The Southern African Chief Justices Forum (SACJF) has given the Zambian Judiciary to be its permanent Secretariat.

Also the Judiciary of Zambia has been mandated to host the 2013 SACJF Conference and Annual General Meeting slated for August 2-3, 2013 and over fifty (50) delegates are expected to attend.

The disclosure was made during the just ended one- day SACJF management meeting held in Lusaka which was hosted by the Hon. Acting Chief Justice Madam Lombe Chibesakunda and was attended by Uganda’s Hon. Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki (as the SACJF Chairperson), Botswana’s Hon. Chief Justice Maruping Dibotelo and Namibia’s Chief Justice Peter Shivute.

The SACJF management meeting chaired by Uganda’s Hon. Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki, resolved that the SACJF Conference and Annual General meeting which were initially supposed to be hosted by Zimbabwe will now be held in Zambia due to elections which are expected to take place in Zimbabwe during the same period.

The four Hon. Chief Justices also resolved that Zambian Judiciary becomes a SACJF permanent Secretariat to be based at the New Government Complex in Lusaka. They observed that during the past two years the Judiciary of Zambia had performed very well as a Secretariat. The Secretariat is headed by the Special Assistant (Legal) to the acting Chief Justice as the Coordinator.

Other issues tabled during the meeting were the SACJF strategic and Action Plan, funding of the Secretariat and Forum activities and judges induction workshop. The SACJF management meeting took place on Tuesday April 9^th, 2013 at Radisson Blu hotel in Lusaka.

The Zambian Judiciary will continue to collaborate with other judiciaries in the region and beyond as it strives to live by its shared mission statement of: “Providing effective and efficient administration of justice accessible to all people in Zambia through impartial and timely adjudication of integrity and morality.”