‘The meeting is very important because we want to have all legal organizations accredited by the end of the year,’ she said. ‘We want to end the year with a clear idea of the number of legal aid organizations in the country, where they are, what they are doing and their target beneficiaries.’
According to Ms. Carlton-Hanciles, Accreditation of legal aid organizations is key to ensuring effective delivery of legal aid both in quantity and quality. ‘It will help identify our respective areas of specialization, capacity needs and resources we can tap into to reach as many people as possible,’ she said. ‘Also, we will be able to attract far more support from donors and international partners.’
The meeting will discuss a range issues on legal aid provision. Ms. Carlton-Hanciles will lead discussion on ‘The Role of the Legal Aid Board and the importance of the Legal Aid Act 2012.’ Madam Memunata Pratt and Dr. Ibrahim Bangura both of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone will present the findings of the National Strategic Plan on the provision of legal aid.
Lawyer Benedict Jalloh from the University of Makeni will lead discussion on ‘Legal Aid Organizations: Background, Successes and Challenges’ while Lawyer Musa Mewa of Timap for Justice will do a presentation on the ‘Overview and relevance of legal aid provision in Sierra Leone and Role of Legal Aid Providers locally and internationally.’
The meeting will be of special significance because it will be used to roll out the Community Paralegal Training Manual. One of the authors of the manual lawyer Joel Deen-Tarawally will take the lead in the discussion in this area. The manual was validated on the 7 November 2017 by the Board’s partners including civil society organizations, and legal aid organizations.
The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) funded meeting will bring together forty (40) legal aid organizations including community-based organizations like Women’s Advocacy Network in the Koinadugu District and Pikin to Pikin from Moyamba District to discuss and chart a future for legal aid provision.
The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles said that legal aid organizations should have their house in order before the start of 2018. She believes this should start with being accredited by the Board as provided for in the Legal Aid Act 2012.
‘The meeting is very important because we want to have all legal organizations accredited by the end of the year,’ she said. ‘We want to end the year with a clear idea of the number of legal aid organizations in the country, where they are, what they are doing and their target beneficiaries.’
According to Ms. Carlton-Hanciles, Accreditation of legal aid organizations is key to ensuring effective delivery of legal aid both in quantity and quality. ‘It will help identify our respective areas of specialization, capacity needs and resources we can tap into to reach as many people as possible,’ she said. ‘Also, we will be able to attract far more support from donors and international partners.’
The meeting will discuss a range issues on legal aid provision. Ms. Carlton-Hanciles will lead discussion on ‘The Role of the Legal Aid Board and the importance of the Legal Aid Act 2012.’ Madam Memunata Pratt and Dr. Ibrahim Bangura both of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone will present the findings of the National Strategic Plan on the provision of legal aid.
Lawyer Benedict Jalloh from the University of Makeni will lead discussion on ‘Legal Aid Organizations: Background, Successes and Challenges’ while Lawyer Musa Mewa of Timap for Justice will do a presentation on the ‘Overview and relevance of legal aid provision in Sierra Leone and Role of Legal Aid Providers locally and internationally.’
The meeting will be of special significance because it will be used to roll out the Community Paralegal Training Manual. One of the authors of the manual lawyer Joel Deen-Tarawally will take the lead in the discussion in this area. The manual was validated on the 7 November 2017 by the Board’s partners including civil society organizations, and legal aid organizations.