THE RELEVANCE OF LEGAL AID TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT : IN UGANDA THE RELEVANCE OF LEGAL AID TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT : AND IN UGANDA A presentation at the 2 ND National Legal Aid Conference June 26, 2014 By Dr Ibrahim Kasirye Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Makerere University

Presentation Outline  Poverty and deprivation  Access to legal services in Uganda  The need for legal aid services  Economic value of legal aid: SBC Case study  Conclusions

The Problem What we know: A large proportion of Ugandans are poor Very few can navigate the judicial system: technicalities Responses Legal aid institution which however are few and mainly located in urban areas Need for public provision of legal aid –State Brief Scheme has limited reach.

Legal aid framework in Uganda Draft National Legal aid Policy Proposes to increase the type of cases in which legal aid services are required Establishment of Legal aid fund Poor persons defense act Advocates provide minimum of 40 hours of annual fee legal services Legal aid institutions –Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) –Justice Centres –LASPNET –Public funding remain inadequate –Institutions mainly accessible in urban centres

This study  Makes an Economic Case expanding public legal aid services  Analysis is based on a national survey: National Governance Baseline Survey 2013  Knowledge and access to legal services in Uganda  Considers gender, geographical location and welfare status  Information on costs of legal services  JLOS annual reports  Estimates the value of legal aid using the States Brief scheme  Based on cases handled by the magistrates and high court

Poverty remain a challenge in Uganda A large proportion of Ugandans remain poor A large proportion of Ugandans remain poor

Knowledge of right to seek justice Percent of adults aged at least 18 years Eight out of every ten adults are aware of the rights to seek justice. to seek justice.

Institutions where to seek justice Percent who know specific institutions of justice NGBS, 2013 LCs and Police are the most known institutions LCs and Police are the most known institutions

Knowledge where to seek justice  Poorest individuals are less likely to be aware of formal judicial institutions  Implication: Poorest individuals are less likely to use formal judicial institutions due to lack of knowledge about their presence  UHRC is mainly known by the relatively well-to-do.  Methods used for outreach may be disfavoring poor persons.

Knowledge, contd (by gender)  Rates of knowledge of LCs and Police is similar  More men (33%) than women (19%)know courts of law  Women in Northern Uganda are far less likely to know courts compared to other regions: Central (18%); Eastern (21%) and Western (28%)  Most rural women do not know about UHRC compared to urban women (3% vs. 9%)  Among men:  Knowledge of UHRC is high in Central and Northern Uganda (11%)  Knowledge of courts is high in Western (45%) and Eastern Uganda (34%)

Lodging a complaint with justice institutions Percent of adults who know how to start the process of lodging a complaint

Lodging a complaint  Men are more familiar with lodging with police than women (71% vs. 54%)  Men also more familiar with courts than women (35% vs. 19%)  Men are twice likely to report knowing how to lodge with Administrator General than women (7% vs. 4%)  Implication for family cases

Knowledge where to seek legal services Percent of adults who know where Table 2: Knowledge where to seek legal services and free legal aid in Uganda, by gender and location (%) AllGender Regions FemaleMale CentralEasternNorthernWestern Do you know where to go/who to approach for legal services Are you aware of any organization that offers free legal assistance in your sub county Source: Authors calculations from the 2013 National Governance Baseline Survey by UBoS

Institutions offering legal aid Source: NGBS, 2013 Table 3: Type of organizations known that offer legal aid services at the sub-county in Uganda, by gender and location (%) AllEstimated Location %NumbersRural Urban (000) AllFemaleMale AllFemaleMale FIDA Legal Aid Clinic Legal Aid Project Public Defenders Association of Uganda Other Source: Authors calculations from the 2013 National Governance Baseline Survey by UBoS

Why legal aid  Large proportion of Ugandans coerced against seeking justice  9% of adults coerced against seeking justice  Most are in central Uganda (15%) while Northern Uganda report the least (3%)  More men (10%) than women (7%)  Response to coercion  Three out of every four (75%) who indicate coercion give up the case  Women in Western Uganda more likely to give up (87%)

Why legal aid  Individual costs of following up cases in court is high:  Court filling fees  Costs of advocates  Lost productivity due to requirements to attend court sessions.  Costs to judiciary  Hearing cases that could have been resolved through mediation  Adjournments  Case back logs

Why legal aid: contests over resources  High prevalence of taking property against one’s will  Three of out of every 10 adults report that someone took their property  Most likely to occur in central and Western Uganda  Family  Deaths and bequests  Child custody

State Brief Scheme case study  Preliminary analysis based on number of court cases in 2012/13  Average cost of finalizing a case  Resolution of cases  Mediation  Scheduled conference  Reduced time hearing cases

Court case in 2012/13 Table 4: Number of cases handled by lower courts in Uganda, 2012/13 Brought Forward Newly Registered Total handled Complete d Pendin g Disposal rate of Registered cases Total Disposal rate Grade 1 Magistrate Courts23,75742,07665,83339,96825, Chief Magistrate Courts80,78654,570135,35650,32585, High Courts33,45919,30752,76612,88639, Total138,002115,953253,955103,179150, Sources: JLOS Annual Performance Report 2012/13

Average cost of handling a case Table 5: Cases disposed off and expenditure on lower courts in Uganda: 2011/ / /122012/132013/14* A Number of Civil and Criminal Suits in High Court disposed off 6,6629,34711,431 B Number of Civil and Criminal Appeals in High Court disposed off C Number of Suits (Family, Criminal, Civil and Land) in Magistrates Courts disposed off 55,05667,66499,261 D Total number of court cases disposed off 61,88577,513111,660 E Total Expenditure on lower courts (UGX Billions) F Average cost per case finalized (UGX)398,966421,607331,811 G Adopted average cost per case finalized for study (UGX) 384,128 Sources: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and JLOS Ministerial Policy Statement FY 2012/13 and 2013/14 Notes: The appeals in the high court in 2013/14 are estimates based on the average rate of appeals in the past 3 years i.e. 2010/ /13. The figures for 2011/12 for magistrates are estimates i.e. 75 coverage of target

Inputs into calculations

Estimations

Economic value of SBC

Conclusions Unmet demand for legal aid services remains substantial The poor are less likely to use formal judicial institutions Legal aid provides huge savings to the judicial system

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