21 In 1970 and 1971, while studying law, I worked as a clerk and interpreter during holidays. I could see the linguistic limitations of my “colleagues” and I was repeatedly asked to help other judges spontaneously translate judgments from English into Swahili. I think the situation must have deteriorated two decades later. This is especially true when one takes into account the undeniable decline in English proficiency among all high school leavers, who recruit and employ untrained clerks. However, for technical and sensitive legislation regulating, inter alia, tax and investment matters, the portfolio minister could always use the option provided by proposed section 84(6) to maintain the English version of the relevant statutes. It should be borne in mind that the bill does not propose the drafting of investment agreements in Swahili or their translation into Swahili. In addition, English remains the language of legal education. 36 See points 20 and 13 of this Opinion. It should perhaps be added that Kiswahili, although not as widespread as in Tanzania, is also the national language of Kenya and Uganda.
It is one of the languages spoken in Zaire and northern Mozambique. It has been adopted as one of the official languages of the Organization of African Unity. 33 I experienced even more clearly the inadequacy of the Kiswahili version when I wrote Sheriaya Ndoa Tanzania in 1979. If the proceedings are in English, the proceedings and decisions are translated into Swahili and made available to the parties within 21 days of the end of the proceedings. In addition, the Bill provides, in section 84 (6), that the Minister responsible for legal affairs may make orders setting out the circumstances and conditions under which a law may be drafted in a language other than Kiswahili. Prelude to the Bill Since 2008, the Law Reform Commission of Tanzania (LRCT) has added “simplification and translation of laws” as one of its main tasks. LRCT was able to translate about 15 of the 2500+ possible laws. However, the lead parliamentary rapporteur for the opinion has never approved such legal texts translated for official use.
Although section 84(1) of Chapter 1 recognizes both English and Swahili as the language of the law, section 84(3) of the English version prevails in the event of a conflict or doubt about terms or passages of a law. 31 Martin-Jones, no. 20, 12 correctly read Kavugha and Bobb`s study when he stated that the use of Swahili in higher courts is “out of necessity” because, despite the fact that the official language is English, judges and other court officials regularly deal with non-English speakers who appear before the court as parties. Witnesses or accused persons. Google Scholar`s rules will undoubtedly help community members and the general public easily understand written laws and prosecute. However, English is the predominant language of legal education and curriculum, so adopting Swahili as the language of justice and law will make it difficult for lawyers who need to learn law in English and still have to practice it in Swahili. Introduction On 5 February 2021, Cabinet Secretary John W.H. Kijazi has issued a notice informing the public about the Written Laws (Various Amendments) Act of 2021 (the law), which is to be discussed in the National Assembly. The Bill proposes to amend and add provisions to several written statutes, including the Statute Interpretation Act (Chapter 1), which is the subject of this legal update.
In short, the proposed changes replace English with Swahili as the language of law, court and documents in the administration of justice in Tanzania. 16 See Rules of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania (Amendment of Rule 3A), 1985, which state: “3A. The language of the court is either English or Swahili, since the Chief Justice or, as the case may be, the President of the court holding such a court orders, but the judgment, order or decision of the court is in English. The Bill proposes to amend section 84 (1) of the Interpretation of Laws Act, which amends and explains Swahili as the language of the laws of the country and the language of the administration and court in accordance with section 84A(1). 10 During this time, I published Sheria ya Ndoa Tanzania (Kiswahili Research Institute, 1981) and submitted Sheria Juu ya Hali na Haki za Watoto (Tanzanian Publishing House, forthcoming) for publication in 1983. Magufuli called on the judiciary and the MoCLA to make the necessary changes to existing laws to include the Kiswahili national language in court cases. 9 See page 13(1) and (2) of the Courts of First Instance Act 1984, which states that the language of the courts of first instance is Swahili and that the language of the district courts and resident courts of first instance is either English or Kiswahili, as ordered by the presiding judge. Similarly, if the case is conducted in Swahili, the cost of ligation could increase, as lawyers, although they need to know Swahili, one of the languages of the court, may need to consult translators when translating complex and technical legal words and phrases. In February 2021, President John Magufuli called for amending laws and regulations to include Kiswahili as the language used to issue court decisions. In addition, the bill could put a strain on some technical laws that deal with tax, procurement and investment issues, to name a few. Therefore, at Breakthrough Attorneys, we propose that the Minister of Legal Affairs, under his powers under section 84(6) of the Statutory Interpretation Act, retain the English version of these relevant Acts, as this will also facilitate their application.
23 Two exceptions are an article by DuBow, F., `Language, law and change: problems in the development of a national legal system in Tanzania`, in O`Barr and O`Barr, paragraph 2 above, and an article by Mukoyogo, C.M., to be published by Eastern Africa Law Review. This contrasts with the heated debates that continue in other departments of the University of Dar es Salaam and the Ministry of Education on the relevance of Swahili as a language of instruction. Google Scholar 3 Massamba, for example, stated that “although there are some languages with fewer speakers than others, none of the minority speakers would succumb to the majority of speakers considering their language superior to theirs”: Massamba, D., “An assessment of development and modernization of the Kiswahili language in Tanzania,” unpublished paper, 1985, 3.Google Scholar 28 See, e.g. Mlama, P. and Matteru, M., Haja ya Kutumia Kiswahili Kufundishia Katika Elimu ya Juu, Oar es Salaam, 1978; and Rubagumya, C. M., “Language planning in the Tanzania education system: problems and prospects,” 7, Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 283–300.Google Scholar The proposed change will affect a large number of Tanzanians, as Swahili is the nation`s official language. This will help the public easily understand written laws. Similarly, the adoption of Swahili as the language of justice will be an effective means of bringing justice to the indigenous public, as they are familiar with laws and legal procedures in general. The keynote speaker urged language and legal experts from various ministries to coordinate with officials of the Kiswahili National Council, a state institution responsible for regulating and promoting the Kiswahili language, in the translation process. From now on, with these changes, the official language used in the courts will be Kiswahili, as evidenced by the amendments that will be made to the Statutory Interpretation Act. The use of Swahili has gained prominence in recent years, as evidenced by the fact that the African Union has adopted Kiswahili as its official working language.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the courts also sing the same melody and advocate the use of Swahili. It is still in its infancy, but it will be interesting to see the impact of the rules on litigation in Tanzania. In addition, the Bill proposes to add section 84A(4), which gives the competent Minister of Justice, in consultation with the Chief Justice, the power to establish the circumstances and conditions under which jurisdiction may be given in a language other than Swahili. Rule 5 of G.N. 66/2022 provides that if the proceedings are conducted in English and a party to the proceedings or his representative does not understand English, the proceedings must be translated into Swahili by the President or under the supervision of the President. Nevertheless, this bill presents various challenges, including practicality. Indeed, English is primarily the language of legal instruction and curriculum; Therefore, this makes it difficult for lawyers who learn law in English and practice it in Swahili. He said it was important to make court decisions at all levels in Swahili, a language common to all Tanzanians.
Despite these changes, it should be noted that the bill has given non-Swahiliphones some leeway to continue to have access to a fair and equitable legal system. Indeed, the Speaker was given the power to conduct a case in any other language that could be understood by the parties under section 84A(3) of the Bill. 26 Siehe Alam Shah, “Bilingual hazards in legal education and legal practice in Bangladesh”, Vortrag auf der CLEA Conference on Emerging Educational Challenges for Law in Commonwealth Asia and Australasia, 1992 (im Folgenden), genannt CLEA Conference); Mahmood, N.
