DR Roger Chongwe has observed that Lusaka High Court judge Evans Hamaundu’s decision to refuse to register the London High Court judgment amounts to indiscipline of the highest order.
In a letter to The Post dated August 20, 2010, Dr Chongwe, who is a prominent Lusaka lawyer and former minister of justice, expressed displeasure with judge Hamaundu’s ruling on the registration of the London High Court judgment against Frederick Chiluba and others.
“Dear Sir, Re: Refusal to register a judgment of the London High Court of Justice in Zambia. Like the former Attorney General, Mr Mumba Malila, I find it awful to comment on the decision of the Zambian High Court judge refusing to register a sealed copy of the judgment of the London High Court of Justice,” Dr Chongwe stated.
“Awful in the sense that in the whole of my practicing life as a lawyer before the courts in Zambia decisions of the High Court of Justice in London and our own decisions of the High Court have been registered for enforcement in each other’s jurisdictions.”
Dr Chongwe stated that in other jurisdictions of the commonwealth a government would appoint a tribunal to investigate whether or not the conduct of the judge amounts to misbehaviour.
“Coming to the decision of the High Court judge refusing without any discernable cause to register a regular judgment of the High Court of Justice; this of course amounts to indiscipline of the highest order.
In other jurisdictions of the Commonwealth, a government would appoint a tribunal to investigate whether or not the conduct of the judge amounts to misbehavior warranting the sack altogether from the judiciary!
However, in Zambia the tragic decline in standards of judicial accountability leave it clear that this even if it were to take place it would in all probability be a complete waste of time,” he said.
Dr Chongwe stated that he was admitted to practice as a lawyer in Zambia on June 30, 1969.
“And as a barrister, solicitor and proctor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the High Court of Australia on the 23rd December 1968. I took silk from private practice (became State Counsel) in Zambia on the 17th May 1985.
I am currently the longest serving and still practicing State Counsel in Zambia. As in recent times I have been contradicted by various people including the highly unqualified through this newspaper I believe I am obliged to state some of my qualifications to comment on legal matters,” Dr Chongwe stated.
“My other credentials include serving as the chair of the Law Association of Zambia for five years (1981-86), I was elected president of the African Bar Association for 6 years and the only African lawyer ever to have been elected and served as secretary general and president of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (1986-1993).
I continue serving on committees of international legal organizations.
“The United Kingdom is one of the member states of the Commonwealth and so is our own country. In the Commonwealth we have protocols and conventions that bind our respective countries as member states.
This binding obligation to international protocols and conventions through our membership of international organizations includes protocols and conventions we have signed with the United Nations organization and with the African Union.”
He stated that the Attorney General is a key player in these treaty obligations.
“It has never been the duties of a minister of propaganda (in this country called minister of information) to respond to legal issues affecting the performance of lawyers in the Attorney General’s chambers or legal issues affecting the people of Zambia. We have a minister of justice who is answerable to our people in the National Assembly.
The only exception is the minister of foreign affairs when it comes to the supervision of international affairs relating to treaty obligations,” stated Dr Chongwe stated.
“It is however disquieting that in the conduct of legal affairs by the current administration; unheard of in previous administrations, one has noticed politicians that have nothing to do with legal matters occupying centre stage in responding to these issues on behalf of the government.
The question one would like to ask; have the minister of justice and the Attorney General abdicated their official functions?”

Source: http://www.postzambia.com