Blog
Paucity of Interpreters May Derail Justice at the Bo Magistrate Court
Court proceedings at the formal justice system in Sierra Leone are conducted in English, the country’s official language. Although an application...
Special Court for Sierra Leone Approves Indictment for Contempt Proceedings: Lessons for Sierra Leone’s Justice System
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) on 24th May 2011 instructed two independent counsel to issue indictments and subsequently prosecute...
Judicial Impartiality at Risk at the Bo NA Court: Chairman Openly Takes Sides…
Approximately 70 percent of Sierra Leone’s population relies on traditional form of justice, which is usually more accessible, cheaper, and faster...
The Need to Guarantee Fair Trial Rights in the High Court Holden in the North
The Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991, provides, amongst others, fair trial rights that should be granted to every individual who is alleged to...
Providing Concrete Solution to Basic Problems: How Community-Based Paralegals are Making a Difference in Rural Sierra Leone
Introduction Towards the end of 2010, the number of paralegals providing free basic justice services in Sierra Leone doubled, as donors joined with...
The Bail Policy: Adopting a Liberal Approach to Complement the Criminal Procedure Act
Introduction The Hon. Chief Justice, Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh, on Friday 2nd October 2009 launched the long-awaited “Bail Policy” at a well attended...
Making a Case for Judicial Activism in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone
Introduction* The essence of the existence of laws is to protect the people it is enacted to serve. Those laws can be more effective if they are...
Examining the Politics of Death Penalty in Sierra Leone
Introduction[1] In late December 1992, the NPRC regime announced the discovery of an alleged coup involving the former Inspector General of Police,...
The Follies of Addressing Corruption in the Court of Public Opinion
When President Koroma was elected to office in 2007, he immediately set himself a number of priority tasks and principal amongst which was his...