Faculty led tour under shell course International and Comparative Study in Law.
Destination: Malawi
Host Institution: Multiple institutions
Tentative time: December 2021
Led by: Emile Carreau
UG 76099 PG 78293
This course, taught as an intensive in-country experience, is a unique educational experience that promotes comparative legal skills and cross-cultural engagement within the criminal justice system of Malawi. As one the world’s poorest countries with a high crime rate, its criminal justice system faces considerable challenges.
This study tour will provide students with a unique opportunity to learn about Malawi’s criminal procedure, policing, bail laws, and the range of punishments available to magistrates and judges. All this within the context of the existence of capital punishment - a penalty retained in Malawi since colonisation.
Students will be taught by local academics, experts and activists perfectly placed to provide an authentic learning experience.
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Course area |
UTS Law |
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Delivery |
Summer 2021; Intensive; Blantyre and Zomba, Malawi |
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Credit points |
6 cp |
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Requisite(s) |
70114 Criminal Law and Procedure, and; 70109 Evidence |
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Result type |
Pass Fail |
Subject description
This subject, taught as an intensive in-country experience, is a unique educational experience that promotes comparative legal skills and cross-cultural engagement within the criminal justice system of Malawi. Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa. It became independent from Britain in 1964. Its legal system is modelled on the British common law system but has recognised traditional customary law (Constitution of 1994, legislated 2011). As one the world’s poorest countries with a high crime rate, its criminal justice system faces considerable challenges. This study tour will provide students with a unique opportunity to learn about Malawi’s criminal procedure, policing, bail laws, and the range of punishments available to magistrates and judges. All this within the context of the existence of capital punishment - a penalty retained in Malawi since colonisation. Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the following:
- Colonial and post-colonial legal systems;
- The relationship between the positivist legal system and customary law and alternative dispute resolution;
- Global justice and its impact on local criminal justice, and;
- The relationship between resource scarcity and systemic criminal justice challenges, as well as necessary initiatives employed to mitigate their effects.
Access to justice, due process, the right to a fair trial and the rule of law are recurrent themes throughout.
Following a briefing and pre-work in Australia, students will engage in an intensive learning experience led by a UTS academic in Malawi, where they will interact with key stakeholders in Malawi’s criminal justice system, including lawyers, judges, magistrates, the police, mental health experts, paralegals, prison staff, prisoners and former prisoners, village headmen and headwomen, academics and law students. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the historical evolution of the country’s criminal justice system and the issues it currently faces, with a particular focus on the procedural factors that have resulted in the overcrowding of the country’s prisons.
In-country learning activities will take place across 10 days in Malawi. Students will be based in Malawi’s largest city Blantyre and its satellite city Zomba, which between them host the High Court of Malawi, The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, two of largest prisons in the country (including the maximum security prison), the Mental Hospital, the University of Malawi (Chancellor College) and two important paralegal organisations – the Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance, and the Paralegal Advisory Service Institute.
In addition to this course students may line up some volunteer work or stay on and complete an international legal internship (76098)
Proposed assessment
TBA in conjunction with requirements of 76099
Pre-departure activities
Students will meet with the lecturer 3 or 4 times prior to departure to prepare for the intensive learning experience in Malawi. These preparatory classes will focus on logistics, health and safety, cultural issues, and foundational learning about Malawi’s criminal justice system.
Draft schedule for in-country program (10 days)
This is an example of what the schedule may look like and should not be considered as definitive.
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Day/Location |
Description |
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1 Blantyre |
Morning: Arrival and Tour of Blantyre After arriving at Blantyre International Airport and settling into accommodation, Emile Carreau will take the team on a walking tour of Blantyre to ease into the sights and sounds of this bustling city and give the travellers an opportunity to exchange money, purchase SIM cards, etc. Afternoon: History of Malawi and its Criminal Justice System Former Legal Aid lawyer Peter Magombo and Emile Carreau will present on the pre and post-colonial history of Malawi with a particular focus on its transitions from customary to common law. Malawi’s criminal justice system will be viewed through four distinct periods; the pre-colonial period, the colonial period, and the post-colonial period during the 30-year dictatorship (from 1964-1994) and under multi party democracy since 1994.
