President Koroma launches the Legal Aid Board

President Koroma launches the Legal Aid Board

H.E. President
Dr. Earnest Bai Koroma

“This has been a long wait for all of us. It is a commitment of my government and I am sure there is great expectation out there.” With these few words, President Dr. Ernest Koroma launched the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board (LAB) while holding up the maiden edition of the Board’s newsletter.

The ceremony took place on 19 December 2015 at the Miata Conference Centre, Youyi Building where hundreds of civil society members drawn mostly from the Motor Drivers Union, Bike Riders Association, Petty Traders Association and the Market Women Association had converged to celebrate a new dawn in making justice accessible to the poor, and to also say thank you to the Legal Aid Board. Members of these organizations make up the majority of beneficiaries of the Board since it commenced operations in May 2015.

President Koroma reminded his audience that the establishment of the Legal Aid Board did not happen by chance. ‘On being elected president and during campaigning for the Office, I made a firm commitment to uphold the rights of every citizen’ he said. ‘This is provided for in our Constitution which guarantees that every accused person has a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent court’ This commitment, according to the President culminated in the enactment of the Legal Aid Act 2012.

While acknowledging progress in improving the Judiciary and other justice sector institutions including the Correctional Service in ensuring access to justice is speedy, the President underlined major challenges relating to the cost of accessing justice for ordinary people. ‘Out there the circumstances of ordinary people are such that it is impossible to afford the services of lawyers’ President Koroma said.  ‘As a government that is committed to the dignity of ordinary people, we have started taking steps towards addressing this challenge. We are not there yet, but the efforts that we have made have earned us some recognition in this year’s MO Ibrahim Index’.

The President expressed satisfaction at the progress made since the Legal Aid Board started operations in May 2015. He challenged all to commit publicly to the sustainability of the Board and ensuring that it reaches the 149 chiefdoms in the country. ‘This is a moment for all of us to commit to the sustainability of the great job that has been started by the Board’ President Koroma said.

He further lauded the collaboration between the Board and the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA). He called on members of the Association to also embrace the concept of the ‘Poor man’s’ lawyer and encouraged them to provide support to people upcountry where their services are also required.

The President underscored his government’s continued commitment to providing support to the Board and appealed to international development partners to do likewise.

The President had this warning to those who would want to take advantage of the support of the Board and therefore put themselves in conflict with the law: ‘The Board will provide support within the law. Those of you who willfully break the law and expect support, you will have to support yourself’.

The President had good news for 326 accused persons on remand since 2006 and some of who have not been served with indictments. He called on the Board to work with the Chief Justice and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to bring the cases to a closure. 

Statements were delivered by members of the Board namely Mr. Emmanuel Shears-Moses who chaired the ceremony, the Chair and Executive Director of the Board.

Mr. Emmanuel Shears-Moses, Board Member -
Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board

The Chair of the launch, Mr. Emmanuel Shears-Moses Esq. said the idea of a legal aid scheme gained currency when he became President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association. ‘At the time, many of us attended to matters for nothing’ he said.

He lauded the vision of the President and his government in establishing the Board. However, he joined the President to caution that legal assistance is not a license for people to take the law into their own hands, noting that those who do will not be supported with legal assistance.  ‘The idea is, those who have rights have their rights sustained and not trampled upon because they cannot be represented’ Shears-Moses maintained.

He stressed that the Board will ensure every chiefdom in the country enjoys justice. ‘We will train paralegals in the near future who will handle matters at chiefdom level and work with local court chairmen to ensure justice is equitably discharged’ he said. 

Mr. Shears-Moses drew attention to the plight of accused persons who have been languishing in custody for crimes which fall under summary offences.

He lamented the fact that some of these remand cases have spent more time in prison than the maximum penalty for the offence they are alleged to have committed. ‘I know of a case were someone spent six years at Pademba prison for a summary offence which according to our laws the penalty cannot be more than five years’ he noted.

He stressed the importance of finance in the legal aid scheme and therefore appealed for support from government, non-governmental organizations, donors and individuals. He singled out the Sierra Leone Motor Drivers Union for assisting the Board with providing free transportation to various destinations for those who have been released by the Courts.

