The Legal Aid Board took a giant step
towards expanding access to justice by deploying thirty-five Paralegals around
the country in December 2016. Thanks to support from the Open Society
Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) which will last for one year.
The addition brings to a total of
forty-sixty the number of Paralegals on the staff of the scheme. This does not
include volunteers. Prior to the addition, the Board had eleven full-time
Paralegals – two in the Western Area and nine in the three Regional Headquarter
Towns. It also had paralegal volunteers in
Port Loko, Kambia and Kono.
The Board now has at least two
paralegals in each of the twelve districts upcountry. The Western Urban has eight
Paralegals while the Western Rural has five. This means the Board has a
presence in every district in the country. This is good news for our clients –
the poor and vulnerable – who face a lot of challenges accessing justice at
both formal and informal level.
This is not good enough because Section
14 (2) of the Legal Aid Act 2012 provides that the ‘Board shall appoint at
least one Paralegal to each Chiefdom.’ I
agree but they say the journey of a million miles starts with the crucial first
step.
Now, what should people expect from
our Paralegals? Also, what support
should they give Paralegals to ensure maximum benefit from the scheme? Section
14 (2) (a) of the Act provides that Paralegals ‘provide advice, legal
assistance and legal education to the Paramount Chief and the inhabitants of
the Chiefdom,’ while Section 14 (2) (b) provides that ‘where appropriate to
assist in diverting certain cases to the formal justice system.’
The Board’s Paralegals provide Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) service for minor offences which are of a non-criminal
nature. They also work closely with the Police, prison officers, formal and
informal courts including ADR services (ADR) provided by actors which are not governed
by the Local Court Act 2011. This includes such ADR services provided by
Paramount Chiefs, Tribal Authorities, Religious and Women’s Leaders and other Actors
in the community.
Please note that the informal
justice systems as defined in a study by the Danish Institute of Human Rights,
based on a cooperation with the East Africa Law Society ‘encompass the range of
systems and mechanisms that are outside the ordinary courts and justice
institutions and yet are trusted and used by people to resolve disputes and
maintain social order. These include (i) those based in the traditional
structure of village heads and chiefs, (ii) those based in religious structures
and authorities, (iii) those based in the (local) administrative structures of
government and (iv) those based on NGO promoted mediation schemes performed at
community level by paralegals or village mediators.’
So, what are the Paralegals doing in
your community? I must hasten to underline that my definition of Paralegal is
consistent with the report by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, based on
the East Africa Law Society in December 2011. The report defines Paralegals as:
‘Persons, in general, are without a law degree, but possess the relevant skills
and training to provide some legal services to individuals and groups in need
of legal aid.’
Our Paralegals are among the most
experienced in the field having trained and worked as Paralegals in their
respective communities for several years. Also, they were resident in the
community at the time they were recruited.
While the legal services provided by
Paralegals are limited to indigent adults, children, aged and retires, legal
education is targeted at all and sundry. This is because an educated public on
issues of law and the justice system will improve access to justice. Also, it
will empower people to assert their rights while accessing the justice system. More importantly, monitoring of rights issues
at police stations and correctional centers will benefit all and sundry coming
into contact with these justice sector institutions. These include rights of suspects and accused
persons as provided for in the Constitution and International Human Rights
Instruments.
They also assess the condition of the
cell, determine the number of suspects and accused persons held therein as
against the capacity of the facility and whether the detainees include
children. This is because all the Police Stations in the country do not have a
cell for children. In most cases child suspects are held in adult cells.
Additionally, they assess whether
arrest and detention of suspects meet constitutional provisions. They provide
legal services where these provisions have been breached. This includes
challenging detentions which go beyond periods provided by the constitution. They also assist suspects with securing bail,
monitoring investigations and statement taking.
Recently, on Wednesday, February 1 to
be exact, I was at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters on
Pademba Road in Freetown to monitor a complaint filed by Parliament against one
of Sierra Leone’s leading human rights activists, Abdul Fatoma of the Campaign
for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI). I must confess I was
impressed with the reception accorded me. I sat there listening to two police
officers obtain statement from him and throughout the time I was satisfied with
the manner it was conducted.
But the relationship is not always
rosy. One of our new paralegals went to
the Allen Town Police Station and was prevented from doing his work because the
Police claimed they had not been informed of the visit. They further claimed
that they were not aware of the work of the Board. You and I know this is far from
the truth, more so for officers in the Western Area. The Board prides its
relationship with justice sector institutions since its inception in May 2015. The
Board had a partnership agreement with the Sierra Leone Police and the Sierra
Leone Correction Service one month later in June.
Recently, Police officers poured
scorn on one of our Paralegals for drawing attention to the fact that the
police station has not got a cell for children and therefore cannot detain a
child suspect who had been taken there by a high profile politician.
The visit to Correctional Centers by
Paralegals has provided insights into prison conditions, prison population, remand
inmates without indictments and related human rights issues. Through these
visits, the Board was able to identify the so-called forgotten remand inmates. This
includes those who have been on remand for up to eleven years in extreme cases.
Some of who had served more time on remand than the maximum sentence for such
offences if they were convicted.
Also, they provide an accurate picture
of accused persons without indictment. This information has helped the Board in
engagements with the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice to ensure
indictments were served on those concerned.
Prior to the opening of Magistrate
Courts in every district in the country, accused persons will spends months or
years behind bars waiting for their
cases to be heard in court.
The decision of the current Attorney
General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Joseph Kamara to establish seventeen
Magistrate and three High Courts around the country is worthy of mention. The
impact has been immense. The Paralegals have also been able to provide accurate
figures of prison population. This has enable the Board to self-assess in terms
of efforts at decongesting correctional centers around the country. The Board
has used this information to draw attention to the increases and thus proffered
suggestions to reverse this trend by way of lessening the bail condition,
shortening sentences especially for minor offences and referrals to
institutions outside the criminal justice system.
The Paralegals have also been very active
in the informal justice sector including the Alternative Dispute Resolution
services provides by actors not governed by the Local Court Act 2011. There have been a check on the excesses of
actors providing Alternative Dispute Resolution services bothering on
prohibitive fines, arrest and detention which are illegal, fees to visit crime
scene and disputed property and the treatment of women.
Expectedly, the relationship has not
been smooth but a lot of progress has been made. For instance, there have been
cases referred to the Board in Kenema by Paramount Chiefs in the Eastern
Province. The Board in Kenema has mediated a matter between a Court Chairman and
a resident of Kailahun District.
The Paralegals have made the most
impact in this area. They have resolved an impressive number of community level
problems which would have cost a lot of money and time were these matters taken
to the formal or the local courts.
Author Joseph
Dumbuya is the Registrar at the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board
No comments:
Post a Comment