This study was conceived against the background that access to justice is an important right, which should be enjoyed by all people in the world irrespective of their socio-economic and political differences. On the whole, there are critical gaps in the existing efforts by government to enhance access to justice through the provision of legal aid services to the poor. Key legal aid provisions
such as access to legal information, legal literacy and legal services, the basic requirements to harness legal and judicial systems, are largely provided by civil society organizations instead of government. It is not clear how many other legal aid providers exist in the country, where they operate and how. Recent policy shifts in Uganda have tended to emphasize, among others, a decentralized system of service delivery. However, whereas this system has worked relatively well in a number of social service sectors (such as health and education) in reaching the rural poor, it is not known how effective this can be in the provision of legal aid services. It is against this background that this study was carried out. This study was conceived under the broad goal of establishing mechanisms for the enhancement of fundamental human rights and freedoms and, more particularly, the need for improved access to justice by indigent categories of the Ugandan population. The ultimate objective of the study was to establish the nature and character of legal aid service provisionin Uganda, the findings of which were hoped to inform processes for improving legal aid service provision in the country.