Support for the operationalization of the National Strategy for Legal Aid

Having been in Burundi for more than 10 years, ASF’s intervention strategy in the country is based on the following principles: - Specialisation in providing legal aid to vulnerable people: ASF has developed an expertise in implementing legal aid programmes to assist vulnerable people, which draws on 15 years of experience in fragile and/or developing States. - Promotion of the social role of lawyers and strengthening their technical abilities: ASF considers strengthening lawyers’ abilities (and their independence) to be an objective in itself, as lawyers are essential agents in relation to access to justice and the right to a fair trial. Furthermore, ASF wants to promote the social role of lawyers as agents for change who are likely to generate a progressive jurisprudence and/or to stimulate legal reform. - Synergy and partnership with agents in the countries of intervention: ASF takes all possible steps to start a positive dialogue with agents in the countries of intervention, and to identify objectives and common or convergent action. - Sharing knowledge and lessons learned: in order to meet the challenges which are posed by the contexts of our interventions, ASF has developed “models” of intervention, mechanisms which are endogenous and innovative, such as legal aid offices and mobile court hearings. The idea of learning and assessment is included in these projects, by ASF as well as by its partners, with a view to capitalisation and duplication. In Burundi, the project aims to provide “Support for the operationalisation of the National Strategy for Legal Aid”, developed in 2010 under ASF’s initiative, of which the objective is to develop legal aid services by bringing together and engaging different agents from the justice sector. This strategy is being carried out in agreement with: - The ASF mission; - The Sectoral Policies of the Burundian government, which intends to promote “a stronger demand for justice”; - The Bar’s Strategic Plan (“to promote legal advice and assistance, and programmes which strengthen, protect and serve the public”); - Lessons learned from practice, previous evaluations, and the results of the legal aid study which was carried out by ASF in 2011, which concluded there was a lack of co-ordination between different legal aid suppliers and that it was necessary to strengthen and perpetuate the engagement of agents who were lawfully in charge of legal aid. The project is being implemented in the capital and in three provinces of intervention, in synergy with the CTB, in complementarity with ASF’s project DGD 2012-2014, and in conformity with the Ministry of Justice’s Sectoral Policy 2011-2015. The regions targeted (Mwaro, Muramvya and Bubanza), almost tally exactly with CTB’s regions for action in the current project (Mwaro, Muramvya, Bubanza and Cibitoke). To contribute to the achievement of project results, another project is being implemented, also financed by Belgium (DGD 2012-2014). Its objective is to develop access to co-ordinated and high quality legal aid for categories of vulnerable people targeted in the National Strategy for Legal Aid (NSLA or SNAL in French) in the three provinces of intervention (Bujumbura, Gitega and Ngozi). Activities of the project: - Carrying out a feasibility study on the system for financing a legal aid fund. The study will be refined in 3 phases lasting a year, carried out by 2 external experts on behalf of the thematic group “Demande de Justice”. The objective is to propose a realistic system for financing legal aid in close consultation with those who are involved in its future implementation: State (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance), regional authorities, technical and financial partners (bilateral co-operations, international organisations, private foundations), agents for implementation (Bar, lawyers, national and local NGOs), agents for supervision and technical advice (international NGOs); - Support for meetings and activities of the thematic group “Demande de Justice”; - Systematic judicial assistance to defendants in preventative detention at the pre-trial phase (in court chambers), and the jurisdictional phase in the 3 provinces of intervention; - The opening and functioning of a place for ASF legal consultations in Bubanza; - Judicial assistance for Incarcerated Minors; - Awareness raising/diffusing of information about the law and legal aid consultations in prisons; - Carrying out an analytical study of judicial practice concerning preventative detention in Burundi.;