Malawi’s democratic Constitution of 1994 shifted the law in a pro-poor direction.
With the judiciary emerging as a surprisingly strong institution in an otherwise weak
political system, one might expect a body of pro-poor jurisprudence to develop. This has
not been the case, and this article investigates why. After considering patterns of
poverty and the role of law in the dynamics of economic marginalization in Malawi,
we examine factors assumed to infl uence the use of courts by the economically
marginalized, the strength of their legal voice, and the response of the courts to poor
people’s social rights claims. We fi nd an interplay between factors impeding the demand
for pro-poor justice as well as its supply: lack of litigation resources; high access
barriers; the pull of alternative institutions; and the nature of Malawi’s legal culture.