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Legal aid is a human right and a key ingredient of the right to a\r\nfair hearing and the state as a key duty bearer to respect, protect, promote\r\nand fulfill human rights of citizens, is expected to provide legal aid to those\r\nwho are unable to afford paid legal services to enable them seek legal redress.
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In Uganda's case, legal\r\naid services have for a long time been provided by both the State and non-state\r\nactors without any comprehensive policy backing from the Government. But this\r\ncould change following calls to government to fast-track the passing of the\r\nnational legal aid policy and legal aid bill into law to help regularize the\r\nactivities of legal aid providers. These remarks were made by acting Chief\r\nJustice Steven Kavuma while opening the second National Legal Aid Conference in\r\nKampala organized by Legal Service Providers Network (LASPNET).
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Hon. Justice Kavuma said\r\nthere are more than 40 registered legal aid service providers both government\r\nand non-government actors but they are operating in the dark without any\r\nstreamlined procedures; a situation he said is dangerous.
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He explained that having\r\na formal policy to regularize the activities of the legal aid providers is\r\nnecessary since there are more than 36 per cent poor Ugandans who cannot afford\r\nthe hired legal services of advocates. The workshop is intended to explore\r\nand discuss initiatives aimed at addressing major policy gaps, regulatory\r\nchallenges and practical limitations to achieving the national legal aid\r\npriorities.
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Legal aid is the\r\nprovision of free legal services to people who cannot afford those of a paid\r\nlawyer.
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This year’s conference\r\nis running under the theme: "accessible and effective legal aid- the key\r\nto unlocking Uganda’s development potential”.
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"To date however,\r\nthere is no comprehensive law and policy on legal aid service delivery in\r\nUganda yet about 36 per cent of all people are too poor to afford paying for\r\nthe services of a lawyer.” said Hon. Justice Kavuma.
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He added: "legal\r\naid services address the concerns of the poor and vulnerable by focusing on\r\nchallenges arising from non-affordability of user costs, lack of legal representation\r\nand alienation due to technicalities, language and ignorance about legal\r\nrights, hence this call to those concerned to fast-track the same.”
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Responding to Hon. Justice\r\nKavuma‘s call, Internal Affairs junior minister, Ambassador James Baba said the\r\nNational Legal Aid Policy and Legal Aid Bill is before cabinet and that within\r\na period of seven months from now, it would have been passed into law.
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Legal aid has been going\r\non in Uganda for more than 20 years but mostly through the non-state actors\r\nsuch as the Uganda Law Society, Legal Aid Project and the Federation of Uganda\r\nFemale lawyers (FIDA).
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Our laws also require\r\nthat every practicing advocate dedicates at least 40 hours a year to serving\r\npeople with legal aid problems where such people cannot afford to engage a\r\nprivate lawyer.
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How it all started
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Article 28 (3) (e) of\r\nthe Constitution of Uganda imposes an obligation on the state to provide legal\r\nrepresentation at its expense to every person charged with any offence which\r\ncarries a death sentence or imprisonment for life. This procedure is managed\r\nthrough the "state brief scheme” of the Judiciary.
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At the annual JLOS\r\nreview of 2008, an undertaking to develop a national legal aid policy and\r\ninstitutional framework was adopted. A consultant was engaged to develop the\r\npolicy and the process is on-going. Key issues to be covered by the policy\r\nincluded the definition of legal aid, institutional arrangements and legal aid\r\nservice delivery mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation of service delivery,\r\nresourcing, standard setting and quality assurance. Until the National Legal\r\naid policy is approved and formally adopted, legal aid services will still\r\nlargely remain the domain of non-state actors.
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Posted 11th, June 2014
