Legal Researchers and Assistant Registrars attend a Training

The Judiciary through its Training Committee with financial assistance from the Judicial Institute of Africa organized a four-day training for Assistant Registrars and Judicial Legal Research Officers.  The training was held from 18th to 21st March 2024 at the Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.

This was a transformative training aimed at sharing insights with the participants into specific needs and expectations of Judges, fostering a deep understanding of researchers’ role in supporting judicial processes. Participants also explored the foundational principles of judicial ethics and their direct applicability to the work of Judges’ researchers. They also acquired the ability to access a comprehensive array of online legal research tools.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training, the Honourable the Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda, SC, emphasized that the knowledge and skills to be gained during the training have an important role in improving the quality of justice that the courts are mandated to dispense. He further stated that the Judiciary is on a transformative trajectory that is aimed at raising the bar of excellence in the dispensation of justice in every aspect and at every level in serving clients of the Judiciary better.

Facilitators to the training were drawn from the Judicial Institute for Africa. Topics covered during this training included the role of the Judiciary in a constitutional democracy, court management and judicial ethics, the role of the Judges’ clerks, researching materials, managing workplace conflict, the decision process, preparing a memorandum, editing, proofing and developing a house style and citation guide, judgement writing and speech writing.