An Analysis of Judicial Trends in Disciplining Unqualified Legal Practice in Tanzania

Abstract

his article has provided a considered analysis of unqualified practice in Tanzania and the approach and the willingness of the judiciary in punishing it. Although the Court of Appeal set its binding precedent in Edson Oswald Mbogoro, it is the open-door approach to this decision which is largely responsible for the nuanced approach in the discipline of advocates in Tanzania. The ensuing the approach of the judiciary has been to either punish advocates alone, expunge the pleadings they have prepared and thus prejudicing litigants, avoid any form of punishment, or even issuing a simple warning, and sometimes assuming the misconduct never happened. This represents mixed outcomes of unwillingness and non-uniformity in enforcing disciplinary measures for unqualified practice. Instead, the judiciary has been clear in punishing innocent litigants for the mistakes of advocates. This work recommends that upholding documents unqualified persons have prepared is a good practice in upholding the constitutional rights of innocent litigants following the persuasive decision of Afriq Engineering, save in cases of their complicity. The Article hopes to inspire more debate on the subject and create awareness both to advocates and the judiciary, hoping these legal shortcomings will not repeat in the future. Keywords: Advocates Act - Advocates Committee – Judiciary - Misconduct – Offences –– Unqualified Persons – Unqualified Practice