Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board
Introduction
Access to a well-funded legal
aid scheme is key to the attainment of justice for the poor, marginalized and
disadvantaged, though in some circumstances other categories of highly placed
persons or professional may require it. Globally many countries around the
world have invested in programs and interventions on providing free legal aid
services to its citizens. The UN member states have thus accepted that
legal aid schemes must not only be optional but should be a key component of
national legal justice systems.
The UN Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna adopted a resolution on "access
to legal aid in criminal justice systems". The resolution adopts a set of
"Principles and Guidelines" designed to ensure that access to legal
information, advice and assistance is available to all through the provision of
legal aid—thus realizing rights for the poor and marginalized and entrenching
one of the key building blocks of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice
system. This is seen as the first
international instrument on national legal aid scheme in bringing universal
access to human rights that is fully enjoyed by those who have the financial
and institutional means of accessing justice.
There is therefore a number of components to the
criminal justice system from the pre-trial to post-trial stage with a number of
important components:
•
Prompt access to legal aid at all stages of the
criminal justice process.
•
The involvement of a diversity of legal aid
providers including lawyers, university legal clinicians and paralegals.
•
The development of a nationwide legal aid system
that is sufficiently staffed and resource.
Sierra
Leone passed the Legal Aid Act in May 2012, thus establishing the Sierra Leone
Legal Aid Board (LAB). The Legal Aid Board aims to provide legal aid in Sierra
Leone and is a non-profit organization that remain independent of government. The Board’s priority is to serve the legal
interests of low income Sierra Leoneans, its core services are; provide legal
information and education, provide legal advice and provide legal
representation. The following issues will be key in its interventions, family issues,
child support, debt, land issues, criminal cases, domestic violence, rape and
defilement, juvenile offences, commercial driven disputes and community level
problems. Its mandate are to;
•
Provide legal aid; determine the types of
persons and cases for which legal aid maybe granted, determine the
circumstances in which contributions towards legal aid shall be paid by legally
aided persons and how the contributions shall be circulated
•
Enter into cooperation agreements with legal aid
practitioners, civil society and non-governmental organizations university law
clinics or law departments
•
Compile and publish information about the
functions of the Board and other legal aid Organizations
•
Cooperate with other bodies as it may determine
for achieving its object
•
Carry out activities conducive to the
attainments of the object of the Board
Mission and Vision:
We are
committed to creating an innovative, collaborative, partnership and network
organization that is flexible and responsive to eligible low-income individuals
and groups and play leadership role in a fair and balanced justice system where
people would be able to understand and protect their legal rights
Core values
•
Social Justice; We will
protect peoples’ rights, promote fair treatment, and lend a hand to those
people at risk of social exclusion
•
Respect; We will respect our
employees and the people we serve
•
Quality; We will continue to improve
the quality of our work and deliver innovative, sustainable and cost effective
legal aid services
•
Accountability; We will
be accountable for our actions and decisions
•
Partnerships; We will
value our private bar partners as a
critical part of our service
•
Community; We will participate in the
broader public dialogue on justice and social issues and communicate our essential
role in a positive manner
Overview
The
GoSL of Sierra Leone had over the years signed, ratified and domesticated a
number of human rights, international conventions and protocols. One of the
most outstanding instruments signed is the right to fair trial with legal aid
provision. This is also manifested in Section 23 and 25 of the 1991
Constitution. The vast majority of those affected by the criminal justice
system are the poor and marginalized who possess no resources to protect
themselves and a huge percentage do not have access to legal aid. The GoSL then saw the need for the investment
in a well-functioning legal aid system that is also a deliverable outcome in
the GoSL Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Investment Plan (2011-2013), in
fulfilment of both its local and international legal obligations. The GoSL
Agenda for Prosperity has 8 pillars, Pillar 7 on Governance and Public Sector
with 3 sub sectors; namely, political governance, public sector governance and
economic governance, outlines strategies for reform in the justice sector in
addition to the reform strategy that is based on making justice accessible
locally; ensuring that
Justice
is expedited, and that rights and accountability are respected.
