Parliament Urged To Pass National Legal Aid Policy
- 08 July 2014 -
- Written by Laspnet
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Legal aid should be perceived broadly beyond court processes so that it can be used to enhance options likely to divert some matters from the already clogged court system through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms like arbitration and mediation as well as counseling and psycho-socio support.
This was revealed by the Acting Chief Justice Steven Kavuma while opening a two days Second National Legal Aid Conference which took place on 26th and 27th June 2014 at Imperial Royale Hotel.
Legal aid is the provision of free legal services to people who cannot afford those offered by lawyers at a fee. Legal aid, including legal assistance is a cornerstone of the justice system and contributes to equitable access to justice by the whole community. Currently legal aid service provision is restricted to mainly legal representation in certain criminal matters by the State and legal aid by non-state actors.
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. Unfortunately in Uganda there is only one lawyer for every 20,000 people.
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.
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
Justice Kavuma urged the government to fast track the passing of the NLAP and Legal Aid bill into law to help regularize the activities of legal aid providers. He explained that having a formal policy to regularize activities of the legal aid providers is necessary since there are more than 36 per cent poor Ugandans who cannot afford the hired legal services of advocates. . “There is no comprehensive law and policy on legal aid service delivery in Uganda yet about 36 percent of all people are too poor to afford paying the services of a lawyer”, he said.
Internal affairs State Minister James Baba said the National Legal Aid Policy and legal aid bill was before cabinet, adding that within a period of seven months from now, it would have been passed into law.
Meanwhile during a press conference which preceded the National Legal Aid Conference, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hon. Kahinda Otafiire pointed out that the Government of Uganda through the Justice, Law and Order Sector supports the establishment of comprehensive and harmonized legal aid service provision in its commitment to improve the well being of Ugandans especially the vulnerable and poor through access to justice mechanisms. This is exhibited through development of a comprehensive national legal aid support regime and support to the Justice Centers Legal aid project hosted by the Courts of Judicature. The Minister said, “I will push for the law and policy on legal aid through cabinet and parliament however for this to be achieved I request all stakeholders concerned to provide me with the necessary information to expedite the process”. He pointed out a number of proposals that the judiciary is undertaking in order to enhance access to justice, such as decentralization of the Law Development Center in order to reduce over crowding of classrooms and to improve the quality of lawyers that go through the center.
A good number of Non-state Legal Aid Service Providers were also represented, spear headed by their umbrella organization, the Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LASPNET). Mr. Richard Muganzi, the Executive Director, called upon the government to amend the existing laws and regulations in relation to Legal Aid. “Let us work towards Instituting structured mechanisms for enhancing the role of civil society in justice delivery”, he said.
The Conference which was graced with participants from the Judicial, Government institutions as well as civil society, was organized with support from the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) and with partnerships between the State and non-State actors under the theme “Accessible And Effective Legal Aid: The Key To Unlocking Uganda’s Development Potential."
