Supreme Court of Appeal (Amendment) i

SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2025

MEMORANDUM
This Bill seeks to amend the Supreme Court of Appeal Act (Cap. 3:01)
(hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) with a view to, among others––
(a) increase the minimum number of presiding Justices of Appeal when
determining any matter, other than an interlocutory matter, in the Supreme
Court of Appeal, from the current three to seven;
(b) provide for the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of
Appeal to determine any complaint alleging an undue return or undue election
of a person to the office of President, under section 101 of the Presidential,
Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act, 2023 (No.10 of 2023);
and
(c) designate the Deputy Chief Registrar as the Registrar of the Supreme
Court of Appeal.
Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to amend section 2 of the Act in order to align the
definitions under the Act with the provisions of the Constitution. The definitions
being proposed to be amended in this Bill, incorrectly, make reference to
provisions of the repealed 1966 Constitution.
Clause 3 of the Bill seeks to substitute section 3 of the Act in order to provide
for the constitution of the Supreme Court of Appeal, when exercising its
appellate jurisdiction or its exclusive original jurisdiction. It proposes that the
Supreme Court of Appeal shall be constituted by all the Justices of Appeal. The
Bill further proposes that where it is not possible to constitute a panel
comprising all the Justices of Appeal, then the Court shall be constituted by such
an uneven number of Justices of Appeal not being less than seven. It also
proposes that when the Court is determining any matter, the Court shall be
presided over by the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice or a senior member
of the Court present, in that order.
Clause 4 of the Bill seeks to insert a new section 3A into the Act in order to
provide for the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Appeal to
determine any complaint alleging an undue return or undue election of a person
to the office of President, under section 101 of the Presidential, Parliamentary
and Local Government Elections Act, 2023.

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ii Supreme Court of Appeal (Amendment)

Clause 5 of the Bill intends to designate the Deputy Chief Registrar that will
be appointed under the Judicial Service Administration Act to be the Registrar
of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Currently, the Registrar of the High Court also
serves as the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Therefore, this proposal
aims at ensuring that composition of the Supreme Court of Appeal aligns with
the general reforms taking place in the Judiciary, introduced under the Judicial
Service Administration Act, 2025 (Act No. 4 of 2025) and other related
legislation.
Clause 6 of the Bill seeks to limit the powers of a single member of the
Supreme Court of Appeal not to hear or determine any matter that relates to a
complaint of undue return or undue election of a person to the office of
President.
Lastly, clauses 7 and 8 of the Bill seek to introduce provisions which broaden
the scope of practice and procedure in the Supreme Court of Appeal and provide
for a specified time period within which an appeal against a determination in
respect of a petition under the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local
Government Elections Act can be lodged.

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 Supreme Court of Appeal (Amendment) 1

SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2025

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title
2. Amendment of s. 2 of Cap.3:01
3. Substitution of s.3 of the principal Act
4. Insertion of a new s. 3A into the principal Act
5. Substitution of s. 5 of the principal Act
6. Substitution of s. 7 of the principal Act
7. Substitution of s. 8 of the principal Act
8. Amendment of s. 23 of the principal Act

A BILL

entitled

An Act to amend the Supreme Court of Appeal Act

ENACTED by the Parliament of Malawi as follows––
1. This Act may be cited as the Supreme Court of Appeal Short title
(Amendment) Act, 2025.
2. Section 2 of the Supreme Court of Appeal Act (hereinafter Amendment
referred to as the “principal Act”) is amended–– of s.2 of
Cap.3:01
(a) in the definition of the word “Chief Justice”, by deleting the
words “section 63” and substituting therefor, the words “ section
111 (1)”; and
(b) by deleting the definition of the word “member” and
substituting therefor a new definition as follows––

