The judicial system of Malawi is compromised because of archaic laws and systemic lack of legal representation for indigents. This paper, published by the International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, analyses Malawi’s criminal justice system and examines the use of paralegals to redress the lack of legal representation. Use of paralegals to assist poor people provides benefits for the poor and helps countries’ progress towards provision of fundamental human rights.
Justice for Malawi’s poor is woefully inadequate; the number of lawyers is very low, their fees are very high. The country’s Legal Aid Department attempts to help individuals pay their legal costs. However, since Legal Aid lacks adequate financial resources, most poor people undergo trial without legal representation.
In 1995, Penal Reform International (PRI) conducted an assessment of Malawi’s prisons. It concluded that poor people are over-represented in prisons; many prisoners are held unlawfully because of expired warrants. Suspects are held without trials and convicted prisoners are ignorant about appeal procedures. As a result of their findings, PRI lobbied successfully for funding of Malawi’s Paralegal Advisory Service to help indigent prisoners obtain legal assistance.
Advantages of the use of paralegals to help the poor including the following:
- Lay workers who provide legal aid to prisoners free of charge.
- Paralegal training includes introduction to the legal system, including the statutes, civil and criminal law, family, land and constitutional law, human rights and democracy
- Paralegals inform suspects on the law, attend trials and monitor cases to protect prisoners’ rights. They assist juveniles at police stations with interviews and help screen juveniles for diversion programmes.
- Paralegals assist prisoners through the use of bail, case discharge, dismissal or release of prisoners on compassionate grounds.
- While paralegals encountered initial resistance from magistrates, police and lawyers and prison systems, they immediately tackled the need to work effectively with judicial parties.
- Paralegals have highlighted health problems within prisons which health-oriented non-government organisations are working to improve.
The use of paralegals has had the following impact on the inequality of the delivery of justice in Malawi:
- All judicial services are now working together in an effort to improve legal services to the poor.
- Case overloads have been reduced; prisoners are more aware of their human rights.
- The numbers of illegal remand warrants used by police have decreased; Substantial numbers of juveniles in conflict with the law have been diverted from the judicial system.
- Appropriate legal advice and assistance to the maximum number of qualified prisoners and juveniles is now being provided to poor people.
