Skip to main content

LAB to train partners on Bail and Sentencing Guidelines

LAB to train partners on Bail and Sentencing Guidelines
The Legal Aid Board and partners in the Western Area will converge on the British Council for a two-day training workshop on the proposed Bail and Sentencing Guidelines on the 11 and 12 July 2017.
The seventy participants for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded workshop will be drawn from the Council of Tribal Headmen, legal aid service providers, human rights organizations, Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Sierra Leone Motor Drivers Union, Sierra Leone Traders Council, civil society organizations and the Inter-religious Council of Sierra Leone.
The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Claire Carlton-Hanciles has welcomed the proposed Bail and Sentencing Guidelines in changing perceptions about the judiciary which is seen as unfair and punitive. She described the workshop as an opportunity for partners of the Board to be educated on the proposed Bail and Sentencing Guidelines so as to understand how they will be applied by the Judiciary.
‘The Board has increased access to justice around the country but has failed to reduce the numbers in detention, this is a matter of grave concern for us,’ she lamented. ‘The proposed guidelines will surely reverse this trend because detention will be a last resort and for the shortest possible time. In addition, there will be alternative sentencing options and a number of factors will have to be taken into consideration in assessing bail.’
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said that Bail and Sentencing are very sensitive issues for the public especially the Board’s clients - the poor and vulnerable. She added that people are confused regarding the inconsistency with which Bail and Sentencing are applied by the judiciary. ‘When different sentences or bail conditions  are imposed for the same crime, people get confused and feel the judiciary is not fair,’ she said.
The Executive Director for Lady Ellen Women’s Aid Foundation, one of the leading legal aid service providers in the Western Rural District, Mohamed Jalloh has welcomed the training opportunity. He believes the new Bail and Sentencing Guidelines will have an instant impact in building confidence in the judiciary. ‘People feel they are not being granted bail or they are given lengthen sentences because they are poor and these are issues we have struggle to explain to people,’ he said.
The workshop will be held in Kenema for partners in the Eastern Region on the 18 and 19 July, Bo for those in the Southern Region on the 20 and 21 July and in Makeni for the Northern Region on the 1 and 2 August 2017.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Executive Director, Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone, Mrs. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, has held a very meaningful meeting with the Council of Tribal Heads in Sierra Leone.

The Executive Director, Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone, Mrs. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles, has held a very meaningful meeting with the Council of Tribal Heads in Sierra Leone. She noted that justice was not prevalent at the lower class in Sierra Leone and pointed out that most of the witnesses do not appear in the courts when cases are called. That, she said, has kept a lot of innocent people in jails without trial, thereby destroying their lives. The meeting witnessed the processing of seven youths released from different courts in Freetown. Six youths who were held for different crimes, ranging from wounding to larceny, were released at the High Court by Justice Sam Margai. Five were released on an application for a discharge for want of prosecution by Legal Aid Lawyers, Cecelia Tucker and Contract Lawyer who applied for the sixth one. A seventh was released by Justice Samba on an application for a discharge for want of prosecution made by Legal Aid Lawyer, Cheryl Blake....
Post a Comment
Read more

Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone and the Office of the Attorney General have held a land mark meeting with the various trader groups in Sierra Leone.

Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone and the Office of the Attorney General have held a land mark meeting with the various trader groups in Sierra Leone. The meeting which was geared towards the processes of the formation of an Umbrella Trader Executive, and the a Trader Cooperative Bank, took place at the Ministry of Justice Conference Hall, 3 rd Floor, Guma Building, Lamina Sankoh Street in Freetown. Leaders of the various trader groups gave the views of their groups for the formation of the two entities. The meeting started with the Legal Aid Executive Secretary’s update and information. The Legal Aid Board Executive Secretary, Mrs Claire Carlton-Hanciles gave a situational analysis of the Boards activities, regarding the release, bail and imprisonment of indigents, which disclosed that seventy-eight people were discharged in February. She then introduced the issue of the Umbrella Trader Executive which will result to the formation of Trader Cooperative bank. The Cooperative Bank,...
Post a Comment
Read more
Legal aid is a pivotal element of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law. International law and standards are crystal clear on the fact that states should ensure a comprehensive legal aid system that is accessible, effective, sustainable, and credible so that justice can be accessible to all. Sierra Leone is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides for the right to fair trial and legal aid in Article 14(3) (d). The Sierra Leone Constitution also provides for this right in Sections 23 and 25.  Sierra Leone passed the Legal Aid Act in May 2012, thus establishing the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board (LAB) which is an independent organ with an objective of providing legal aid nationwide. The Board’s core functions include the provision of legal information and education, provision of legal advice and legal representation in the court of law. Its functions further include the provision of legal ai...
Post a Comment
Read more