The office of the Legal Counsel is under the Registrar’s Department with the Legal Counsel as head of the unit reporting to the Registrar.
The overriding purpose of the legal department is to manage and/or minimize risks so that the University meets its strategic objectives effectively and efficiently. As such the department does not only manage risk and foster the best interests of the University so that it meets its strategic objectives. By so doing, the legal department is the protector and gatekeeper of the University's best interests
The role of the legal counsel office is to provide various legal services such as:-
- Handle all litigation in all Courts to ensure that the University is effectively defended and/or represented.
- Render legal advice and professional guidance to the University Management and the Council of the University of Zambia.
- Ensure that all University businesses are conducted within the confines of the Law of the Republic of Zambia.
- Analyse, interpret, and apply the Higher Education Act No. 4 of 2013 and other statutes to ensure compliance with the law.
- Provide Corporate Secretarial and Legal Services to Zambia Network Communications Limited (ZAMNET), a Company wholly owned by the University of Zambia as well as Zambia Research Education Network (ZAMREN) an Information Communication Technology (ICT) Company by Guarantee owned by a consortium of Education and Research Institutions including the University of Zambia.
- Plan and control the execution of duties in legal services including but not limited to conveyancing, legal drafting, contracts, agreements, and litigation to ensure that they are effectively and efficiently executed.
- Provide superiors and other stakeholders in the University with legal opinions on any matter or policy to ensure the legal tenability of such policies.
- Suggest and/or influence amendments to relevant legislation to allow for the implementation of those policies.
- Attend to any local and international negotiations to which the University is a party. Draft and vet agreements associated with such negotiations ensuring at all stages that the interests of the University of Zambia are safeguarded.
- Determine applicable law, from appropriate law codes, statutes, regulations, and previous decisions to use when writing opinions, preparing pleas and defenses to ensure that provisions of the law are complied with and University interests are adequately safeguarded.
- Institute title searching to establish legal/lawful ownership of property before the University can enter into a contract for the leasing, acquisition, or disposal of property to avoid legal complications in the future.
