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Judiciary has challenges, says Lungu

Judiciary has challenges, says Lungu
Written by George Chellah
Friday, June 26, 2009 4:04:33 PM

LAW Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Stephen Lungu yesterday said the Judiciary has challenges that are neither peculiar nor insurmountable. And Lungu said constant attacks on the Judiciary tend to go to the very fabric of its independence.

During a press conference held at the LAZ secretariat, Lungu said the association had noted with great concern that it had become common practice for lawyers to speak off the cuff.

"...And express their opinions publicly without due regard to the effect of their statements on those they comment on, their clients and the members of the public in general," Lungu said.

"As an association, we therefore wish to make the following statement that whereas we recognise that the Constitution has given every citizen of this country the freedom of speech, it is mandatory that all legal practitioners must adhere to the legal practitioner's Act and the rules promulgated there-under."

He warned that every legal practitioner should not engage in conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute.

"Every legal practitioner being a learned member of the bar and an officer of the court shall not engage in conduct whether in pursuit of their profession or otherwise, which is prejudicial to the pursuit of the administration of justice or which is likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession or the administration of justice or which conduct is likely to bring the profession into disrepute," Lungu said.

"As an association we are alive to the fact that the Judiciary has challenges, which challenges are neither peculiar nor insurmountable. "

He said the media was certainly not a forum for lawyers to attack the Judiciary.

"The council of the Law Association of Zambia wishes to strongly urge our members to forthwith refrain from using the media as the mode of communicating their grievances against the Judiciary," Lungu said.

"And any lawyer whose conduct will be found to be in contravention of the provisions of the legal practitioner's Act and its rules will be subjected to the necessary administrative sanctions. As council and as an association, we will defend the integrity of the Judiciary against unwarranted attacks."

He said the association could not comment on the case involving newly appointed education minister Dora Siliya because it was currently in court. He said the association would at an appropriate time issue an appropriate statement when the matter was concluded.

"As an association we were preparing to come up with a statement and an appeal was lodged on Friday last week," he said.

Lungu said lawyers had mechanisms through which they could express their grievances.

"Tomorrow [today] we are having what we call a bar bench conference where all lawyers and judges meet to discuss matters that affect the profession. At this gathering all grievances which lawyers have are tabled and all grievances that the Judiciary has got against lawyers are tabled and discussed," he said.

He said the constant attacks on the Judiciary were not good.

"... If we continuously attack the Judiciary on every decision that it makes, it brings the aspect of independence of the Judiciary into question because at the end of the day we will all stop having the confidence we are supposed to have in the Judiciary for the purpose of the dispensation of justice," he said.

Lungu explained that if everyone went to court and complained after that in public, it goes to show that the independence of the Judiciary was beginning to be questioned.

"We should not isolate one matter or two matters and judge the Judiciary as to whether it is independent or not," said Lungu.

Labels: FREEDOM OF SPEECH, LAWYERS, LAZ, STEPHEN LUNGU

posted by MrK @ 3:05 PM