General
President Rupiah Banda has said he will continue appointing more female judges to the bench for as long as he remains president. Speaking at Zambezi Sun Hotel in Livingstone yesterday when he opened the sixth International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) Africa regional conference, President Banda said from the time he was elected president of Zambia in 2008, he had appointed 15 female judges.
The conference was hosted by the Zambia Association of Women Judges (ZAWJ)."From the time I was elected President of Zambia in 2008, I have so far appointed 15 female judges.It is the policy of my Government to appoint more female judges," Mr Banda said amidst applause from the judges and magistrates.
Mr Banda assured the ZAWJ and the people of Zambia that as long as here mained president, the association would receive new members because he intended to continue appointing more female judges to the bench.
He urged the judges and magistrates to ensurethe delivery of justice is timely and untainted.
Mr Banda said people looked up to the courts for justice and fairness in dispute resolution hence the need for judges and magistrates to ensure that the delivery of justice was timely and untainted.
He said people held judges and magistrates in high esteem because their role in society was special, well recognised and appreciated.
The three-day conference, whose theme is Judicial Integrity andWomen's and Children's Rights - A Judicial Perspective, has attracted judges as well as magistrates and other legal practitioners from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Netherlands, United States of America (USA),Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Mr Banda said to maintain integrity, judges and magistrates must reciprocate the trust and confidence from the people in their various jurisdictions.
"This you can do by demonstrating a great sense of responsibility,impartiality and diligence in the execution of your judicial functions," he said.
It was common for women to experience discrimination and inequality in political participation, employment, property rights, personal status in marriage and access to national wealth and resources.
Mr Banda said the Government was party to several international legal instruments which provided for the protection of women's and children's rights.
"I am confident that our judges have and will find ways of incorporating the principles outlined in these international legal instruments into their decisions.
On its part, Cabinet recently approved the domestication of the convention of the rights of the child. This demonstrates the importance my Government attaches to the various international instruments it ratifies," he said.
At the same meeting, chief justice Ernest Sakala said it was incumbent uponj udicial officers the world over to work towards the attainment ofu nquestionable integrity both in their official conduct and in their everyday lives.
Mr Justice Sakala said a judicial officer's conduct was watched and observed by the public for 24 hours every day regardless of where he or she was.
"Anything short of integrity on the part of a judicial officer will attract screaming front page headlines in the media. It will not be adefence to say it was a private affair.
This has become especially relevant in today's ever changing, criticaland watchful world, which increasingly demands that the personal and official behaviour of judicial officers be above reproach and beaccountable," Mr Justice Sakala said.
ZAWJ president Ireen Mambilima said her association was grateful toIAWJ for according Zambia the opportunity to host the conference which brought together women judges, magistrates, judicial officers, legal practitioners and other stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.
Ms Justice Mambilima said the conference would share experiences anddiscuss pertinent current and emerging developments in judicial integrity, human rights and related fields of law among other topics.
IAWJ president Brenda Hale commended President Banda and the Zambian Government's commitment to promote women judges and urged othe rcountries in Africa and abroad to emulate Zambia.
She said the decisions which judges made affected the lives of people hence they needed to maintain the high levels of integrity.
IAWJ is a non-governmental organisation comprising more than 4,000 members at all levels from more than 90 countries.