In
much appreciation for the limited funds by GoSL for the commencement in
accelerating the implementation of some of the above deliverables contained in
the Agenda for Prosperity and the Justice Sector Reform Strategy. From the
foregoing, it is clear that additional funding is needed for the setting up and
operationalization of the national program in support of legal aid in Sierra
Leone. There are several related issues within the justice and other sectors
that have direct relationship with the delivery of a comprehensive legal aid
programs. These issues include;,
providing a well-resourced office environment with spaces and equipment’s from
hosting of paralegals and mediators , training and capacity building resources
for continuing education with the national legal and justice institute for the
provision of legal education, an outreach public, media and education program,
a well-functioning paralegal and mediator officers that can be deployed in all
149 chiefdoms, a well-functioning registry for the registering and monitoring
of individuals and paralegals in the field of legal services, a civil society
justice related network and partnerships that will require the creation of
innovative legal aid mechanisms.
Justification
Since
the passing of the Legal Aid Act in 2012, it is assumed through consultations
held in 2008 that there is dire need for legal aid support nationwide. Sierra
Leone because of its level of poverty and limited access to justice is in a
hurry for the receipt of these services.
On 16th January 2014 the Sierra Leone Parliament passed the
Sierra Leone Correctional Service Act thus repealing the 1960 and 1961 Prisons
Ordinance Act. This act calls for the transitioning of Prisons to Correctional
Centers ‘denoting the change from ‘punitive’ to corrections’ placing emphasis on
rehabilitation and skills, knowledge and reintegration into society
One
of the reasons proffered for huge number of inmates in prisons and correctional
centers is that inmates whether on remand, trial or convicted is the lack of
legal representation. This is because
the challenges posed in accessing justice through the courts is difficult as
they lack the financial means to seek legal assistance due to the absence of a
well-funded national legal aid scheme.
This is compounded by the states capacity to fully provide for a strong
legal aid scheme. Below is the inmate annual statistics return for
2012-14. Reports and assessments by
agencies involved in the criminal justice system reveal that one of the key
reasons for this trend of large number of individuals in correctional centres
is the lack of a legal aid support scheme in assisting them during court
trials. This is in addition to the
inadequate assistance that must be provided by paralegals and mediators that
are well trained and certified by the Board.
Inmate
Annual Statistical Returns for 2012-2014
|
CATEGORY OF INMATES
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
|||
| MALE |
FEMALE
|
MALE
|
FEMALE
|
MALE
|
FEMALE
|
|
|
Remand
|
684
|
32
|
914
|
37
|
945
|
31
|
|
Trial
|
748
|
23
|
1,033
|
39
|
1,130
|
56
|
|
Convicts
|
1,181
|
28
|
1,412
|
37
|
1,285
|
52
|
|
Condemn
|
82
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
|
Life Imprisonment
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
|
Detainees
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
6
|
2
|
|
Foreign National
|
60
|
1
|
139
|
3
|
49
|
1
|
|
Total
|
2,007
|
84
|
3,498
|
116
|
3,415
|
142
|
These figures are those
recorded as at the last day of the year i.e. 31st December
Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a
problem in Sierra Leone as 67% of women suffer domestic violence, this is in
comparison with Ethiopia 71%, 30% in the UK and 22% in the US
respectively. The impact of domestic
violence include economic abuse, harassment, emotional and verbal or
psychological abuse, intimidation, physical and sexual abuse. One of the areas identified as relatively
weak in dealing with SGBV is the absence of free legal advice and legal
representation. This is in addition to socio-cultural barriers affecting the
attitude and loss of faith in the justice system.
The Sierra Leone Police in its annual ‘Crime Statistics for Major Offences for 2014′ received a total of 11, 358 incidents of sexual and domestic violence reports, but that only 2,124 of the complaints were related to child sexual abuse, while 77 incidents of rape were reported. A total of 9, 157 cases of domestic violence were reported of the total of 11, 358 cases only 2,144 were brought to court with only 255 convictions no conviction was reached for the 77 reported rape cases even though 28 of those were brought to court
according
to the report. This also has implications for legal aid service provision
especially for criminal cases and those held in long term detention without
trial for unlimited periods because of lack of legal representation.
These
issues provide a stark reality for the support required for the establishment
and building a strong national legal aid scheme. It is therefore imperative for this
institution to be supported in undertaking its programs and activities. A
well-functioning legal aid scheme forms the bedrock for promoting and enhancing
human rights justice peace and the rule of law.
