LAWYER QUESTIONS TREATMENT OF UK LAW DEGREES IN ZAMBIA
Prominent lawyer Dickson Jere has called for a review of how foreign law degrees, particularly those obtained in the United Kingdom, are assessed before graduates are admitted to legal practice in Zambia.
Jere said many Zambian students who studied law in the UK and other countries are required to undertake additional courses before being admitted to the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE), because their qualifications may not meet the equivalent requirements of the Zambian LLB.
He noted that Constitutional Law was among the courses required for admission and said South Africa had similar requirements for foreign-trained law graduates.
Jere cited the case of Emer Anne Musselwhite, a South African who obtained a UK law degree with Honours and a Master’s degree but was initially denied entry into the South African Bar after the Legal Practice Council deemed her qualification not equivalent to a South African LLB.
He said the South African High Court later ruled in her favour after considering the credit points attached to her qualifications.
“Simply, she was actually overqualified and therefore should be admitted to the Bar,” Jere said.
He observed that the court had, however, clarified that foreign qualifications should be assessed on their individual merits.
“Our jurisprudence is actually based on UK law,” he said.
Jere questioned why UK law degrees could be regarded as inferior despite Zambia’s legal system drawing heavily from British jurisprudence.
“Something to look at in the future,” he said.
He further said SADC was pursuing common recognition of qualifications and the free movement of professionals.
“It is still a moot question!” Jere said.
He added that ZIALE already provided guidance on courses students should take abroad to facilitate direct entry upon returning to Zambia.