what a lawyer is required to consider when drafting pleadings and chamber applications to be filled in courts of law in Tanzania

 

PRELIMINARY

As legal professionals, lawyers and advocates have an important duty to ensure that the documents they draft, including pleadings and chamber applications, adhere to legal requirements and effectively protect their clients' rights. Lawyers must be acquainted with the rules of drafting and have a sound understanding of the relevant laws to draft documents that are legally sound, clear, and concise. There is no single enactment governing drafting of legal documents in Tanzania, but legal drafting activities are provided and governed by a fragmented legal regime. The basic procedural laws which are regarded as the major legislation governing legal drafting in Tanzania, are Criminal Procedure Act[1] and Civil Procedure Code[2]. Several other enactments such as Land Act[3] and its regulations, Probate and Administration of Estates Act[4] provides requirements for drafting various legal documents basing on the needs of a particular legislation.

In drafting pleadings and chamber applications, advocates have a responsibility to accurately present their client's case and the relief sought. They must ensure that the pleadings contain all the necessary details and follow the prescribed legal format which is always provided in a particular legislation relevant to a case or suit that a lawyer is handling. In addition, lawyers must also ensure that the pleadings do not contain any false or misleading information and must refrain from presenting frivolous claims that can waste the court's time.

RULES OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS DRAFTING

When drafting pleadings or chamber applications, lawyers must be diligent in their research and understanding of the law, as these documents can have significant consequences for their clients. Lawyers have a duty to present the relevant facts and arguments in support of their client's case, while also ensuring that the application adheres to the legal requirements for form and content. The following are general requirements for drafting legal documents which are provided by our procedural laws; -

Pleadings should contain only material facts and not evidences. When a lawyer is drafting pleadings or chamber application in civil suits, he must make sure that he does not provide evidence in his pleadings. The pleadings should contain facts which requires to be proved and not the evidences of all the facts. The documents supporting pleadings are not evidences, they will become evidences later when they’re tendered and accepted by the court of law during hearing. This is a requirement of the law which is provided under Order VI, Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code[5], in addition, material facts should be stated in paragraphs and numbers and not random.

Pleadings should be signed by both client and his advocate. Any document which constitutes pleadings such as plaint, written statement of defense and reply to written statement of defense must be signed by both advocate and his/her client as provided under Order VI Rule 14 of Civil Procedure Code. In case of chamber applications, chamber summons is only signed by registry office or magistrate while affidavits are signed by both advocates and his/her client.

Pleadings and affidavits in chamber applications must be verified as required under Order VI Rule 15 of Civil Procedure Code. A verification is a statement at the end of a legal document where a party in a suit affirm that the contents or details provided in a document are true and correct basing on the knowledge of a party deposed those facts or details. No pleading is valid unless verified.

CONCLUSION

Drafting legal documents in criminal proceedings is not much complicated compare to drafting documents in civil suits. In criminal proceedings, prosecutors are required as in civil suits, to conduct research so as to discover potential offences to charge an accused(s) person. The most common documents which are used to institute criminal case before court of laws are charge for subordinate courts and information for High Court. Charge or information drafting is governed by section 135 of the Criminal Procedure Act[6]. A charge or information must contain name of the court where a charge is going to be lodged, case number, parties, a statement of offence which is a count charged, and particulars of offence which are additional details explaining when, where and how the offence was carried by an accused. The statement of offence must correctly cite a provision(s) under which an accused is charged, mis-citation of sections or citing dead law may turn charge defective.

 

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[1] Criminal Procedure Act [Cap 20 R.E 2022]

[2] Civil Procedure Code [Cap 33 R.E 2019]

[3] Land Act No 4 of 1999 as amended

[4] Probate and Administration of Estates Act [Cap 352 R.E 2002]

[5] Ibid. Order VI, Rule 3

[6] Ibid. s.135