National Legal Aid Bill - Justice Centres Uganda

National Legal Aid Bill

The Government of Uganda has a very limited legal obligation to provide legal aid and this has negatively affected access to justice. There is lack of a clear government policy on access to legal aid by indigent or vulnerable persons beyond what the Constitution and a few laws guarantee.
 
The Bill therefore, seeks to facilitate access to legal representation for indigent and vulnerable persons by:
  1. imposing a duty on the Government to provide legal aid to indigent or vulnerable persons;
  2. expanding the meaning of legal aid beyond merely providing a lawyer;
  3. designating a Government body/ unit that is responsible for the provision of legal aid on behalf of the state;
  4. proposing the process for accessing legal aid to persons entitled to legal aid;
  5. imposing standards for providing legal aid by Government and the qualified legal aid service providers.

The National Legal Aid Bill therefore seeks to merge, update, and reform the law on legal aid in Ugandaand to put into law Government’s obligation to provide legal aid to indigent or vulnerable persons.

Further insight can be found on the page of the Parliament.