A perspective on utilizing legal frameworks to obligate service providers to protect human rights in Malawi: A Case of the Mandatory Provision on Pro Bono Services under the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act, 2018

Malawi's Constitution of 1994 changed the law in a pro-human rights direction. It provides for safe guarding measures aimed at protecting human rights. Malawi also has progressive pro-human rights legislations which emulate provisions of international and regional human rights instruments. However, enforcement of legal frameworks remains a challenge, partly due to poverty hence a large percentage of the population is unable to meet legal costs; lack of legal literacy and distance hinders access justice. A culture of silence continues to perpetuate human rights violations, so too uncoordinated efforts by service providers in protecting human rights. The majority of legal practitioners practice commercial law hence over burdening the Legal Aid Bureau with under privileged clients, whose cases mostly border on human rights violations. This paper will look at the opportunities government has in utilizing the legal frameworks to obligate duty bearers to provide services that aim to promote human rights including access to justice for under privileged Malawians. Legal practitioners are now, under the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act of 2018, obligated to provide pro bono legal services in order to have their licenses renewed. This has seen a rise in the number of under privileged people, particularly women, able to access justice at various levels. This can also be attributed to human rights awareness done by the Human Rights Commission, human rights lawyers and civil society organizations. This paper will therefore examine the positive impact such an initiative has had in protecting human rights and upholding the rule of law in Malawi.