Public urged to give input on laws

The Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) has urged members of the public to come forward and share their experiences with laws that have already been passed such as the Maintenance, Rape, Domestic Violence and the Electoral acts.

LRDC chairperson Yvonne Dausab said their aim is to make the law accessible and to be responsive to the needs of the people.

“We recommend review and reform based on whether a law affects people positively or negatively.”

The LRDC, through the justice ministry, recently repealed of a swathe of obsolete laws and regulations linked to the racist apartheid regime. The commission reviewed the entire body of 557 laws in force in Namibia in order to reform and develop Namibian laws for an independent Namibia.

This exercise led to the Repeal of Obsolete Laws Act, 2018 (Act No. 21 of 2018), which came into force on 1 March this year.

According to Dausab, the project on repealing obsolete laws is further complemented by another project which looks into laws that may be considered as impeding development, particularly socio-economic development.

This project is currently being undertaken and a report will be published when finalised.

Dausab told Namibian Sun that the commission will also soon visit justice minister Sacky Shanghala to discuss projects they intend to continue with or introduce for his consideration.

“But for the moment, the LRDC has just finalised its report on Divorce and the Red Line Matrimonial Property Regime and we hope to publish these reports soon.”

She said other on-going projects for the LRDC are include the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework, Laws Impeding Development, Review of the 1936 Insolvency Act, Administrative Justice, Customary Marriages, and Locus Standi. The commission also provides assistance to stakeholders on the Road Safety Management, Mental Health, and the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund bills.

According to Dausab there will always be laws that need to be repealed, but the question is perhaps rather whether they foresee a similar once-off repeal approach to laws in the future and she said they in fact do.

“Based on the exercise that led to the current repeals, we have come across some laws which needed further study to determine their current status and as the LRDC, we intend on following up on some of the leads we established in the last exercise.”

According to her the idea is to have a second phase of identifying outdated laws and to recommend these for repeal at the appropriate time.

She said the courts in Namibia also continue to shape the legal landscape of Namibia by pronouncing their views on laws that may be considered obsolete for reasons of being archaic and outdated.

“A case in point is around the issues of grounds for divorce. Other work that the LRDC is busy with is the proposal for the repeal of the native administrative proclamation that deals with the so called red line marriages.”

Dausab said the identification of obsolete laws and the recommendations for repeals thereof is thus something that various stakeholders can play an active role in and these laws can and continue to be repealed on an on-going basis.

“We would like the public to share their engagements with the laws and how they were, or are, affected.

We must remember that not every law that is from the apartheid dispensation is obsolete. Some continue to be useful and unless there are glaring contradictions with the constitution or other pieces of legislation, they are still being used. In those instances it may only require slight textual amendments to meet the needs of the people.”





ELLANIE SMIT