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““member” means a Justice of Appeal specified

under section 105 (1) of the Constitution.”.
Substitution 3. The principal Act is amended, by deleting section 3 and
of s.3 of the substituting therefor, a new section 3 as following––
principal Act
“Constitution 3.––(1) This Act shall apply to the Supreme Court of
of the
Supreme
Appeal for Malawi, hereinafter referred to as “the
Court of Court”, established under section 104 of the
Appeal Constitution.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Court shall, for
purposes of determination of any matter, other than an
interlocutory matter, be constituted by all members.
(3) Where it is not possible or practicable for all the
members of the Court to hear and determine a matter,
the Court shall be constituted by such an uneven
number of members, not being less than seven.
(4) The Chief Justice shall preside over proceedings
of the Court and in the absence of the Chief Justice, the
Deputy Chief Justice shall preside over the
proceedings.
(5) In the absence of both the Chief Justice and the
Deputy Chief Justice, the most senior member present
shall preside over the proceedings of the Court.
(6) A matter before the Court shall be determined by
the opinion of the majority of the members of the Court
hearing the matter.
(7) Where the Court hears and determines a
complaint alleging an undue return or undue election of
a person to the office of President as prescribed under
section 104 (3) of the Constitution, the decision of the
Court shall be final.”.
Substitution 4. The principal Act is amended, by deleting section 5 and
of s.5 of the substituting therefor, a new section 5 as follows––
principal Act
“Registrar of 5.—(1) The Deputy Chief Registrar shall be the
the Court Registrar of the Court.
(2) For purposes of this section, the “Deputy Chief
Registrar” means an officer appointed as such under the
No.4 of 2025 Judicial Service Administration Act, 2025.”.
Substitution 6. The principal Act is amended by deleting section 7 and
of s.7 of the substituting therefor, a new section 7 as follows––
principal Act

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 Supreme Court of Appeal (Amendment) 3

“Powers of a 7.––(1) A single member may exercise any power

single
member
vested in the Court not involving the hearing or
determination of an appeal:
Provided that––
(a) in a criminal matter, if a single member refuses
an application for the exercise of any such power, the
applicant shall be entitled to have his or her
application determined by the Court; and
(b) in a civil matter, any order, direction or
decision made or given in pursuance of the powers
under this section, may be varied, discharged or
reversed by the Court.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the
determination of any question in a matter with respect
to the determination of a complaint alleging undue
return or undue election of a person to the office of
President.”.
7. The principal Act is amended, by deleting section 8 and Substitution
substituting therefor, the following new section 8–– of s.8 of the
principal
“Practice and 8.––(1) The practice and procedure of the Court shall Act
procedure be in accordance with this Act and any rules of court
made under this Act.
(2) Where practice or procedure on any matter is not
prescribed in accordance with subsection (1), the
practice and procedure of the Court shall, with
necessary modifications, be in accordance with the
practice and procedure for the time being observed in
the Court of Appeal in England.”.
8. The principal Act is amended, in section 23, by–– Amendment
of s.23 of
(a) renumbering subsection (2) as subsection (3); and the
principal
(b) inserting a new subsection (2) as follows–– Act

“(2) If a person intends to appeal to the Court against

a determination of the High Court in a petition under
the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government
Elections Act, the person shall, in such a manner as may
be prescribed, within fourteen days of the
determination, give notice of the intention to appeal to
the Registrar of the Court.”.

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OBJECTS AND REASONS

The object of this Bill is to amend the Supreme Court of Appeal Act (Cap.
3:01) (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) with a view to, among others––
(a) increase the minimum number of presiding Justices of Appeal when
determining any matter, other than an interlocutory matter, in the Supreme
Court of Appeal, from the current three to seven;
(b) provide for finality of decisions of the Court and composition of the
Court when it exercises its exclusive original jurisdiction in the determination
of a complaint alleging an undue return or undue election of a person to the
office of President; and
(c) designate the Deputy Chief Registrar as the Registrar of the Supreme
Court of Appeal.
T. CHAKAKA-NYIRENDA
Attorney General

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