This report provides an overview and analysis of various factors influencing access to justice in Zimbabwe. In particular, it emphasizes the role of legal information, legal education and the legal profession, as well as legal aid in relation to an individual`s ability to seek and seek protection and redress within the legal system. It also takes into account political, institutional and socio-cultural concerns about access to justice. Given the positive developments and persistent shortcomings of the current system revealed by the findings, each section and the report as a whole conclude with recommendations to improve access to justice in Zimbabwe. South Africa is a country that has rebuilt its legal systems to emulate Western democratic countries and create a more just and equitable judicial system. [28][29] In July 2004, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the lack of legal aid in defamation cases, as was the case under the Legal Aid Act 1988 in force at the time of the McLibel case, could violate a defendant`s rights. The Access to Justice Act 1999 contains exceptional funding provisions allowing the Lord Chancellor to authorise the funding of legal aid in cases which otherwise fall outside the scope of the legal aid scheme. A defendant in a similar situation to the McLibel defendant could potentially obtain legal aid if the application met the exceptional funding criteria. Historically, legal aid has its roots in the right to legal aid and the right to a fair trial in continental European countries in the 19th century. The “poor laws” abolish court fees for the poor and provide for the appointment of duty counsel for those who cannot afford a lawyer. Originally, duty counsel were expected to act pro bono basis.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many European countries did not have a formal approach to legal aid and the poor relied on the charity of lawyers. Most countries have enacted laws requiring the payment of moderate fees to customs lawyers. In order to reduce demand, legal aid has been limited to lawyers` fees in court proceedings requiring a lawyer. Countries with civil and common law legal systems have different approaches to the right of access to a lawyer in civil and criminal proceedings. Civil law countries are more likely to emphasize the right to legal assistance in civil proceedings and thus provide legal aid when a lawyer is required. Common law countries emphasize the right to legal aid and legal aid, particularly in criminal proceedings. [4] The Australian government and most state and territory governments also fund Community Law Centres, which are independent, not-for-profit organisations that provide referrals, advice and support to people with legal problems. In addition, the Australian Government funds legal services under certain legal regulations and legal services to Indigenous Australians.
On the civil side, Order XXXIII. Regulation R.18 of the Code of Civil Procedure of 1908 provided that the State and the central Government could adopt such additional provisions as they deemed appropriate to provide free legal services to those who had the right to sue as indigents. The Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 brought about radical changes in the field of legal services. It is a law aimed at establishing legal aid authorities, providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society, ensuring that opportunities to provide justice are not denied to any citizen because of economic or other handicaps, and organizing lok adalats to ensure that the functioning of the legal system guarantees justice based on equal opportunities. Promotes. [8] For more than a decade, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia have been reforming and restructuring their legal systems. Although many important justice sector reforms have been implemented throughout the region, mechanisms to ensure individuals` access to legal information and mutual legal assistance are often inadequate and ineffective. As a result, many people – especially those who are poor or disadvantaged – do not have effective access to legal aid in criminal and non-criminal cases. A number of legal aid delivery models have emerged, including mandatory lawyers, community legal clinics and paid lawyers for cases of individuals eligible for legal aid.
More informal or general legal advice and assistance may also be provided free of charge or at low cost, for example: through legal centres (United Kingdom), community law centres (Australia) or various other organisations offering various forms of legal aid inside and outside the court. The discussion about legal aid and who is privileged for such a service has been criticized by legal scholars who claim that those who dominate and write the stories of people who seek legal aid are people who profit from the fact that the client`s narrative is an inevitable poverty and despair of a person. Critics argue that these asymmetric and schematically constructed client profiles are necessary for civil legal aid programs within the capitalist framework of the United States as a tool to attract donors and other sources of funding. These representations and assessments of who seeks and deserves legal aid are seen as contributing to a culture of blame for victims of poverty, as the narratives exclude the role of the state and other civil society stakeholders in creating these client circumstances. [38] However, legal aid is not granted in civil or referral proceedings, as these are not criminal proceedings. This article emphasizes that free legal aid is an inalienable part of a “reasonable, fair and just” trial, because without it, a person with an economic or other disability would be deprived of the opportunity to obtain justice. [7] Legal aid is in fact provided by the provincial government, as part of the provincial government`s responsibility for the administration of justice. [36] For example, Legal Aid Ontario provides legal services to residents of Ontario, the Legal Services Society provides them to residents of British Columbia, and the Commission des services juridiques does the same in the province of Quebec. Supreme Court Justice Lord Wilson of Culworth fears that the effectiveness of legal aid may be compromised. Wilson said: “Disadvantaged people, who needed to know and uphold their human rights, were probably unable to do so without free legal advice and representation.
Even when it has to continue to provide legal aid free of charge, for example: for accused defendants and for parents threatened with deportation of their children, the UK indirectly reduces them by setting lawyers` rates of pay at such a non-commercial level that most of them reluctantly feel unable to do the job. Access to justice is under threat in Britain. [20] The Law Society submits that restrictions on legal aid prevent defendants from receiving a fair trial. [21] Under the British legal system, South Africa has lawyers who work in the supreme courts and lawyers who provide out-of-court advice and work in the lower courts. [29] Legal aid is governed by the Access to Justice Act, 1999 and complementary legislation, most recently the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, 2012.
