R v. Minister of Justice & Constitutional Affairs & Ors.

The executive branch of Malawi issued a moratorium to halt the operation of laws that criminalized the sexual practices of same-sex couples. A lower court suspended the moratorium and three separate applicants filed for a continuation of the suspension in the High Court. The Court found that two of the applicants, as clergymen, did not have standing in the case because they were not directly injured by the moratorium. By contrast, the Court determined that the last of the applicants had standing because he was arrested for obtaining goods by false pretenses and it was unfair for him be punished for his illegal action while people engaging in same-sex acts were not arrested. The Court sustained the suspension of the moratorium and further referred the question of  the executive branch’s power to pass the moratorium to the Chief Justice.

Topics

• Gender discrimination
• LGBTIQ

Geographical location

• Africa
• Malawi

Keywords

• criminal law and procedure
• constitutional rights
• gender persecution

Year

• 2016

External URL

• R v. Minister of Justice & Constitutional Affairs & Ors.

Court

• High Court of Malawi

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• Malawi