Ghana is facing a serious gap in the provision of legal aid to the poor and vulnerable who are accused of criminal offenses.
According to the Legal Aid Commission (LAC), the state agency responsible for providing free legal services to indigent persons, there are only 25 public defenders in the whole country, serving a population of over 30 million people.
Why Public Defenders Are Important
Public defenders are lawyers employed by the state to represent accused persons who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers. They are essential for ensuring that the rights of the accused are protected and that they receive a fair trial. Without public defenders, many innocent people may be wrongly convicted, or face harsher sentences than they deserve.
Public defenders also help to reduce the congestion in prisons and courts, by facilitating speedy trials and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
The lack of public defenders in Ghana is partly due to the inadequate funding and staffing of the LAC, which has been operating under an outdated legal framework for over two decades.
The Legal Aid Commission
The LAC was established by the Legal Aid Scheme Act of 1997 (Act 542), which did not provide for a clear mandate, structure or budget for the agency. The LAC also faced challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified lawyers, who often preferred to work in private practice or other sectors.
However, there is hope for improvement, as the LAC has recently undergone a major reform, following the enactment of the Legal Aid Commission Act of 2018 (Act 977).
This new act establishes the LAC as a commission, with a board of directors, a director-general, and three divisions:
- the Citizens Advisory Division
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Division
- Public Defenders’ Division (PDD)
The PDD is specifically tasked with providing legal aid to persons arrested, restricted, detained, or accused of criminal offenses, especially those facing life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Public Defenders’ Division (PDD)
The PDD was officially launched on May 10, 2023 by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who described it as a “historic milestone” in the delivery of justice and human rights in Ghana.
He said that the PDD would ensure that every person who is accused of a crime has access to a lawyer at every stage of the criminal process, from arrest to appeal. He also pledged to increase the budget and personnel of the LAC, and to collaborate with other stakeholders such as the judiciary, the police, the prisons, and civil society organizations to enhance the effectiveness of legal aid services.
The launch of the PDD is indeed a welcome development that has the potential to transform the lives of many Ghanaians who need legal assistance. However, it is not enough to have a legal framework and an institutional structure in place. There is also a need for adequate resources, training, supervision, and monitoring to ensure that public defenders can perform their duties professionally and ethically.
There is also a need for public awareness and education to inform citizens of their rights and responsibilities under the law, and to encourage them to seek legal aid when necessary.
By The Numbers
In the last fours, Ghana has seen a sharp rise in the number of lawyers called to the bar with a record number of 3908 lawyers being called to the bar in recent years.
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