FORMER High Court judge Kabazo Chanda has called for the amendment of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct to leave out Supreme Court judges from being appointed to sit on tribunals.
Mr Justice Chanda said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the appointment of members of the Supreme Court bench to sit on tribunals was a potential source of conflict between judges of the Supreme Court and those of the high court.
He was reacting to the decision by Lusaka High Court Judge Philip Musonda to overturn the ruling of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct tribunal comprising two Supreme Court judges and a high court judge.[quote]
The Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act of 1994 stipulates that the tribunal shall consist of three persons appointed by the chief justice from amongst persons who hold or have held the office of judge of the Supreme Court or the high court.
“I think that the law should be amended to leave out Supreme Court judges from the tribunal because they are the final arbiters,” Mr Justice Chanda said.
He said before the amendment of the law, the chief justice could avoid creating conflict by restricting his appointments of members of tribunals to persons who hold or have held the office of judge of the high court.
Mr Justice Chanda, who served on high court bench from 1988 to 1997 before resigning to start lecturing, said the chief justice should as much as possible keep away from appointing supreme court judges because tribunal decisions could be challenged in the high court.
Similarly, he said, although the chief justice may also sit as a high court judge, he should avoid doing so because it would not augur well if his decision were overturned by other members of the Supreme Court bench.
Mr Justice Chanda said there was need for the chief justice to ensure harmony in the judicial fraternity
[Times of Zambia]
Please do the amendment it was not a good thing that happened.
Yeah!!! Miss Daisy, were art thou…….. miss your ………Issues of the law are hard. justice is difficult
Really, that ruling By Judge Musonda has really created problems. I agree with Judge Chanda. Ma High court Judges and Supreme court Judges bazayamba ku settin’gana manje. Pa last, kuyi po.nona muma chambers, ka. Chibi.
Good observation
JOKES time:Why do women pass less gas than men?
Because women would not shut up long enough to build up pressure!
Why did God create man before woman?
He did not want any advice
This is a candid observation which requires drastic measures Mr. chief justice!
Thanks Judge Chanda we need people like us to interprete the Law for us laymen. We have suffered kuli ba George Kunda and the clan.
Law is not an exact science, so to expect empirically balanced judgments is asking for too much
Good observation Justice Chanda, it however, saddens me that no one is listening to you.
Also change the appointment of judges by the President because this undermines the freedom of the JUDICIARY as we have just seen on the DORA SAGA
Imwe vima SC siyani kushushana please muzatisebanya, to which school did you train your professional from? Awe chamusebanya sana. And where is Ernest Sakala?
Good observation, this was the most disgraceful thing ever happened?
I think I now envy the way Dora calculated her moves. The Act was amended in 1994 by FTJ admin, Erick Silwamba (Dora’s Lawyer) was part of the regime and knew the loopholes. It really shows how porous our Judicial System is and RB did a good thing to re-appoint her otherwise we would have been having NCC deliberate on issues that are not meaningful. Chifumo Banda must bring this to the table than concentrating on dual citizenship. The President can still appoint Judges as the case in USA but they must be for life unless they resign, die or convicted. VIVA Dora, Viva RB you have exposed another loophole and we shall mend it, its a learning curve.
The tribunal consisted of Supreme court judges.Now what will happen if William Harrington appeals to the supreme court.This case will be heard by the same judges who sat on the tribunal.There is really a conflict between High court and supreme court judges.
WE WILL KEEP ON LEARNING UNTIL OUR LORD COMES.
well said bwana judge,atleast there still people with morals n the judicial system..we taird of the lies form goerge kunda!
I seriously think RB eminine pa kupesha abena Zambia. Just wait and see
#18, Naiwe naumona aini? Its too much kwena. lol!!!
#19 ala Ba Moze next we will be hearing that Kapoko after aquito has been appointed Finance Minister. This man doesn’t seem to give a poop whats Zambian people think.. I am getting worried
Well said Former High court judge Kabazo Chanda, ala twachula na ba “Skirt Counsel” on inerterpretation of the law.
When it comes to legal matters, even the lawyers & judges draw blanks. The ironic part is that they don’t even uphold the same laws that they amend.
Justice par excellence shall only exist in the new world to come. Meanwhile it’s just survival of the fittest, as Darwin observed.
I told them that this law sucks
#19 n 20 even me efyo na concluda becoz stoooo much, takwaba fye, obvi he’s in the ka office saying na la ba pesha ala, ndine bwezani Banda zambia ni yanga.
Good observation Mr former Judge Chanda on your “Mr Justice Chanda said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the appointment of members of the Supreme Court bench to sit on tribunals was a potential source of conflict between judges of the Supreme Court and those of the high court” and proposal to amend the law.
What happened over the Ms MP Dora Siliya at the High Court is very bad precedence. I hope the two Supreme Court Judges Chirwa and Chitengi will resign to save their faces. High Court Judge Hamaundu can also resign but his case is understandable as Judge Musonda who overtuned the Tribunal ruling is of his equal strength in position.
Anyway, I am still hopeful that PF member Harrington will appeal to the Supreme Court over the ruling.
__
Prevention is…
25 continued.
What is impressive is that “Zambia has an opportunity to change our laws, especially the Zambian Constituion through the NCC, so that conflicts like this will be avoided in future“.
