Engagement with Uganda Law Society

21 September 2013 -

Written by Developer

As a network of Non-state legal aid service providers, the enhancement of skills of the membership and expanding the repertoire of competencies can never be over emphasized.With the mandate to maintain and improve the standards of conduct and learning of the legal profession in Uganda through facilitating the acquisition of legal knowledge by members of the legal profession in Uganda as regards conditions of practice and otherwise, the Uganda Law Society is strategically placed with non-state and state legal practitioners as a major player in the justice system of UgandaWith a diverse membership of thousands of legal brains with extensive experience in research, litigation, legislation and other facets of law, partnership with the ULS would greatly enhance quality improvement, skill and standards of legal aid that LASPNET seeks through capacitation of her membership to improve access to justice for the indigent.

As a strategic focus in quality and standard improvement, engagements with the ULS at different levels commenced in 2013 with the aim of symbiotically improving access to justice. Notably, the ULS has been one of the strategic partners in the quest for a national legal aid policy from the inception of this noble pursuit. As we await the adoption of a national legal aid policy,

LASPNET identified the strengths of the ULS and seeks a symbiotic engagement to empower the member LASPs (apart from ULS itself) with the objectives of;

Jointly identifying and agreeing on policy issues to strategically engage the state to enhance access to justice. LASPNET is not oblivious of the various platforms and clout the Law Society possesses with regard to issues of the law in Uganda, which situation shall be advantageous for the Network and the membership in terms of collective advocacy especially in relation to the need for adoption of a National Legal Aid Policy.
Joint action plans to enhance each other’s capacity in mutually agreeable areas in skilling and advocacy to enhance legal aid. As LASPs, the comparative merits different players have over one another are evident and require harnessing to improve the skill and subsequent quality in delivering justice to our clientele. With skilled experienced professionals in different fields of practice, sharing experiences and sharpening each other’s competencies enhances the quality of service rendered.
Documentation of best practices as benchmarks for service delivery. This can partly contribute to the element of standards that could be based upon in improving quality and equity. With those as the basis for engagement, an initial meeting was held with the Technical Leadership of the Uganda Law Society headed by the Executive Director Ms. Grace Babihuga and the Head ULS Legal Aid Services Project Mr. Aaron Besigye with LASPNET members and Secretariat on 20^thNovember 2013.

From the meeting, the two parties hinted on possible areas of working together like;

a)   Harmonization of training workshops to cater for the skilling interests of each one in the future.

b)   Utilization of the repertoire of skills of the various players in specific areas of the law.

c)   Exploring the potential of accrediting LASPNET workshops to earn CLE (Continuous Legal Education) points for participants as a mechanism of improving quality, collective advocacy and standards’ management.

d)   Co-opting trainers from the different sides but also including other players in the judicial systems to harmonize curricula, times and standards.

e)   Jointly contributing proposals to the harmonization of a paralegal regulatory framework.

Subsequent engagement could see the concretization of a plan of action to realize the proposals put forward as a key step towards harmonization of standards to ensure quality legal aid services.

The variety of skills and competencies that ULS (a member of LASPNET already) and the Network in its entirety possess are a gold mine of legal knowledge that when utilized in capacitating others, collective advocacy,research and litigation can adequately advance legal aid agenda and enhance access to justice concerns of the indigent as well as developing a critical mass of skill and wisdom to drive legal aid agenda.