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2023 To 2025

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From: What legal aid do we need ?�To: What can we afford?

�ILAG 2025, Cologne

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National Reports

(in 20 mins)

Avrom Sherr, IALS

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Conclusions (i) 2023

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  • “Access” to “Justice” not set in stone
  • Increase in Holistic aid efforts-but often piggybacking on other departments of state
  • Vulnerability was the increasing measure of need, not poverty-welfare

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Conclusions (ii) 2023

  • Digitisation of admin systems and info - not much of process
  • More outreach+information
  • Mobile phones in Africa
  • How to expand self-help, self-rep (without changing process?!?)

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  • Growth in alternative courts, delivery and personnel. Does it:

i. Enhance or

ii. Devalue the product or

iii. Is it better than nothing?

  • Shrinking funds, staff, lawyers, courts, judges,

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Twenty Country Reports

  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Finland
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Lithuania
  • Namibia
  • New Zealand

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  • Northern Ireland
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Rwanda
  • Scotland
  • Sierra Leone
  • Taiwan
  • Zambia
  • England and Wales
  • Netherlands????

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DIRECTORATE OF Namibia LEGAL AID STAFF MEMBERS ATTENDING LEGAL AID ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2023

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Poverty Rate

  • Lithuania: 5.8% (absolute poverty), 21.5% at-risk-of-poverty
  • Canada 10.2%
  • Poland 11.8%
  • Portugal: 12.8%
  • Australia: 13.4%
  • Japan: 15.4%
  • Jordan (615,000 refugees out of 11.7 million) Poverty-15.7%%
  • England and Wales: 17%
  • Northern Ireland: 18%
  • Rwanda:38.2%
  • Namibia: 43.3% of 3.3 million are “Multidimensionally” poor

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% Eligible for Legal Aid

  • Australia 8%
  • New Zealand 15%
  • Japan 20%
  • E+W 25-30% households
  • Norway 33%
  • Brazil 88%

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Public Defender or Private Practitioner

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Most countries are mixed with small number of salaried public defenders (often simply acting as appointment organisers) and larger numbers of private practitioners on “Judicare”

Except: -Brazil with a total of 7,520 Public Defenders, even there 40% of district courts have “appointed attorneys”; and

-Sierra Leone, which does not mention funding private practice

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Legal Aid Counsels representing indigent accused persons in a Special Criminal Session in Freetown, Sierra Leone

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Interesting scope/eligibility issues

  • In Brazil “collectors of recyclable materials” are specifically eligible
  • Japan: 1 free visit to any arrested suspect
  • Norway: no drink driving cases
  • Rwanda: DNA testing for 39 vulnerable women
  • E+W:Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) at court and the Detention Duty Advice Service (DDAS) in Immigration Removal Centres.
  • Sierra Leone: Child and spousal maintenance administration (see below), Mediate minor community disputes (ditto), monitor customary courts legality according to formal law.

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Paralegal mediates community level dispute in Mongo, Falaba District, Sierra Leone�

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ADR Adjudicator in Sierra Leone mediating a child maintenance matter

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Executive Director of the Board engages bank staff opening a Child Maintenance Account for a client at the Rokel Commercial Bank outlet in the Legal Aid Board head office in Freetown Sierra Leone

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Mother receiving monthly child maintenance payment from staff of the Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone

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Funding issues

Funding per Capita in Euros

  • France: 5.06
  • Spain: 5.6
  • Portugal: 12.7
  • Finland: 16.24
  • NL: 27.42
  • Scotland: 29.26
  • England+Wales:31.00

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  • Donor countries post Trump: Jordan, Rwanda, Georgia
  • LEI- Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway

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Public Legal Education

  • Canada and Australia-studies of vulnerable groups
  • Lithuania: TV radio, open meetings, IT system for info and submission
  • Rwanda: 8.4 million out of 13.8million pop received
  • Taiwan: Facebook, Instagram, You tube, board games, comic books
  • Sierra Leone: see below

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Sierra Leone: 2,625,966 have benefitted from legal education through community outreach, School outreach

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Quality

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Brazil- high remuneration, public competion.+ombudsman and General Internal Affairs supervision

Ontario – Audit and Compliance Unit random and targeted audits. Legal quality by client satisfaction.

Finland-Courts monitor lawyer performance

Chile: All trials are videoed.

Jordan: Judges and prosecutors q.aire

Scotland: 6 year cycle of Peer reviews.

E+W: 3-4 year cycle of Peer Review = targeted.

Taiwan: trying peer Review for Private Practice legal aid lawyers

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Innovations

  • Finland: National Legal Services Authority, MyLegalAid, criminal mediation
  • Poland: 9 Specific Ombudsmen
  • Australia: Deep surveys, children law training, disaster legal assistance
  • Japan: Himawari sunflower
  • Jordan: judge and prosecutor q.aires
  • Namibia: Applicant finance investigation, SADC??
  • Norway: Identity fraud project

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  • NZ: Duty Lawyers, KPMG report
  • Scotland: design system for user needs, not lawyer work
  • Taiwan: Victims legal aid, housing and disabled no means test. Peer review for private Practice pilot, But…, MH mock trials to prepare
  • Zambia: 35 l a desks serviced 23,886 with good results

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Customary Courts and Law

  • Zambia: Communication, Cooperation and Coordination Initiative for all parts of legal, police, courts etc.
  • Zambia: -“Community Justice Boards”- mutual respect, active cooperation + engagement benefits community. Helps reconcile customary law with guarantees of constitutional and human rights.
  • Sierra Leone: Biggest challenge -relationship between LAB and Informal Courts is having latter understand they do not have judicial powers and should stop exercising them.

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Customary court in session at palace level, Chooma Chiefdom, Southern Province, Zambia (Handle 80-90% of disputes arising at community level)

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Challenges

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  • Canada: Self-rep litigants, hostile rhetoric to marginalized groups, complexity of needs, unequal pros/def fund.
  • Poland, Rwanda et al: geographical disparities in services.
  • Taiwan: aging workforce, outdated offices and obsolete equipment

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National quotes with Overall Import

  • Increasing demand, decreasing services
  • Sustainability in doubt, Reviews in progress
  • Prioritisation of uniform legal compliance over flexibility and case specific adjustment.
  • Relocation, procurement etc causing problems. Piecemeal functioning upgrades in IT systems rather than comprehensive systematic approach.
  • AI must be balanced with public sector obligations, and ensuring fairness, equity and accessibility.
  • In April 2025, E+W LAA suffered a cyber-attack. Hit platforms on which legal aid providers log work and receive payment. An injunction is in place to prohibit sharing of data.

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  • William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
  • Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? ...
  • William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
  • Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?

“A Man for all Seasons”

Robert Bolt

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In times of turmoil we need the Law, and Rule of Law, more- not less.

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