Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata in VICTORIA FALLS
SOUTHERN African Development Community (SADC) legal officials are intensifying efforts to strengthen the region’s legal architecture, with discussions on the operationalisation of the SADC Tribunal and the review of key regional legal instruments taking centre stage ahead of the meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General on Friday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SADC Senior Legal Officials Meeting in Victoria Falls, South Africa’s acting Director-General for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Advocate Kalayvani Pillay, described the gathering as a critical platform for advancing the bloc’s legal and governance agenda.
“This is a very significant meeting that we are currently engaged in, and later this week we will be joined by the SADC Ministers of Justice, where we will take certain resolutions,” said Advocate Pillay.
“The purpose of this body is to discuss all legal matters. There are a number of issues on the agenda relating to protocols and other documents that have been prepared by legal officials and have been on the agenda for some time.”
The week-long meetings form part of preparations for the 44th Session of the Committee of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General, which is expected to deliberate on a wide range of legal, governance and institutional matters affecting the regional bloc.
Advocate Pillay said one of the major issues under discussion was the future of the SADC Tribunal, whose operationalisation remains a subject of keen interest among member states.
“We were deliberating on where we are and where we go forward with the operationalisation of the SADC Tribunal,” she said.
The tribunal, which was established to ensure adherence to and proper interpretation of SADC law and treaties, has remained inactive for years following decisions taken by member states to review its mandate.
Advocate Pillay said legal experts were also reviewing the programme of action that will guide ministers’ work in the coming year.
“The other issues that we were discussing this morning relate to the programme of action for the Ministers in terms of how we go forward for the new year,” she said.
Advocate Pillay said legal officials have also introduced new items for consideration, including legal matters arising from decisions taken by other sectoral ministerial meetings within SADC.
“We have also tried to place some new items on the agenda in relation to the meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture and those are all matters that are still under deliberation,” she said.
Advocate Pillay said the central role played by legal officials is in ensuring that regional agreements, protocols and policy instruments are legally sound before they are adopted by member states.
“All legal documents would come to the legal officials to decide on the drafting and the nature of the protocol or agreement that needs to be signed and what decisions need to be taken purely from a legal perspective,” she said.
“Our role is to guide a resolution that was already passed and ensure its legality and application within the SADC framework.”
The meeting has brought together senior legal experts from across the 16-member regional bloc to review legal instruments, assess implementation of previous resolutions and prepare recommendations for consideration by Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General.
The outcomes of the Victoria Falls meetings are expected to contribute to strengthening regional integration, enhancing legal cooperation and promoting good governance across Southern Africa.
