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Capacity building
The IBAHRI is assisting in the creation of a database of decisions of the courts in Swaziland. This would greatly enhance the rule of law in the country. A searchable system is in the process of being constructed and all judgments are being uploaded so that they are available online. They will also be available on CD for those without internet access.

This follows a two-year programme of support to the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) which ended in March 2005, during which time the LSS developed significantly. A widely publicised IBAHRI report, released after a visit to Swaziland in January 2003, indicated that the rule of law was deteriorating against a backdrop of confused legal structures and active government interference (click here for the full report).

This capacity building programme saw the development of the Law Society and training for the Law Society's Administrative Secretary and the provision of a fully functioning IT infrastructure; more efficient procedures for the collection of fees; a more accurate membership list and a new disciplinary process for lawyers.

As well as this, office premises and procedures have been established, the Law Society is running CLE courses and contributing to the debate on the constitution and the rule of law, and a highly successful conference was held at the end of August 2004 on these themes.  The Law Society also held a strategic planning workshop last year to focus its activities for the future.

Training
The IBAHRI conducted a five-day Colloquium for Swaziland’s judges and magistrates in 2005, on the subject of human rights.

In the context of Swaziland imminently adopting a new Constitution, human rights issues will become an essential element in all cases before Swaziland’s courts, thus prompting the need for full comprehension of human rights and what constitutes a violation.

The main objectives of the Colloquium were:

• to provide an overview of the international and regional human rights rules and principles applicable to Swaziland;
• to facilitate skills in research (particularly online research) into human rights; and
• to encourage active consideration of the application of human rights in the decisions of the courts of Swaziland.

The Colloquium took place in Swaziland between 1-5 September 2005 and was made possible by funding from the Government of the United Kingdom. A number of expert trainers attended the colloquium including Judge Johann Kriegler, South African Constitutional Court; Judge Ralph Zulman, Supreme Court of Appeal, and Dr Phillip Tahmindjis, IBA Programme Lawyer.

Click here to read the press release.

The Colloquium was based on the UN/IBA Training Manual: Human Rights in the Administration of Justice for judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

For more information on the programme in Swaziland please contact hri@int-bar.org.

Swaziland: Striving for Democratic Governance: An Analysis of the Draft Swaziland Constitution (August 2003)
Click here for the full report.

Swaziland: Law, Custom and Politics: Constitutional Crisis and the Breakdown in the Rule of Law (March 2003)
Click here for the full report.