Yearly Archives - 2022

Expungement of Criminal Records

Expungement of Criminal Records Should criminal convictions follow you forever? When applying for a job or a visa to work or study abroad, a person may have to submit a Certificate of Conduct (also known as a police clearance certificate) to show that they have no criminal history. This certificate is issued...

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Namlex Appendix update

Namibia is one of the few countries in the world that makes international agreements automatically part of its law (Art 144 of the Namibian Constitution). This makes it important to know what treaties are binding on Namibia. The NAMLEX APPENDIX includes the following multilateral agreements: International agreements binding on Namibia: These...

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The mission of the Legal Assistance Centre

Recently, some posts on social media have complained that the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) is not taking on some of the issues brought to it by members of the public. To clarify the situation, this column will explain the LAC’s mission, and what it can and cannot do. The origins and...

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Sex Offender Register needed?

A Sex Offender Register For Namibia? Right Idea, Wrong Solution In 2017, hundreds of people gathered outside a house in Katutura in reaction to reports that the occupants were abducting and dismembering children. According to news reports, police deployed 20 police vehicles and a helicopter, and ended up having to use...

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Right to Peaceful Protest

PRESS STATEMENT As a member of the Action Coalition, the Legal Assistance Centre wishes to acknowledge the statement published on 16 May 2022. The excessive use of force in police action can never be condoned in a democratic society. The Legal Assistance Centre records its concern with the actions of the...

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Divorce Bill Analysis

The Divorce Bill: What is good and what not? The latest draft of the Divorce Bill was recently circulated for public comment.  Much of the Bill is a very welcome change to Namibia’s antiquated fault-based divorce law. The current outdated law requires a guilty spouse and an innocent spouse, and necessitates a...

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Urban Land Reform

What is Namibia doing about Urban Land Reform? Background For the best part of the first two decades after Namibia’s independence, the Namibian government has focused on commercial agricultural land reform. The Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act was enacted in 1995, five years after Namibia gained independence. Against the political rhetoric that the...

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Kashela Case Presentation

Following the October 2021 Stakeholder engagement breakfast meeting, the Land, Environment and Sustainable Development Department (LEAD) presented the same case to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources after being invited by Hon Tweya who could not attend the first meeting, to share the same discussion with the whole committee...

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Bwabwata National Park – The Khwe must be heard

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs (PSCCLA) will undertake a fact-finding visit to Bwabwata National Park in Kavango East from 14 to 16 March 2022. This is in response to a petition submitted by the Mbukushu Traditional Authority during October last year. Among other things, the petition...

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