Hon. Justice Adeliza Showers , Chairperson 
Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board

The Chairperson of the Board, Hon. Justice Adeliza Showers acknowledged support received from the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon Franklyn Kargbo in providing office space for the Board on the first floor of Guma Building and to the Access to Security and Justice Programme (ASJP) for rehabilitating, refurbishing and equipping it. ‘We are please with the steps taken to expand the Board’s accommodation facility to the second floor of the Guma Building’ Hon. Justice Adeliza Showers noted.

She underscored the Board’s independence and non-profit nature as guiding principles in ensuring its services are enjoyed by deserving low income Sierra Leoneans. She further noted the Board intervenes in the following areas: criminal cases, Family issues, child support, debt, land issues, domestic violence, rape and defilement, juvenile offences, commercial driven disputes and community level problems.

Justice Showers stressed that a functional scheme is essential in reducing the length of time suspects and accused persons are held at police stations and detention centers and by extension the prison population. 

She noted that the lack of financial means to seek legal assistance due to the absence of a well funded national legal aid scheme poses a serious challenge to accessing justice through the courts. She therefore emphasized that the need for a well funded scheme cannot be over emphasized.

‘Access to legal aid during the early stages of the criminal justice process that is the first hours or days of police custody or detention is crucial for those who have been arrested in respect of a criminal offence. The way in which suspects and accused persons are treated up to and including their first appearance in court has a significant impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system’ she stressed.

To mitigate this challenge, she said the Board will be deploying lawyers and paralegals at Police stations to assist with offering assistance at the early stages to persons falling foul of the law. She however cautioned that deploying lawyers and paralegals in the 36 police stations in the Western Area and 149 chiefdoms upcountry will be a formidable task.

She said that the Board is working with the Sierra Leone Bar Association to decongest the Pademba Correctional Center. ‘This has already made a strong impact on the community’ she stated.

Justice Showers closed her presentation by lending a voice to appeals for financial assistance especially from donors.  

Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, Executive Director, 
Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board

The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Mrs. Claire Carlton-Hanciles emphasized the importance of the scheme in ensuring a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the Rule of Law. She added that the scheme is highly needed to ensure the right to fair trial and equality before the law.

She therefore commended the government for establishing the Legal Aid Board in fulfilment of both its national and international legal obligations. She drew attention to a number of human rights instruments, international conventions and protocols the government has signed, ratified and domesticated.

“One of the most outstanding instruments signed is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides for the right to fair trial and legal aid in Article 14(3) (d). This is also provided for in the Legal Aid Act and Section 23 of the 1991 Constitution” Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles said. “Also Pillar 7 of the Agenda for Prosperity stipulates:  ‘Justice Sector Reform is based on making Justice accessible locally; ensuring that justice is expedited, and that rights and accountability are respected.”

Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles noted that the civil society groups – Bike Riders Association, Market Women Association, Motor Drivers Union and Petty Traders Association – that have come to celebrate the launch of the Board make up the majority of those affected by the criminal justice system in the sense that they are poor and therefore cannot afford to hire a lawyer. ‘A good number of these people never had access to legal aid until the Board came into existence’ Mrs Carlton-Hanciles said.

She underscored the indispensability of lawyers and paralegal in providing effective legal services. ‘In sierra Leone access to a lawyer is the single most important precondition for suspects, detainees and accused persons to be able to exercise their free trial rights’ she stressed.

Speaking on future plan, Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles said the Board will be embarking on a massive legal education programme in partnership with local authorities, the Sierra Leone Police, University Law Clinics and civic society organizations.

‘We will target youths across the country. We will target specifically cliques which have become a potent threat to security’ Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles said.  “We will also organize Legal Education and literacy for paralegals and local court officials.” She also noted that the Board will strengthen its Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism for increased delivery of legal aid.

Highlighting some of the achievements of the Board since its inception, Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles said the Board has gone into partnership with various justice departments and cooperated with various organizations and unions. In addition, the Board is discussing with the Departments of Law and Peace and Conflict Studies for short and long term training of staff and contractors.

