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Key Text Index of Good Practices in Providing Legal Aid Services in the Criminal Justice System

Author: Penal Reform International
Date: 2006
Size: 55 pages (356 kB)

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Summary

Legal aid has traditionally been associated with lawyer-centred services. However, the services that the majority of African people require are often quite different. This document, published by Penal Reform International (PRI), argues that good practice should focus on the needs of people at the beginning of the criminal justice system, particularly, in villages, police stations, courts and prisons. Good practices can prevent unnecessary expenditure, time-wasting and further the cause of justice - without necessarily having recourse to a lawyer.

The right to legal assistance is enshrined in the law of most nations, yet it is a reality in few countries. Highly specialised legal expertise only represents the ‘tip’ of the iceberg of legal services required for ordinary people in Africa. Most people prefer to resolve matters locally and amicably where possible. There is a serious lack of basic legal advice and assistance to guide people in their immediate choices and enable them to navigate the justice system. This is particularly evident at the following levels:

In villages: there is a general lack of confidence in 'western-style justice’. Access to justice should not only encompass formal justice systems, but also a dispute resolution forum based on restorative justice if preferred.
At the police station: the risk of intimidation and physical ill-treatment is greatest in the immediate period following the deprivation of a person’s liberty. Access to a lawyer or a paralegal is a fundamental safeguard against mistreatment during this time.
At court: legal aid is usually granted by a judge or magistrate and there are often significant delays in granting assistance, for example, if it is believed that the accused does not have the means to pay for a lawyer.
In prisons: many of the people who are detained in prisons do not have access to legal advice or assistance and it may take many years before their cases come to trial.

Good practice refers to the availability of immediate access to legal advice and assistance that is appropriate to the needs of ordinary people. There is an urgent need for immediate legal advice and assistance at the front end of the criminal justice system in Africa. Such advice and assistance may be provided by a lawyer, but might be provided just as effectively and at a lower cost by a trained non-lawyer.

An effective low-cost intervention at the first stage of the criminal justice system can divert minor matters out of the system and leave only the most serious and complex matters for referral to the courts and lawyers.
The criteria for good practice include: low-cost and high-impact services, partnerships with civil society, and the ability to catalyse reform processes and to deliver changes in institutional attitudes.
Paralegals can play a role in the early stages of the criminal justice system. Paralegals do not seek to substitute lawyers, but free up the lawyer’s time so that they can focus on activities that require their expertise.
Legal clinics that employ law students can play a useful role in helping legal aid litigants to compel governments to deliver on the right to legal aid. National legal aid structures and university law clinics can enter into partnership agreements to ensure access to justice for individuals.
The PRI’s good practice index can assist with the innovative work of paralegals in Central and Eastern Africa to ensure that their advice and assistance is accurate and effective, and to help them to evaluate their work in terms of impact and cost.

Access full text: available online

Source: Penal Reform International, 2006, 'Index of Good Practices in Providing Legal Aid Services in the Criminal Justice System', PRI, London