LEGAL AID BOARD

ASJP funds workshop on Legal Aid Guide

The Legal Aid Board concluded a two-day ASJP (Access to Security and Justice Programme) funded workshop on the finalization of the Legal Aid Guide. The Guide sets out procedures under which the scheme would operate to be able to provide legal aid.

 The workshop which was hosted at the Cube Restaurant, Marine House in Freetown from the 28 to 29 July attracted representatives from diverse spectra of society including Civil Society Movement, Local Councils, Sierra Leone Parliament, University of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, Sierra Leone Police, Sierra Leone Correctional Services, Council of Paramount Chiefs, Sierra Leone Bar Association, UN Women and DFID.  

Various speakers underscored the importance of the scheme in ensuring the justice system serves the interest of all Sierra Leone. The Chairman of the workshop, Hon. Ajibola Manly-Spain who double as Chair of the Legislative Committee in Parliament said he is no stranger to Legal Aid scheme. He recalled been involved with one implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Sierra Leone Bar Association in the past.

 He further noted that he has also been involved with the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board right from the outset, working on the bill and ensuring it is passed into law. ‘I am therefore very much interested in seeing it succeed’ he stressed.

He called on lawyers to copy the shinning example of three late legal luminaries – D.B. Quee, Osho-Williams and Claude Campbell - who were very popular for providing free legal services to the poor. He encouraged experienced lawyers not to leave the scheme to young and inexperience lawyers.

 The Chairperson for the Legal Aid Board, Hon Justice Adelize Showers of the Court of Appeal underlined the fact that the vast majority of people affected by the criminal justice system are the poor and marginalized who hardly possess sufficient resources to protect themselves and a large number of whom do not have access to legal representation.

 The Chairperson for the Legal Aid Board, Hon Justice Adelize Showers of the Court of Appeal underlined the fact that the vast majority of people affected by the criminal justice system are the poor and marginalized who hardly possess sufficient resources to protect themselves and a large number of whom do not have access to legal representation.

She argued that the cost of legal services may be prohibitive and may prove difficult to provide at the early stages, however the social benefits and economic savings such services may bring in addition to their positive impacts on the rights of individuals and their families may far outweigh any financial consideration. She therefore called on governments and donors to provide the necessary financial support the scheme needs to perform a task she described as enormous.