Old laws still mistakenly used – Shivute

OUTDATED laws which no longer apply in Namibia are still being referenced in cases because an official database of laws does not exist, Chief Justice Peter Shivute said at the Legal Assistance Centre’s launch of the Namlex update 2017 yesterday.

The Namlex database is available for free on the LAC website. It is also available to institutions such as parliament.

The index to Namibian laws (Namlex) is a database of laws in force in Namibia that is organised by topic, with a brief description of each law.

The Namlex appendix provides a list of the international instruments binding on Namibia.

“As a means of providing useful and accurate information to the public at large, undoubtedly, this project provides a powerful tool for the promotion and advancement of human rights and the rule of law in the country,” Shivute noted.

Also speaking at the launch, attorney general Sacky Shanghala, who secured funding for the updates of the index up to the end of 2018, said Namlex was of great importance as access to justice depended on access to laws.

Explaining the role Namlex plays, the LAC’s Dianne Hubbard said complications regarding what laws were currently applicable to Namibia were endless.

She added that some of the complications arose because many South African laws which applied to the then South West Africa have been amended, but the amendments do not apply to the then South West Africa unless stated explicitly.

“So, there would be one version of the statute in South Africa and another version of the same statute in Namibia,” Hubbard stated.

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