She had this to say regarding successes in the courts: “Of the 289 Pademba Correctional Centre intimates attending the September Session of the High Court, the Board secured the release of the 78 out of a total of 88’. In addition, the Board is providing legal representation to 237 cases since the inception of the September Session of the High Court.

Also, Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles  told her audience that the Board and the Sierra Leone Correctional Service are in the process of setting up the Legal Aid and the Sierra Leone Correctional Service Counselling and Rehabilitation Committee for the purposes of counselling inmates and empowering them through sensitization and other activities to become good citizens that will contribute meaningfully to society. The committee, according to Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles will soon embark on Town Hall Meetings for inmates.

Speaking on challenges facing the Board, Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles indicated the issue of inadequate resources to build a sustainable legal aid board. In addition, there are issues around managing expectations especially in the area of funds to pay stipend to assigned counsel, training for lawyers assigned to provide legal aid service, educating personnel from the justice and security sectors and the general public on legal aid services, well resourced environment with space and equipment to house lawyers, paralegals and ADR Mediators, official means of transportation, capacity building and training resources for continuing education and also training programmes with the National Legal and Justice Institute for the provision of legal aid and getting development partners to assist the Board in fully exercising its mandate as provided for in the Legal Aid Act,

Mrs. Carlton-Hanciles closed her presentation on an issue that is close to her heart. She drew attention to the plight of 326 remand inmates who have been at the Pademba Correction Centre since 2006 and a good number of who have not been served an indictment. ‘The Board is pleased with the discontinuance of all actions in respect of the Public Health Emergency provision. At the same time, we are following with keen interest the issue of the 326 inmates, some do not even know when their matters will come up’ she said.

Goodwill messages were delivered by the Chief Justice, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and DFID/ASJP

Hon. Justice Valesius Thomas, Chief Justice of

 Republic of Sierra Leone

The Chief Justice of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Hon. Justice Valesius Thomas noted that the establishment of the Legal Aid Board is part of the development process in improving the justice delivery system in the country.

Underscoring the challenges facing the justice system in the country, he recalled visiting the three regional towns last May and was shocked to be told by Justice Gooding that there have not been trails in Kono for two years.

‘Justice Gooding told me he receives regular reports of persons on remand dying in prison because the courts are not in session in that part of the country. That is a poor state of affairs’ he said. “That is why we tried in the Judiciary to establish some criminal sessions during the months of July to September when we reviewed and tried to decongest the Correctional Centers. I am happy to report that we have made massive progress in this direction. I see the role of the Board as vital in improving the justice delivery system’ Justice Thomas said

He called on the Board to address the natural imbalance in society that exists among persons and between government and the citizens. He elaborated further by noting that while some people are capable of defending their rights and interests without any help using their own resources, there are those who are unable to do so without some financial assistance. ‘It is this imbalance that the Board will hopefully address from its activities’ he said.

The Chief Justice lent his voice to appeals for funding for the Board. He called of all to support the Board financially especially those who can afford it. He described the relationship between the Board and the Judiciary as a partnership. ‘The Judiciary is there to dispense justice but we can only do so if those who are brought before the Courts are adequately represented.  So that people do not have to die in prison. There have been occasions when people have not obtained justice they deserve because they have not received adequate private resources to do so’ Justice Thomas emphasized.

Hon. Franklyn Bai Kargbo
Attorney General and Minister 
of Justice

Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Franklyn Bai Kargbo recalled how upon appointment to the office almost five years ago,  the President reiterated the need to build a strong, trusted, dependable and transparent justice sector as envisaged in the then Agenda for Change. He added that the President stressed the need for an inclusive and an expanded access for affordable justice for the ordinary people.

He further recalled implementing a 18-month pilot legal aid project at the time, which found that most Sierra Leoneans lack understanding of how the legal processes work.

He noted that the Legal Aid Act was drafted almost immediately after the conclusion of the project. ‘The results of the pilot project were reflected in the mandate of the Legal Aid Board’ Hon. Kargbo said.

