Lusaka, Zambia — In a pivotal meeting, Malawi’s Attorney General, Hon. Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda SC, and Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Janet Scotland, PC, KC, engaged in transformative discussions addressing economic sovereignty, legal reforms, and sustainable development across commonwealth member states.
The dialogue spotlighted the crippling effects of outdated double taxation agreements on developing economies. Hon. Nyirenda highlighted Malawi’s struggle with a treaty signed in 1956, stressing the urgent need for renegotiation with technical support from the Commonwealth Secretariat. Secretary General Scotland encouraged Malawi to raise this issue at the upcoming Commonwealth Trade and Investment meeting in Namibia on June 16, 2025.
“We cannot allow outdated tax agreements to drain resources from our people. The Commonwealth must be a shield for developing countries,” Nyirenda declared.
Nyirenda said that it is ironic that Malawi does not have bilateral investment treaties with the United Kingdom and the United States of America. He requested the Commonwealth Secretariat to help in negotiating modern bilateral investment treaties with the United Kingdom and the United States of America, which would counterbalance the interests of the investor and the host state.
Secretary General Scotland emphasized the need for Malawi and other Commonwealth countries to adopt and customize modern laws on virtual assets. The Secretary General thanked the Attorney General for the support he gave in pushing for the Virtual Assets Model Law during the Commonwealth Law Ministers and Senior Officials that took place in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania from 4 to 8 March 2024.
She also hinted on proposed model contracts with 80% generic terms — including climate change, environmental impact, and preservation of sovereignty clauses — to ensure balanced, fair deals for smaller nations. The two leaders acknowledged that procurement contracts are heavily biased towards contractors.
“To attract investors while safeguarding national interests, contracts must mandate restoration, rejuvenation, and benefaction. Failing to meet these standards would render contracts null and void,” Scotland explained. She explained that the model contracts would save Commonwealth countries from paying huge fees to multibillion-dollar Western law firms.
The Secretary General underscored the need for model laws on performance management in the Government as one way of achieving efficiency in public expenditure, preventing abuse, fraud and corruption.
A standout moment in the discussion was Malawi’s push for enhanced capacity in asset tracing and non-conviction-based asset forfeiture. Hon. Nyirenda cited Angola’s staggering recovery of over $27 billion — including the InterContinental Hotel in Lusaka — through civil forfeiture between 2019 and 2023 as a powerful example of what’s possible with robust legal mechanisms.
“This is a wake-up call. Stolen public assets can and must be recovered. Civil forfeiture is not just a legal tool; it’s a weapon for justice,” he emphasized.
The Secretary General bemoaned the shortage of lawyers with expertise in commercial law within the Commonwealth Region. Nyirenda stated that this was because most scholarships awarded to law students from developing countries are biased towards human rights and other non-commercial law related courses. He thus requested the Commonwealth Secretariat to redesign scholarships so that they lean towards commercial law.
A standout moment in the discussion was Malawi’s push for enhanced capacity in asset tracing and non-conviction-based asset forfeiture. Hon. Nyirenda cited Angola’s staggering recovery of over $27 billion — including the InterContinental Hotel in Lusaka — through civil forfeiture between 2019 and 2023 as a powerful example of what’s possible with robust legal mechanisms.
“This is a wake-up call. Stolen public assets can and must be recovered. Civil forfeiture is not just a legal tool; it’s a weapon for justice,” Nyirenda emphasized, underscoring the need to prevent public corruption through AI-driven bid analysis.
Scotland added that the Commonwealth has developed an anti-corruption benchmark and SMART performance management systems, akin to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), to enhance government accountability.
The Attorney General also called for the establishment of a central legislative repository linked to court judgments to enhance legal transparency and efficiency in Malawi.
Discussions extended to digital transformation, with Scotland announcing that India will support member states with free digitization and AI systems. The Commonwealth’s “Strategist AI” platform, a repository of laws across member countries, will enable states like Malawi to conduct gap analyses and streamline legislative reforms.
The two leaders agreed on the need for intra-pool legislation, MOU-linked bills, and judicial training to harmonize legal interpretations. Scotland highlighted three key sectors — energy, infrastructure, and mining — as crucial for Africa’s growth, stressing that enhanced legal expertise is essential to negotiate with large, well-resourced investors.
The meeting closed with commitments to ongoing collaboration, with the Commonwealth set to share documents on trade, investment, and Malawi’s SDG performance.
This landmark discussion signals a bold new chapter for Malawi and the Commonwealth, as they unite to build a stronger, fairer, and more sustainable future.
Patricia Janet Scotland was appointed Attorney General of the United Kingdom in 2007-the first woman to hold the post since it was created in 1315. She became the first woman to be appointed Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 1991. At 35 she was also the youngest woman ever to be made a QC. The first black woman to be appointed Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder and Master of Middle Temple. She became Secretary General of the Commonwealth in 2015.
She joined the House of Lords in 1997 as Baroness Scotland of Asthal, going on to serve as Minister in the Foreign Office, Home Office and Lord Chancellor’s Department.
