Press Conference on NLAC at LASPNET secretariat

06 July 2014 -

Written by Developer

Access to justice, according to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, includes the right to legal assistance and Uganda’s Constitution further gives entitlement for an accused person charged with a capital offense to be represented in court at state expense.

LASPNET Vice Chairperson, Executive Director and Treasurer during a press conference at LASPNET secretariat

In a number of respects, the existing national legal framework including the Poor Persons Defence Act; the advocates (Legal Aid to Indigent Persons) Regulations; the Advocates (Pro bono Services to Indigent Persons) Regulations; and the Advocates (Student Practice)Rules among others provide for this right by way of legal aid service provision.

Similarly, the National Development Plan for Uganda (2010/11 – 2014/15) proposes strategic interventions of developing and implementing a policy, legal and institutional framework for country wide provision of legal aid as well as integrating innovative pilot and low cost models for legal aid.

Access to justice through effective provision of legal aid services is more than just improving the ability of people (especially the indigent) to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice delivery. It is also a fundamental characteristic of good governance – the back bone on which development processes are based to ensure that services are equitably delivered to citizens and that peace reigns in the nation.

Access to Justice has a direct connection to the five pillars of poverty alleviation in Uganda’s Poverty Eradication strategy in a way that it affects income generation, food security, Home Improvement, Value addition and Marketing as well as Savings and Credit. Noteworthy, these pillars of poverty alleviation cannot be achieved without effective access to justice especially through legal aid provision.

So, the First National Legal Aid Conference was held in 2011 with the main aim of engaging stakeholders in the administration of justice to think through a mechanism that will enable the most vulnerable and indigent or poor people access justice at a low cost. Several recommendations were made including fast tracking the development and adoption of a National Legal Aid Policy and Legal Aid Bill.

On Tuesday, 24 June 2014, the Honourable Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, stated that the Policy and Bill were submitted to Cabinet, however, substantial discussion is pending the Ministry of Finance to provide a certificate of financial implication for the proposed bill and policy.

The national legal aid policy and legal aid Bill have been developed with proposals to have a national scheme that harmonizes the provision of State-funded legal aid in both criminal and civil cases. This framework will also harmonize interventions of both State and non-State actors towards a common national goal of enhancing access to justice for the poor and vulnerable persons. The service providers anticipated under this mechanism include; advocates, bar-course students, law graduates awaiting enrollment (under the supervision of an advocate), students at Law school clinics,accredited paralegals and Civil Society Organizations. Such a holistic approach and mixed model of legal aid service delivery is expected to enable enhanced access to justice by all Ugandans especially those in hard to reach areas.

This proposed national scheme is expected to address some of the justice sector problems that arise from lack of adequate legal services for poor litigants leading to poor representation, court adjournments, unfair trial, mob justice, impunity and corruption. It further provides for legal aid service standards and quality assurance mechanisms, and cooperation modalities that will guide State engagement with non-state actors.

As a follow-up on the above, the second national legal aid conference has been organized with support from the Democratic Governance Facility and with partnerships between the State and non-State actors to enhance access to justice for all. The theme of the conference is Accessible And Effective Legal Aid: The Key To Unlocking Uganda’s Development Potential."

The conference will take place from 26^th to27^th June 2014 at Imperial Royale Hotel. It is intended to demonstrate the relevance of legal aid service provision to economic, social and cultural development. But specifically, it will follow-up progress made regarding the major issues raised during the 1^stnational legal aid conference, evaluate implementation and institutional frameworks for delivery of legal aid in Uganda, as well as set future actions founded on best practices and discussions of the conference.

The Chief Guest is H.E the President of Uganda and other participants include the Hon. Ag. Chief Justice of Uganda, Hon. members of Parliament, judicial officers, ambassadors,non-state legal aid service providers, academia, human rights activists,religious and traditional leaders, as well as officers from Uganda Police Forces and Uganda Prison Services, among others.

As we move towards ensuring accessible and effective Legal Aid Service Provision, the Key to Unlocking Uganda’s Development Potential, we therefore make the following calls:

1. Amendment of existing laws and regulations in relation to Legal Aid and utilising any opportunity for Constitutional amendment to provide for the right to access to justice thereby creating obligations on Government towards the realization of that right.

2. Institute structured mechanisms for enhancing the role of civil society in justice delivery. In terms of sustainability of legal Aid, the proposed cooperation agreements in the Draft National Legal Aid Policy are a good way to go as long as such an arrangement is managed through an elaborate process. It is hoped that these Agreements will bridge the financial gap among the LASPs and leading towards sustainability of legal aid service provision

3. Strengthen capacity of the Law Council in engaging the legal profession to provide effective pro bono services as an ethical duty but also adequately regulate the delivery of high quality legal aid services.

4. Engage with traditional institutions to have the traditional justice systems documented, reviewed, modified and relevantly infused with human rights.This in the long run contributes to reduction in case backlog, bureaucracies due to procedural technicalities, lower costs in case adjudication, among others. It is further important to recognise the decisions of these traditional/informal mechanisms and ensuring that they are enforced with the support of the formal courts.

5. Legalization of the LC courts as a matter of urgency because they are the first point of contact.