The Criminal Justice System in Zambia

This chapter of a 2009 report examines Zambia's engagement with regional and international treaties, protocols, and organizations focused on crime, security, and law enforcement. It highlights a gap between the signing and ratification of these instruments and emphasizes the need for better domestic implementation to ensure legal enforceability.

• Zambia demonstrates a lack of commitment or capacity in processing regional protocols, having ratified only 6 out of 15 signed regional protocols related to crime and security. Some of these unratified agreements were signed as early as 1992 and 1998.
• Delays in the ratification process by Zambia and other SADC member states have prevented critical treaties from entering into force. For example, the SADC Protocol on Extradition remains inactive because a quorum of ratifying states has not been reached, despite Zambia ratifying it in 2004.
• Zambia is a signatory to 24 international conventions and protocols regarding security and crime, but it has failed to complete the processing of several key instruments. This includes the UN Convention Against Corruption, which remains unsigned despite a notification of interest sent to the UN on 11 December 2003.
• Zambia actively participates in various international law enforcement networks and organizations to combat crime, including Interpol, the UN Development Programme, and the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation. It also maintains a specific information-exchange agreement with the Indian government signed in 1993 to address drug trafficking trends.
• The report concludes that ratifying treaties is insufficient without domestication. Without incorporating these instruments into national law, Zambia cannot legally prescribe or impose penalties on offenders.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2009). The Criminal Justice System in Zambia. https://issafrica.org/topics/crime-and-criminal-justice/01-apr-2009-monograph-no-159-the-criminal-justice-system-in-zambia.-enhancing-the-delivery-of-security-in-africa-african-human-security-initiative/chapter-8-regional-and-international-conventions-and-protocols

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. The Criminal Justice System in Zambia. 2009. https://issafrica.org/topics/crime-and-criminal-justice/01-apr-2009-monograph-no-159-the-criminal-justice-system-in-zambia.-enhancing-the-delivery-of-security-in-africa-african-human-security-initiative/chapter-8-regional-and-international-conventions-and-protocols.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=The Criminal Justice System in Zambia |date=April 2009 |url=https://issafrica.org/topics/crime-and-criminal-justice/01-apr-2009-monograph-no-159-the-criminal-justice-system-in-zambia.-enhancing-the-delivery-of-security-in-africa-african-human-security-initiative/chapter-8-regional-and-international-conventions-and-protocols |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2009criminal, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{The Criminal Justice System in Zambia}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, month = apr, url = {https://issafrica.org/topics/crime-and-criminal-justice/01-apr-2009-monograph-no-159-the-criminal-justice-system-in-zambia.-enhancing-the-delivery-of-security-in-africa-african-human-security-initiative/chapter-8-regional-and-international-conventions-and-protocols}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }