Times Of Swaziland: LAWYERS AGAINST  TRIBUNAL UNDER MINISTER

LAWYERS AGAINST  TRIBUNAL UNDER MINISTER
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BY KWANELE DLAMINI on 24/05/2021 08:30:00


MBABANE – Lawyers are not warming to the idea of having a politician appoint a
tribunal to deal with attorneys who commit misconduct.
Section 44(1) of The Legal Practitioners Bill, 2020, which is still at draft
level, states that, for the purpose of exercising disciplinary control and other
powers conferred by this Act, there is established a disciplinary tribunal which
shall be appointed by the minister (of Justice and Constitutional Affairs). Part
(a) to (d) Section 44(1) states that the disciplinary tribunal shall consists of
a chairperson, who, under the Constitution, qualified to be appointed a judge of
the High Court; two members recommended by the council (of the Law Society)
among members of the Law Society by council who have practised as a lawyer in
Eswatini for at least 10 years post admission; one nominated by the attorney
general with at least 10 years experience post admission and two members who
shall be qualified in accounting or administration.
Regulations
According to Section 44(2), the procedure of the tribunal shall be prescribed
under regulations made by the minister in consultation with the chairperson of
the tribunal, the council and attorney general. The members of the tribunal
shall be entitled to such allowance as may be determined by the council from
time to time, reads Subsection 3. Functions of the tribunal, among others,
include hearing and determining all charges of professional misconduct, to
summarily dismiss a complaint which lacks any merit and to record any settlement
reached between a practitioner and a complainant. Last Wednesday, the Ministry
of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and lawyers met at the SMVAF Office Park
to discuss the Legal Practitioners Bill. The Principal Secretary in the
ministry, Lorraine Hlophe, made a presentation on the Bill and the lawyers,
according to Vice President of the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) Sidumo
Mdladla, are yet to meet on their own to deliberate on the draft Bill and report
back to the ministry.
During the presentation, Advocate Patrick Flynn said it was unfortunate to place
the appointment of the disciplinary tribunal in the hands of the minister.
“The difficulty I have with that is the independence of the legal profession
on having the minister appointing people to the tribunal. So, I think we as a
law society need to possibly come up with suggestions. “I don’t believe that
it is a good idea to remove the appointment of the tribunal from under the
profession and place it in the hands of a politician, no matter how good the
minister is; it is unfortunate,” said Flynn.