Planned Activities
The
activities planned for implementation will be its core activities for a period
of three years, therefore the following are the proposed activities
1.
Undertaking two studies on the following
•
“User/public
perception survey on the effectiveness of legal aid service provision in
meeting the needs of citizens”
•
“Mapping
legal aid service providers and potential beneficiaries that require legal aid
services “
2. Provision of legal education and literacy on
legal aid using formal and non-formal strategies
3. Building the capacity of traditional rulers
and local government on access to justice and legal aid in Sierra Leone
4. Media – Print and electronic media training
of journalists and media practitioners on legal aid Sierra Leone
5. Case Management – working closely with the
Police, Family Support Unit –SLP, Correctional Services and Child/Juvenile
Justice agencies
6. Developing a partnership with Justice
enhancing civil society organizations for advocacy and protection of civil and
political rights.
7. Setting up of the registry to monitor and
certify on an annual basis all legal aid organizations in Sierra Leone as per
legal aid act
8. Establishment of a resource/reference library
for publications, documentation and information references on legal aid for
both local and international partners and creation of a website and call
centres for legal aid service
9. Establishment of a full fledge ADR program
that will have the capacity for national dispute resolution
10. Human Rights Protection and national legal
aid, application of human rights in respect of indigent suspects and accused
persons in correctional centres, unlawful detention in police cells, child
detention centres, rights of citizens and journalists
Target Beneficiaries
Legal Aid benefits the poor and the marginalized with low income,
persons in detention by providing a mechanism to establish their innocence,
victims and perpetrators of cases of sexual and gender based violations, an
indigent who are arrested or accused of a crime. The Board shall prescribe the
level of
income which qualifies a person as indigent but also individuals,
households, elderly people on state grants and pensions, children involved in
criminal cases,
asylum seekers – women, disabled etc.
The intervention will be done in
three phases
Phase 1 -
Undertaking studies that will
provide the benchmark and data for implementation, monitoring and evaluation,
establishment of the registration, approval of paralegals and institutions and
Training of paralegals and mediators and public education an, media and
communication and partnership with civil society, provision of legal
representation and ADR services to targeted marginalized groups – women,
children, widows, inmates and detainees in police cells.
Phase 11 –
Establishment of regional
offices, deployment of paralegals and mediators to 149 chiefdoms, engagement
with transitional rulers and local governments thus focusing on stretching
legal aid at chiefdom levels.
Phase 111-
Strengthening legal representation
and advice, monitoring and evaluation and human rights promotion and protection
and legal aid
Strategic Focus for FY 2015- 2020
Purpose;
To provide quality, accessible,
affordable, timely and sustainable legal services to service indigent
individuals and groups in Sierra Leone;
Strategic focus
•
Enhance the fiscal and
administrative capacity of the Legal Aid Board;
•
Provide legal representation for
people in need;
•
Promote the prevention of legal
problems by providing timely information about the law and legal processes and
referring people to other legal or non-legal services
•
Promote the early resolution of
legal problems through providing legal advice, advocacy and dispute resolution
services
•
Advise and assist people appearing
unrepresented before courts in criminal and family law cases by providing duty
lawyer at criminal sittings of the Magistrate and High courts;
•
Develop and implement legal
education
•
Improve the provision of dispute
resolution and other legal assistance services to respective communities
Administration
The LAB is highest decision-making body it
consists of;
•
Chairman who is judge of the Superior Court of
Judicature recommended by the Chief Justice and appointed by the President;
•
A representative of the Law officers Department
not below the rank of Principal State Counsel;
•
A representative of the Ministry responsible for
social welfare not below the rank of Principal State Counsel
•
A representative of the Ministry of Social
Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA) not below the rank of Deputy
Director
•
A representative of the Bar Association of not
less than five years standing at the Bar;
•
A representative of the Department of Law FBC
•
A representative of the Council of Chiefs;
•
One representative each of civil society and
non-governmental organizations having
•
experience, knowledge and expertise on issues
relating to legal aid;
•
A representative of the inter-religious council
and the
•
Chairman of the Local Government Association
Overall Management of Legal Aid
The Executive Director
Legal Aid Manager
Legal Aid Analyst
Communications and Media Specialist
Admin and Finance
Support
Staff
Sources of funding
GoSL
–Government of Sierra Leone
Donor
Partners
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