Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: How Malawians Are Championing AI to Revolutionize the Legal Sector
A blog by Macpherson Ndalama, an Implementing Partner
Imagine you're a lawyer working tirelessly on a case. You need quick, reliable legal references pertinent to Malawi's context, but instead, you're stuck trawling through out-dated websites or inaccessible legal libraries. This was the reality for Wilson, the resident lawyer on our Fumba team. Frustrated by the lack of tailored solutions and the daunting case backlogs within Malawi’s judicial system, Wilson turned his frustration into innovation—kick-starting our journey towards an AI-driven solution specifically crafted for Malawi.
Kicking Off with Synergy: The Fumba and Research Teams hit the ground running- collaboration organically and setting the tone for the week of shared purpose and insight.
As a team, while Wilson was the only practicing lawyer among us, each of us had witnessed first-hand the harsh impact of Malawi's slow-moving judicial wheels. We knew friends, neighbours, even relatives unfairly languishing in jails awaiting delayed hearings, and others denied timely justice until after they'd passed away. Courts, for many, became tactics of delay rather than instruments of swift justice. These painful, personal observations fuelled our determination to find a viable, transformative solution.
Supported by Frontier Tech Hub and the FCDO Malawi, our journey began with comprehensive stakeholder research. The research took the form of interactive roundtable discussions and open meetings involving lawyers, Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) staff, judges, as well as university law students and lecturers. Our primary objectives were clear: we aimed to uncover procedural inefficiencies in Malawi's justice sector, map out workflow challenges faced by stakeholders, gauge their openness to integrating AI solutions, and explore the practical potential of AI to streamline judicial processes. Additionally, sessions with law students served to introduce core AI concepts and capture their perspectives on the potential role AI could play in their future legal careers.
Listening and Learning: Day 1 began with a promising exchange as local lawyers engaged openly, surfacing the realities behind courtroom delays and inefficiencies.
Entering this research phase, we carried certain assumptions—judges might be indifferent, perhaps even resistant to change, LAB staff might dismiss another tech tool as impractical, and lecturers may think we are encouraging laziness among students. However, these assumptions were swiftly and pleasantly disproven. Judges, despite overwhelming schedules, prioritized our discussions, sharing candidly their dire need for research assistance and case management support. LAB staff revealed staggering realities, like single officers managing upwards of 300 cases. The message was clear: the system urgently needs help, and they welcomed the potential of AI.
Frontline Reflections: On Day 2, the Deputy Director and staff of the Legal Aid Bureau offered a grounded view into the staggering workloads they manage daily.
Interestingly, our research uncovered past unsuccessful attempts at digitizing judicial documents. These initiatives primarily fell short due to limited stakeholder involvement during the development phase and insufficient on-going support, often resulting from developers being geographically distant and disconnected from local realities. This highlighted the critical need for local participation and continuous stakeholder engagement in any future digital or AI solutions. Stakeholders' excitement about our locally championed solution was palpable—it felt empowering to offer a home-grown approach deeply rooted in Malawi’s realities and needs.
Yet, the journey wasn't without hurdles. Initially, we were laser-focused on promoting our envisioned AI solution rather than deeply understanding all nuances of the underlying problems. Conversations with stakeholders taught us to pivot, widening our perspective to embrace related challenges like robust case management and effective client onboarding processes. We also quickly understood that budget constraints within LAB and Judiciary meant our solution had to be affordable and resource-sensitive.
Moreover, AI wasn't without concerns—stakeholders cautioned against inaccuracies (famously known as AI hallucinations). To tackle this, we acknowledged the need for creating our own robust legal database, ensuring reliability and relevance. Recognizing the technical intricacies involved, we engaged extensively with our IT specialist to conceptualize a database tailored explicitly to Malawi's legal context.
Stakeholders, particularly university law students eager to embrace innovative tools in their future careers, warmly supported our project. This openness from the younger generation of legal professionals was particularly inspiring, driving our resolve and adding momentum to our project. Students enthusiastically expressed their readiness to adopt AI solutions, seeing them as invaluable tools for enhancing their effectiveness as future lawyers.
Voices of the Future: Day 3 brought energetic conversations with law students- curious, candid, and full of questions about the legal profession they are stepping into.
Encouragingly, Malawi currently lacks restrictive laws around AI solutions, presenting a favourable environment for innovation. This regulatory openness provides significant room for pioneering technologies like ours, ensuring that our solution can be developed and deployed without facing significant legislative barriers.
Through these interactions, we learned invaluable lessons about collaboration and trust. The overwhelming enthusiasm expressed by stakeholders for a locally developed solution emphasized the importance of involving the end-users right from the conception phase. For us, it was profoundly rewarding to witness stakeholders feeling genuinely part of the solution—an essential factor for sustained adoption and success.
Looking forward, our team sees endless possibilities. The AI-driven legal tool we envision will centralize legal data, enhancing efficiency for lawyers and judges alike. Automated case management will empower overburdened legal professionals to manage their workload better, automating routine tasks to free up valuable time for critical responsibilities. Most excitingly, we anticipate this tool revolutionizing legal research in Malawi, providing accurate, context-sensitive, and speedy responses tailored explicitly to our country's unique legal landscape.
Shared Challenges, Shared Solutions: Throughout the week, diverse voices came together, united by a shared goal: imagining a justice system that works better for all.
Moreover, beyond efficiency and effectiveness, we envision our solution fostering a cultural shift towards greater accountability and transparency within the judicial system. The system's enhanced capabilities could reduce opportunities for corruption and ensure that justice serves everyone fairly and promptly.
Our engagement won't end at deployment; continuous collaboration with users will guide us towards on-going improvement and innovation. By establishing feedback loops and iterative processes, we will continually refine the AI tool to meet evolving needs. Additionally, we aim to offer comprehensive training and capacity-building sessions to ensure stakeholders can maximize the potential of the AI tool, thus securing its long-term impact.
Mountains, Minds & Momentum: After a successful session with students, the Fumba Team, Research Partners, and Law Lecturers shared a moment of reflection in the hills of Zomba.
This journey reminded us profoundly: when Malawians tackle Malawi's problems, transformative solutions emerge—solutions that ensure justice, finally, will not be delayed. Our ultimate hope is that this project becomes a model not just for technological innovation in the legal sector, but also for demonstrating the power of local solutions, driven by local insight, to tackle complex social challenges.
At the close of our final session with students, a second-year student, in a lowered voice and with a nervous look, asked, "Will this AI tool replace us as lawyers?" Our simple yet firm answer was no—it will make you better and more efficient lawyers of the future. She leaned back in her chair, smiled gently at the ceiling, and let out a quiet sigh of relief that resonated through the room, reminding us of exactly why this work matters.
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Publish date: 4th April 2025
