Once again, the call for access to justice for all rears its head.
Regular readers of this column will know that I have established a legal NGO - Law and Human Rights in Action [LAHRIA] to meet the needs of the less privileged in society who find themselves on the ‘wrong side of the law’.
This action arose from my decision to undertake pro bono cases aimed at addressing human rights abuses suffered by individuals who lacked the means to secure legal representation.
One of the main prerequisites fundamental for the full enjoyment of rights by citizens is an unencumbered access to justice, ready and available to citizens of any democratic country to the ever-growing unmet legal need.
However, and regrettably, access to justice for most people has remained elusive or nonexistent.
The problem is further exacerbated by the high cost of litigation in Ghana.
It costs 2000 Ghana cedis in consultation fees for senior counsel, a category I fall into.
Relative to average earnings in the country, the figure is well above those of most ordinary people.
Human rights litigation, which most poor people need to access to seek redress for the countless human rights abuses they encounter daily, does not come cheap: it ranges between 6,000 Ghana cedis and 30,000 Ghana cedis.
It is even more expensive to litigate in other areas of the law.
The situation is even more acute within the criminal justice system, where many individuals who come into conflict with the law are ordinary citizens earning low incomes or, in many cases, no income at all.
Consequently, a significant number of accused persons appear before the courts without legal representation.
This unfortunate state of affairs has undoubtedly contributed to the growing number of accused persons held on remand and languishing in Ghanaian prisons.
According to Statista.com, as of February 2023, there were 1,862 remand prisoners in Ghana.
This figure is respectable juxtaposed against previous years.
For example, in 2005, the figure was as high as 3,600. A programme, championed by the judiciary, called ‘Justice for All’ has been very effective and has significantly contributed to the lower numbers of remand prisoners in Ghana currently.
The Legal Aid Commission was established to address the persistent challenge of access to justice.
While its creation was a commendable step, the Commission continues to face numerous obstacles that hinder the effective discharge of its mandate.
Among the most significant challenges are inadequate human resources, insufficient infrastructure, and limited logistical support.
In particular, the Commission faces a critical shortage of lawyers to handle the large volume of cases it receives each week.
According to Policy Brief on Legal Aid No. 2 (August 2022), the Commission received 9,133 cases under its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programme in 2020, of which 5,535 were resolved, leaving 3,598 pending.
During the same period, it received 2,456 court-related cases but was able to resolve only 1,115, resulting in a abacklog of 1,341 cases.
These figures underscore the immense pressure under which the Commission operates and the urgent need for increased resources to enhance its capacity to deliver legal services to the public.
In a Joy News report on November 2, 2020, the Executive Director of the Commission lamented the paucity of lawyers working for the Commission.
He said the Commission only had 33 lawyers in its books, with Accra only having seven in a country with over 30 million citizens.
Infrastructure-wise, the situation is nothing to write home about. In the said bulletin, the Executive Director said that there were five staff officers in a single room.
The problem is compounded in the regions.
Legal aid officers are not in all the districts of Ghana, further preventing the Commission from delivering on its mandate.
It is clear from the foregoing that the Legal Aid Commission is heavily constrained in terms of human and infrastructure resources, which militates against its proper and efficient operation.
The following suggestions might go a long way in solving some of the problems.
There should be a massive drive to increase the pool of lawyers working for the
Commission. This must necessarily be a sophisticated scheme to attract and, more importantly, retain lawyers.
Obviously, to achieve this, the salaries and working conditions of lawyers at the Legal Aid Commission must be made competitive.
Additionally, the government must endeavour to establish offices in almost all districts of Ghana.
Such offices should be decent and adequately resourced.
In the meantime, I will endeavour through LAHRIA to address the cases which come my way.
