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Over the years, more and more Parliaments in Africa have ceased to rely on the Offices of the Attorney-General or the ministries responsible for justice and legal affairs for the provision of legal services and have instead, engaged in-house counsel to provide independent legal services to Parliament. The Africa Colloquium of Legal Counsel to Parliaments was therefore established as a forum through which Legal Counsel serving in Parliaments would meet, share their experiences and learn from each other with the aim of enhancing their role in the delivery of sound, professional and independent legal advice to their respective Parliaments.

The overall purpose of the Africa Colloquium is networking and sharing of information amongst Legal Counsel serving in Parliaments across Africa.

The objectives of the Colloquium are the –

1. interaction, networking and inter-linkage between Legal Counsel serving the Parliaments of different jurisdictions in Africa;

2. examination and enhancement of the functions and roles of Legal Counsel serving in the Parliaments of Africa;

3. examination of the functional inter-linkages of Legal Counsel and other officers serving in Parliaments, the other arms of Government, the legal fraternity and the public;

4. sharing of modern trends and best-practices in the provision of legal services to Parliaments;

5. examination of contemporary legal and parliamentary issues and questions;

6. promotion of the work of Legal Counsel;

7. promotion of capacity building of Legal Counsel serving in Parliament; and

8. the networking and co-operation with Associations with similar objectives.

The Council to the Colloquium Committee was established pursuant to a resolution passed by delegates at the 2nd Africa Colloquium of Legal Counsel to Parliaments held from 3rd to 7th November, 2013, at the Laico Hotel, Nairobi Kenya.

The functions of the Council to the Colloquium are to –

(a) provide policy oversight and direction to the Secretariat;

(b) work with the next host country to plan and prepare for the next Colloquium;

(c) coordinate implementation of the objectives of the Colloquium;

(d) keep members regularly updated on Colloquium matters; and

(e) liaise with partners for resource mobilization.

The current Council members were elected during the 4th Colloquium held in Kampala, Uganda and consist of the following members –

(a) Ms. Zuraya Adhikarie – President

(b) Ms. Elizabeth Hove - Southern Region Representative

(c) Mr. Mussa Kombo- Eastern Region Representative

(d) Mr. Eric Owusu-Mensah – Western Region Representative

(c) Mr. Mustapha Zitouni- Northern Region Representative

(f) Ms. Sylvie Mokuba- Central Region Representative

(d) Mr. Clement M. Phebe- Regional Parliaments Representative

1st Colloquium

Date: 3rd to 7th November, 2013

Venue: Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi Kenya

Theme: The Nairobi Principles

2nd Colloquium

Date: 3rd to 7th November, 2013

Venue: Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi Kenya

Theme: The Nairobi Principles: Two Years On

3rd Colloquium

Date: 28th to 30th October, 2015

Venue: Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa, Mombasa, Kenya

Theme: The Changing Roles of Legal Counsel Serving in Parliaments

4th Colloquium

Date: 30th October to 3rd November, 2017

Venue: Commonwealth Speke Resort, Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda

Theme: Emerging Global Trends: A Challenge for Legal Counsel to Parliaments

The Africa Colloquium

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