He recalled that on a couple of occasions he had appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Council, the issue of access to justice and fair trial has always come up. ‘I have promised them that by the next appearance I will have information regarding the Legal Aid Board. At the second cycle of review which comes in January next year I will be flaunting the Legal Aid Board both in terms of its enactment and results’ he said.

The AG told his audience that some ten days ago, he had the opportunity of presenting the first ever Human Rights Report on Sierra Leone to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in the Gambia. ‘The establishment and achievements of the Board were among the issues I informed them about and Sieerra Leone received high commendation in that regard’ he said.

The AG acknowledged the remarkable progress made by the Board but was quick to point out that as a Government they see it as work in progress. He underscored the need to manage perceptions and expectations. In this regard, he informed that he will be summoning a meeting of agencies connected with the justice delivery sector to synchronize mandates or remits which may be overlapping.

Hon. Alpha Kanu, Minister of Information
and Communication

The Minister of Information and Communication, Hon. Alpha Kanu described the massive turn out of civil society groups and traditional rulers for the launch as a celebration of the achievements of the Legal Aid Board and also a show of gratitude to the President.

Hon. Kanu described the concept of Legal Aid as new in West African where Sierra Leone is the third country to set up the scheme after Nigeria and Ghana. He praised the leadership of President Koroma for his foresight in making this possible.

‘Sierra Leone now has a President whose priorities are anchored firmly in setting up institutions that guarantee the maintenance of law and order, respect for human rights and respect for women and children’s rights. This is evidenced in historical facts as he piloted the three gender laws towards the end of parliament before he went back to be elected as President in 2012’ Hon. Kanu said.

He further lauded the democratic credentials of the President in guaranteeing freedom of speech. ‘We have a President who after eight years at the helm of affairs nobody has been held as a political prisoner nor are there any prisoners of conscience incarcerated because of their colour, creed or belief. A president in whose tenure journalists can freely comment on issues’ he stressed.

Hon. Kanu praised the Board especially it Chair and Executive Director for selfless commitment in executing the mandate of the Board.

Mr. Ibrahim Sorie, President 
Sierra Leone Bar Association
 

The President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Mr. Ibrahim Sorie described the relationship between the Legal Aid Board and the Bar Association as a ‘natural partnership’.

He underlined that the mandate of the Board which bothers on providing legal representation and advice fits into the core value of the Bar Association. 

He lauded the government for creating and funding the Board. ‘We believe this is a project that is sustainable. We believe this is a project that can only do one thing and that is bring positive results for the people of this country’ Mr. Sorie said.

He called on the government to continue to provide more resources to the Board notwithstanding the harsh economic climate. “As an Association, we believe a just society is a catalyst for a stable society and a stable society is a catalyst for a prosperous society’

The representative of the Department for International Development and Access to Security and Justice Programme (DFID/ASJP) noted the support her organization has given to the Board ranging from equipping the office to developing of the Legal Aid Strategy.

Representative, Department for International
Development /Access to Security and Justice Program 

She described the Legal Aid Act as a progressive piece of legislation which is aimed at protecting the rights of those individuals who can least afford representation.  ‘There is a fundamental need for legal aid in the country to help the poor and vulnerable in accessing justice’ she said.

She acknowledged ongoing efforts by the Chief Justice and the Judiciary to reform the justice sector to be more efficient, effective and accountable. She stressed that the provision of an appropriate and sustainable legal aid system provides an opportunity to deal with cases in a timely manner and prevent people from being held in the Correctional Centres unnecessarily. ‘This is something we demonstrate a strong commitment to’ she emphasized.

She underscored the need for collaboration with justice sector departments including the judiciary in the training of paralegals and regulating the professionals involved in the provision of legal aid.  She stressed that pro-bono networks have a fundamental role to play in this. 

The Outreach Coordinator in the Office of the Government Spokesman, Mr. Abudulai Bayraytay earlier on declared the ceremony open while the Administration and Finance Manager of the Board, Mr. Joseph Peter Kaikai delivered the welcome address and introduced the Chairperson for the launch.