund unless all other available legal remedies have been exhausted, and some claims must be started within one year after the Society’s rejection notice.

If the Fund pays a claim under the Act, it takes over the claimant’s rights and legal remedies to the extent of that payment.

The Fund’s revenue is exempt from income tax and other State taxes or levies, and insurance laws do not apply to the Fund except for compulsory employee insurance and related security provisions.

The Society must keep a designated Fund account, keep proper books of account, and have the Fund accounts audited every year.

A person may not sue the Society, its members, officials, or employees for damages over good-faith acts done under the Act or for good-faith notifications under section 114(1)(f).

The Minister may make regulations and rules under this section, but only on the Society’s recommendation. The High Court and Chief Justice also have rule-making or enforcement powers under subsection (4).

This section repeals the earlier Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act and carries over existing admissions, rights, subsidiary legislation, and certain student exemptions into the new Act.