LAWYERS AGAINST TRIBUNAL UNDER MINISTER

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.

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