Justice is not as accessible as it should be

Not all is well in the Zambian justice systems. The soon to be published findings of the Access to Justice project highlight some shortcomings in the way the justice system functions, starting from the Police, Legal Aid Board, Directorate of Public Prosecutions, all the way to the Courts (both local and traditional) and prisons around the country.

By Lena Vind-Andersen, Information Officer, MS Zambia

18. May 2010

The project, which kicked off in November last year, has visited 19 districts spread throughout all provinces, interviewing users as well as stakeholders in the justice systems. Based on the research done, some common issues have emerged. In regards to prisons, it has become evident that understaffing and lack of resources are working against the best interests of the detained. Findings indicate that lack of transport resources cause strife between the courts and the police, for instance when detainees need to be transferred between courts and prison. And at magistrate court level, very few people actually get the legal advice and representation they are entitled to due to human resource constraints.

Another problem is the lack of linkages between social services and Courts: an example is the fact that if Social welfare refers an adoption case to court, the court will not give feedback on the outcome to the welfare officers, thus preventing any follow up action which could have been beneficial to the child. “We have examined the publics perception of the justice systems and while people generally have faith in the police, the directorate of public prosecution is being perceived as not being entirely unbiased towards an accused person. This is because of its’ close relations with the Legal Aid Board. For instance, in some districts, the two offices are on the same floor in one building, and the prosecutor and legal aid board lawyer arrive at court in the same vehicle,” says consultant, Dr. Lungowe Chishinga.

In the traditional systems, the findings indicate that traditional leaders most often aim for reconciling opposing parties: finding compromises rather than winners or losers. However, in certain chiefdoms corporal punishment is still being practiced, even though this has been outlawed. “There is a general lack of legal and rights awareness among the general public in the country. Together with lack of equipment and limited human resources in the Local Courts, it all contributes to the current state of affairs,” says researcher Soyapi Mapulanga.
The findings of this study will be the situation analysis that will inform the programme design for the Access to Justice programme which will encompass the whole nation in due course. It is being undertaken by the Danish Institute of Human Rights supported by DANIDA.