News & Stories
Press Release
29 May 2026
A Partnership to Strengthen Justice Across Southern and Eastern Africa: CIJ Signs MoU with SEACJF
ZAMBIA – On 29 May 2026, the Chandler Institute of Justice (CIJ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Southern and Eastern Africa Chief Justices' Forum (SEACJF), formalising a collaboration that both organisations believe will meaningfully advance the rule of law, judicial capacity, and law reform across the region. The MoU was signed by CIJ's Executive Director Mr Ron Chari and Mr Sangwani Nyimbiri, Coordinator of SEACJF and Registrar of the Zambian High Court. The signing of the MoU was witnessed by the Zambian Chief Justice’s protocol Officer and CIJ’s Operations Director.
This milestone follows the inaugural Chandler Judicial Forum, hosted in Seychelles in April 2026 in collaboration with the Judiciary of Seychelles and supported by experts from Singapore, which brought together Chief Justices from across Southern and Eastern Africa under the theme of Judicial Leadership and Innovation. The MoU is the natural next step in translating that shared vision into a structured, long-term partnership.
What This Partnership Is Designed to Achieve
Established in 2003, SEACJF serves as a premier regional platform through which Chief Justices from across Southern and Eastern Africa engage on matters of mutual importance to the administration of justice. The Forum facilitates strategic dialogue, promotes judicial cooperation, and enables the development and implementation of coordinated action plans to strengthen justice systems and uphold the rule of law across member jurisdictions.
CIJ complements this mandate through its expertise in advancing good governance and institutional effectiveness by supporting governments, legislatures, and justice sector institutions across Africa. CIJ provides law reform advisory services, develops model laws and legislative frameworks, delivers specialised legal training, and produces practical legal knowledge products that strengthen legal institutions and improve the quality of governance and justice delivery.
Together, the two organisations have committed to collaborate across three core areas. On law reform, CIJ will provide technical expertise and advisory support to strengthen legislative frameworks across member jurisdictions. On capacity building, the partners will design and deliver specialised training programmes for judges, judicial administrators, and legal practitioners across the region. On legal knowledge exchange, they will share expertise, best practices, and knowledge products that elevate the standard of justice delivery.
Why This Matters
Across Southern and Eastern Africa, justice systems face shared challenges: rising caseloads, limited resources, the rapid advance of technology, and the persistent demand for greater access to justice. No single institution can address these challenges alone. Partnerships anchored in mutual respect, shared values, and a genuine commitment to the public good are how lasting, systemic change is made.
CIJ is honoured to walk alongside SEACJF in this work, and to serve the Chief Justices and judiciaries of Southern and Eastern Africa in building justice systems that are efficient, independent, and worthy of public trust. Our sincere gratitude to Mr Sangwani Nyimbiri and the SEACJF Secretariat for their confidence in CIJ, and to the Chief Justices of the region whose leadership and vision make collaboration of this kind both possible and purposeful.
Strong justice systems do not emerge by accident. They are built, partnership by partnership, by institutions with the courage to act on shared purpose.
About Chandler Institute of Justice (CIJ)
Chandler Institute of Justice offers expert advisory services on law reform, delivers specialised legal training programmes, and develops innovative legislative tools and models to support transformative law reform initiatives across Africa. CIJ’s work is anchored on the belief that good laws are not only the cornerstone of just and equitable societies but powerful catalysts for economic prosperity. CIJ’s mission is to partner with African governments to drive impactful, government-led law reforms while building legal knowledge and expertise that foster good governance, sustainable economic growth, and social mobility across the continent.
