• UNDP-backed project boosts digital skills, enables virtual court operations
• Digitization cuts costs, expands access, supports remote testimony for survivors

Malawi’s judiciary launched a new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy and a dedicated ICT laboratory on Monday, November 3, in Blantyre.

The initiative, carried out in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims to modernize judicial procedures, improve access to justice, and strengthen the rule of law.

The new policy sets out a framework for digital transformation focused on governance, security, capacity building, and institutional resilience. The accompanying ICT laboratory will serve as an innovation and training center for judges, magistrates, and judicial staff. It aims to strengthen their digital skills and allow them to test technology solutions suited to local needs.

This project builds on ongoing digitization efforts launched in 2024. With UNDP support, the judiciary has already established twenty pilot virtual court sites connecting courts, prisons, and police stations. The system has reduced administrative costs by roughly 375 million Malawian Kwacha (about $216,600) over fifteen months while improving access to justice. Notably, it allows survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to testify remotely.

The new ICT policy is expected to accelerate the digital transformation of Malawi’s judiciary, improving transparency and efficiency and strengthening public confidence in the justice system.

Malawi joins other African nations such as Rwanda, Kenya, and Ghana that are modernizing their justice systems by introducing online platforms, virtual hearings, and paperless procedures to reduce delays and expand access to justice.

Samira Njoya