Legal aid amendments to focus on public
Improving services
The amendments come after the directorate for legal aid received numerous complaints about the quality of services and delays in applications, the minister said.
The justice ministry plans to improve the services it provides to the public.
This according to minister Yvonne Dausab, who was speaking about amendments to the Legal Aid Act. This was the topic of an information session with the information ministry, which took place on Friday.
Dausab intends to table six amendments to this law at the next National Assembly meeting, which is scheduled for 28 October. “Hopefully these amendments can be introduced quickly," she said.
According to her, the amendments come after the directorate for legal aid within the ministry received numerous complaints about the quality of services and delays in applications for legal aid.
The amendments are specifically necessary to bring the 1990 law into line with changes that have come over time, she said.
"The legal aid directorate received about 1 000 applications a year in 1990. Now we get about 10 000 annually, and about 70% of those applications are approved," she explained.
Amendments
The first amendment is the introduction of deputy directors in the directorate who can also consider and approve applications, the minister said.
"There is currently only one director and he is in Windhoek. [The amendment will allow] us to decentralise services. It will also help with the backlog of applications."
In another amendment, Dausab intends to change the law so that legal aid does not only focus on a person's income, but also the nature of the case. She believes that cases that are in the public interest can also qualify for legal aid. "Such as in cases where someone may lose their primary residence or someone is the victim of domestic or gender-based violence. There must be other considerations as well and not just the income threshold.”
The third amendment relates to the criteria and who qualifies for legal aid. Dausab explained that the threshold for the maximum net income below which someone must earn to be eligible for legal aid was moved up from N$3 500 to N$7 000 a few months ago.
"However, we intend to raise this threshold to N$10 000 so that more people can make use of the service. Everyone must enjoy equal access to justice," she stressed.
The other amendments include investigations in cases where someone did not meet the criteria for legal aid, as well as the establishment of an appeals committee to accommodate people who are dissatisfied with the rejection of their applications.
With the last amendment, the ministry seeks to put a mechanism in place for quality control to ensure that legal aid lawyers provide services to the best of their ability.
This according to minister Yvonne Dausab, who was speaking about amendments to the Legal Aid Act. This was the topic of an information session with the information ministry, which took place on Friday.
Dausab intends to table six amendments to this law at the next National Assembly meeting, which is scheduled for 28 October. “Hopefully these amendments can be introduced quickly," she said.
According to her, the amendments come after the directorate for legal aid within the ministry received numerous complaints about the quality of services and delays in applications for legal aid.
The amendments are specifically necessary to bring the 1990 law into line with changes that have come over time, she said.
"The legal aid directorate received about 1 000 applications a year in 1990. Now we get about 10 000 annually, and about 70% of those applications are approved," she explained.
Amendments
The first amendment is the introduction of deputy directors in the directorate who can also consider and approve applications, the minister said.
"There is currently only one director and he is in Windhoek. [The amendment will allow] us to decentralise services. It will also help with the backlog of applications."
In another amendment, Dausab intends to change the law so that legal aid does not only focus on a person's income, but also the nature of the case. She believes that cases that are in the public interest can also qualify for legal aid. "Such as in cases where someone may lose their primary residence or someone is the victim of domestic or gender-based violence. There must be other considerations as well and not just the income threshold.”
The third amendment relates to the criteria and who qualifies for legal aid. Dausab explained that the threshold for the maximum net income below which someone must earn to be eligible for legal aid was moved up from N$3 500 to N$7 000 a few months ago.
"However, we intend to raise this threshold to N$10 000 so that more people can make use of the service. Everyone must enjoy equal access to justice," she stressed.
The other amendments include investigations in cases where someone did not meet the criteria for legal aid, as well as the establishment of an appeals committee to accommodate people who are dissatisfied with the rejection of their applications.
With the last amendment, the ministry seeks to put a mechanism in place for quality control to ensure that legal aid lawyers provide services to the best of their ability.
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