The Malawi Legal Information Institute (MalawiLII.org), in partnership with Laws Africa, is proud to share updates on our outreach activities under the “Enabling free access to legal information” project. This initiative, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), aims to empower citizens, particularly women and girls, to actively participate in Malawi’s democratic landscape.

Recent Outreach Activities

Judicial Partnerships:

We conducted courtesy calls to various courts, strengthening our relationships with key judicial stakeholders:

Supreme Court of Malawi: Engaged with Judge President and Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa.
Blantyre Commercial Court: Addressed challenges in judgment transmission.
Zomba and Mzuzu High Courts: Collected and digitized judgments spanning several years.

These visits helped us gather valuable legal documents and improve our processes for updating MalawiLII.

Educational Outreach:

Introducing MalawiLII to future legal professionals:

Conducted training sessions at Blantyre International University (BIU) and Mzuzu University (MZUNI).
Trained on using MalawiLII and introduced Pocket Law for offline access.

Government Engagement:

Collaborating to support democratic processes:

Met with the Assistant Clerk of Parliament to discuss leveraging MalawiLII for women’s involvement in local elections.
Engaged with the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to plan activities empowering women ahead of the 2025 elections.
Trained members of the Legal Affairs Committee and Parliamentary Librarians on using MalawiLII.

Professional Development:

Reaching out to legal professionals

Participated in the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Magistrates in Malawi, introducing over 100 magistrates to MalawiLII and Pocket Law.

Community Awareness:

Exploring new channels to reach the wider public:

Initiated discussions with Timveni Radio/Television Station for civic educational programs.
Increased social media presence to share information on political rights and duties.
Participated in the African Population Conference, showcasing MalawiLII to a diverse audience.

Project Impact:

Our efforts have significantly increased MalawiLII’s visibility and usage:

Website visits: 122,001
Page views: 251,106
User actions: 411,171
Facebook reach: 686 people
New Facebook followers: 173

Looking Ahead:

As we move into the project’s next phase, we’re excited to continue expanding access to legal information across Malawi. We’re grateful for the support of NED and our implementing partners in this crucial work.

Stay tuned for more updates, and remember to visit MalawiLII.org for free access to Malawi’s legal information!