legalaidboard

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 ...

The Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board What is the Legal Aid Board? The Legal Aid Board is an independent non-profit organization which was passed into law in May 2012.  The mandate of the Board is to provide, administer, coordinate and monitor the provision of legal aid in civil and criminal matters. The main function of the Board is the provision of legal representation for indigents. What are the powers of the Board? Section 10 of the Legal Aid Act gives the Legal Aid Board the following powers: ·         Stipulate conditions for the granting of legal aid to indigent persons ·         Establish and manage the Public Defender’s Office ·         Obtain the services of legal practitioners ·         Create new procedures for providing legal aid, including making cooperation agreements with other bodies What kind of iss...

Summary of Court Activities For the month ending Saturday 30 th April, 2016. There were a total of 457 cases in the different courts; 293 cases in the High Court, 91 in the Magistrate courts and 73 in the Juvenile court. Out of all the indigents, 568 were male adults, 29 female adults, 58 male juveniles and 7 female juveniles.   35 male adults, 1 female adult, 5 male juveniles and 1 female juvenile were discharged. 8 male adults were put on bail and there was 1 Maintenance Orders. There were no Committals to the High Court and there were a total of 11 sentences; 2 adult males and 9 male juveniles. The indigent discharged according to their professions were as follows; 2 bike riders, 6 traders, 3 builders, 1 hair dresser, 3 factory workers, 1 fitting mechanic apprentice, 6 drivers, 4 fishermen, 1 electrician, 2 wielding apprentices, 2 podapoda apprentices, 1 footballer, 1 carpenter, 1 plumber and 8 secondary school pupils. The number of indigents and the ...