The Southern African Judges Commission held a Conference on Constitutionalism: the Key to Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law and its Annual General Meeting in Maseru, Lesotho from the 30th March to the 1st April 2007. The Meeting gathered Chief Justices and Judges from Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, the Kingdom of Swaziland,
Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius and the Kingdom of the Lesotho.
This Meeting was made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Venice Commission. The Vice President and the Secretary General of the Venice Commission also attended the Meeting.
The Right Honourable the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho gave a keynote address and opened the Conference.
The Chief Justice of Lesotho, Mr. Justice Lehohla presented papers on; · Constitu-tionalism: the key to Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law
· The Hague Convention on the Abduction of Children with Specific
reference to Child Abduction/Trafficking in Lesotho.
The VicePresident of the Venice Commission, Ms. Finola Flanagan, also delivered a paper on “Con-stitutionalism: the key to Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law”
The Meeting noted that the Rule of Law is key in ensuring that each of the three arms of the State performs its function unhindered by the other but in line with Constitutional imperatives.
It is an essential part of Constitutionalism that only the ordinary courts of the Land have the constitutional mandate to resolve legal disputes and to make final determination on the parties’ respective rights and that any attempt by other organs of the State to circumvent or frustrate the Courts’ constitutional duty is inimical to the imperative of Constitutionalism;
It further noted the importance of the safety and wellbeing of children when there has been a breakdown in the marriage or family, the Commission resolved to encourage member states of SAJC to ratify, where they have not, international instruments, especially the Hague Convention on the Abduction of Children, and to create national legal framework to give effect thereto, in order to achieve the objectives of the Hague Convention, which are;
to secure the orderly and prompt return of children unlawfully removed from the jurisdiction of members states; to recognize and enforce the rights of custodian access given in other contracting state; and the designation of Central Authority in each member state to foster cooperation to secure the prompt return of children and to ensure rights of access. To this end the Commission will do an audit of member states’ progress in the ratification and domestication of such international instruments. Member states are also
urged to modernise their adoption laws in order to make it possible for needy children, in appropriate cases, to be adopted by persons outside national borders for better care;
The Commission further emphasized the need in member countries of a transparent and credible appointment procedure to the office of Chief Justice as head of the judiciary so as to ensure the preservation of judicial independence.
During its Annual General Meeting, the Commission reelected Chief Justice Pius Langa of South Africa, Chairman of the Commission. It also elected Chief Justice Ernest Sakala of Zambia as the ViceChairman.
Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki of Uganda was also elected to the Management Committee.
The Commission also thanked Chief Justices Langa, Sakala and Samatta of Tanzania who served on the previous Management Committee.
The SAJC expressed its deep gratitude to His Majesty’s Government, in particular the Right Honourable the Prime Minister Mosisili, Chief Justice Lehohla and the Judiciary for their warm hospitality and the organizational aspects of the meeting;