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2 Blantyre and local village |
Morning: Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance The team will visit the CHREAA offices and meet its paralegals. The team will learn about their access to justice work and the structural challenges facing Malawi’s criminal justice system and the innovations the system has adopted to deal with severely overcrowded prisons. The team will hear from Boxten Kudziwe, a CHREAA paralegal, who spent 7 years on remand for murder before being acquitted at trial. Afternoon: Village Visit CHREAA paralegals will accompany the team to a local village to speak with village headman/headwomen about village life, its chieftaincy structure, and how crime was dealt with traditionally and how it is handled at the village level presently. The team will learn about trial by ordeal and the use of traditional medicine and witchcraft. |
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3 Blantyre |
Morning: Police Station CHREAA paralegals will accompany the team to a local police station to speak to policemen and policewomen about their statutory powers of arrest and bail, policing challenges and innovations to overcome them. Afternoon: Court Visit The team will be given a tour of the Principal Registry of the High Court of Malawi and the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal and speak to High Court Registrar Texious Masoamphambe about the history of the courts, court hierarchy, record keeping and issues facing the judiciary. The team will have the opportunity to sit in on a criminal matter in the Magistrates’ Court (and possibly the High Court if homicide trials are set down). |
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4 Blantyre |
Morning: Chichiri Prison Visit CHREAA paralegals will accompany the team to the largest prison in the southern region of Malawi. Prison officers will explain how the prison runs day to day, and how the issue of overcrowding is tackled through the camp court system. The team will be shown some of the activities prisoners can undertake during their time in prison, such as the creation of arts and crafts. The team will be exposed to the stark differences in prison conditions between Malawi and Australia. Afternoon: Prison Performance The team will be treated to a theatrical performance from prisoners who are part of the drama team at the prison. |
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5 Blantyre and Zomba |
Morning: Drive to Zomba The team will pack up and drive to Zomba and settle into its accommodation. Afternoon: Tour of Zomba and Free Time Emile Carreau will give a guided tour of the former political capital of Zomba. |
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6 Zomba |
Morning: University of Malawi – Chancellor College (Death Penalty Trends) Emile Carreau will present to the team and local university academics and students on the worldwide trend towards the abolition of the death penalty and Malawi’s position as a de facto abolitionist state in Africa. Students will learn about the history of the death penalty in Malawi and the socio-political factors influencing the state’s decision to retain the death penalty yet maintain an official moratorium on executions. Afternoon: Zomba Mental Hospital Mental health clinician Mr Harry Kawiya will speak to the team about trial competency examinations and common mental health pathologies experienced by prisoners. |
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7 Zomba Local Village |
Morning: University of Malawi – Chancellor College (Kafantayeni Project) Emile Carreau and local academics will present to the team and local university academics and students on the large-scale criminal resentencing process known to the legal community as the ‘Kafantayeni Project’. The Kafantayeni Project resentenced over 150 prisoners who were mandatorily sentenced to death for murder, which resulted in the immediate release of over 100 prisoners. Afternoon: Paralegal Advisory Service Institute and Village Visit The team will visit the PASI office to speak to the paralegals about their work. PASI paralegals will accompany the team to the village of a prisoner who was released through the Kafantayeni Project to see how he is reintegrating into village life. |
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8 Zomba |
Morning: Zomba Central Prison Visit Prison Records Officer Mr Andrew Dzinyemba will speak to the team about Zomba’s maximum security prison and there will be an opportunity to speak Byson Kaula, a former ‘Nyapala’, and current Nyapalas at ZCP about their leadership role in the prison. Afternoon: Zomba Central Prison Visit (Women’s section and Prison Ward at Zomba Hospital) The team will be taken to the women’s section to gain an understanding of the unique issues women face in Malawian society. The team will also have the opportunity to visit the prison ward at Zomba Hospital. |
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9 Zomba |
Morning: University of Malawi – Chancellor College (Student Presentations) UTS students to present to local students on issues facing Australia’s criminal justice system. (e.g. the over incarceration of Indigenous Australians, domestic violence, mandatory minimum sentences, drugs and crime, organised crime…etc).: Afternoon: Juvenile Detention Centre PASI paralegals will accompany the team to a local juvenile detention facility where they will explain the different procedural requirements around the treatment of juvenile offenders in Malawi’s criminal justice system. |
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10 Zomba and Blantyre |
Morning: Zomba Mountain and Visit Curios Market The team will drive to the top of Zomba Mountain for a short walk and to explore the curios market. Afternoon: Return Flight from Blantyre The team will drive from Zomba to Blantyre International Airport to return home. |
Required/suggested reading
This subject will have proscribed readings and materials to be completed prior to departure. In addition to this, students may wish to read the following:
- ‘And Crocodiles are Hungry at Night’ by Jack Mapanje
- ‘The State of Africa - A History of the Continent Since Independence’ by Martin Meredith
- ‘Dark Star Safari - Overland from Cairo to Cape Town’ by Paul Theroux
- Nyapala – by Emile Carreau. A 30-minute documentary that follows the post-release life of Byson Kaula who spent 23 years in prison for murder
Estimate of costs per person (based on 10 travellers for 10 days and excluding individual personal expenses)
1 USD = 1.45 AUD (subject to change)
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ITEM |
DETAILS |
COST (AUD Per Person) |
|---|---|---|
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Return flights |
A group booking (requires at least 10 travellers) will reduce the cost of the tickets |
$2,300 |
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Visa |
One-month single entry visa costs USD $75 |
$110 |
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Accommodation |
Chez Maky (Blantyre) and Casa Rosa (Zomba) costs approximately $60/night |
$600 |
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Transport |
SS Rent A Car (Blantyre) – Mini Van (15 Seat Capacity) including driver costs approximately USD $150/day |
$220 |
Please note that as per any overseas study opportunity students may access BUILD abroad funds and government exchange loans.
Safety issues: Smartraveller.gov.au lists the Republic of Malawi as a country where travellers should exercise normal safety precautions. Some areas such as the Mulanje district are listed as areas with a high rate of violent crime.
Health warnings are in place for Malaria, HIV/AIDS, insect borne disease
In general see smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/malawi
For more information on the tour and to register your interest please email law.mobility@uts.edu.au
Please note that these programs will only go ahead when government and university travel policies allow. We will be monitoring the situation and communicating to students well in advance.