This is because the whole reason of having an experience is to learn from it.
Have a blessed day you all Zambians.
__
Prevention is better than cure.
#26 Mwiyi waku-Musanza, Stutgart, check your mail!!
Harmonise! Harmonise! Harmonise! HEAR!! HEAR!! HEAR!!
Law is never final. It is replete with imperfections therefore needs ammending all the time hence a Law Development Commission.
Judge Musonda must be smilling all the way to the bank coz he was just bought by Bwezani and his friends to quash what the tribunal had found in his girl friend Siliya to embarance the post and PF.
The way things are going at present there isn’t any law in Zambia. Mr Rupiah Banda is now the Law, he is the prosecutor, the jury and the judge.
It is sad that our learned men and women including George Kunda have thrown away their Law degrees through the window and have chosen to dance to the Rupiah nyau dance like cadres. What a shame!
I have started doubting the calibre & integrity of our Zambian learned collegues in the law fratenity. UNZA & NIPA should relook at their sylabi and the old lawyers retrained. ……….Although they say Law is an Ass………this oversight is just too much…
An elderly gent was invited to an old friends’ home for dinner one evening.
He was impressed by the way his buddy preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms such as: Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart,
Pumpkin, etc. The couple had been married almost 70 years and, clearly, they were still very much in love.
While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host, ‘I think it’s wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names.’ The old man hung his head.
‘I have to tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘Her name slipped my mind about 10 years ago and I’m scared to death to ask her what it is!’
I reserve my comments on this issue I need more interpretation from my learned colleagues in case I get misquotated.
The damage the judiciary has suffered might be terminal. Am sure charecters like Chiluba and others facing corruption charges have seen a ray of hope. They now know that the judiciary can be divided when you pull the right strings.
An old but crude saying goes, The law is an ass (donkey). In zambia this is proving true and sadly the fight against corruption might end up being an exercise in futility.
Anyway, after second thots, the judge is right.
27 Ba Moze greetings and thanks very much.
Have a blessed day and keep well.
___
Prevention is better than cure.
This is what happens when a mob of people that think they are out for justice band together and stop thinking combined with officials thinking popular utilitarian decisions are right. Those judges were caught up in the frenzy of lets convict dora because of the misguided outcry’s the departed from their judicial impartiality. If those judges accept the appeal and sit on panel that will be a clear conflict of interest .
It’s only in RBB’s govt that a person with 7 other breaches other than the controversial breach of the constitution, can still be deemed clean to serve as minister.
She broke rules from cabinet guidelines for ministers, ministries procurement procedures, disregarded the ZDA, Tender board guidelines, disregarded experts on radar procurements to mention but 5. Now while these might not ammounted to a breach parliament’s code of ethics, it shows an arbitrary behaviour that can breeding ground for chaos.
If ministers start working without expertr advice, they will soon run into iredeemable situations that might end up injuring this coubntry.
Dora should have stayed out of govt.
Th fact is that any ruling of a tribunal can be subjected to an appeal. It is only rulings of a supreme court that can not be appealed against. In this case its is not Dora’s fault that Judges comprised supreme court justices. But what has to be clear is that when the sit as Tribunal Judges they cease to represent the supreme court but a lower court. Anyone party to the case was entitled to appeal. Remember that Harringtone also appealed against clearance of Dora on contravening the code of conduct by the tribunal itself. Assuming the High court had overturned the clearance could we have said that it was not in order because the judges of the tribunal were from the supreme court or is it that we are saying this because the case went against Harringtone.
Lawyers may recall that this is not a first time that a ruling of a supreme court judge is overturned by a supreme court. Supreme court judges also sit as high court judges and there rulings when thet sit as high court judges can be questioned in the supreme court by other judges. It is not strange for a judgement to be overturned.
God save Zambia, May your Kingdom come.
#41 ya but see if a supreme court judge seats as a high court judge and later his judgement is quashed by the supreme court, that is easy to take. It will be seen as someone’s peers disagreeing with him/her and that’s normal.
What’s been troubling is that a junior (so to speak) has ruled his bosses (so to speak) offside. In any work organisation that is highly irregular, actually it’s conduct bordering on insurbodination.
Kabazo Chanda has realised this impression created and that’s why he is coming out this way.
The scenario is like a Grade 7 overruling a University Graduate. Ha ha ha
44 Planet Mars greetings. I just like your “The scenario is like a Grade 7 overruling a University Graduate. Ha ha ha” for it may be more hhe hhe hhe hhe when Grade 2/6 PF leader MC Sata may rule Zambia with university degrees like Chiluba did that threw the country in untold misery and corruption which is now difficult to eradicate.
Let us continue watching and waiting.
I hope the powers that be will sort these anomalies and also NCC will adopt the tabled case that only Parliament should ratify the loans that any GRZ will be wanting to subject Zambians to.
Have a blessed day you all.
__
Prevention is better than cure.
Incidentally, there seems to be a touch of spam on the blog. Nevertheless there is still lots of excellent knowledge on this page!
King Cobra could have first made changes in the Judiciary when he became head of state. Why did he have to take this long. Manje azoana kuti this group of pipo will now give him hell. He could have put pipo of his choice who are PF. What was he trying to prove by keeping them? That he is Pope King Micheal Cobra?