The Judiciary of Sierra Leone will today commence a nationwide ‘Judicial Week’, to increase access to justice and decongest Correctional Centres across the country.
The Judiciary said in statement on Friday that,during this Judicial Week, a total of 1,013 inmates would be given the opportunity to have their incarcerations reviewed in Prison Courts sitting outside correctional facilities.
Following a stakeholders meeting comprising the Judiciary, Sierra Leone Correctional Centers, Legal Aid Board, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Sierra Leone Police, it was discovered that a good number of inmates had issues bothering on access to Justice.
Out of a total number of one thousand and thirteen (1,013) in correctional centres, 111 of them had been incarcerated awaiting trial without indictments; 138 are on prolonged adjournments due to lack of empaneled jurors, 181 on bail but unable to fulfil their bail conditions to secure their release, 47 were serving unjustifiable and disproportionate sentences from Magistrates with no Summary Review application in their favour, and 532 were incarcerated with no admission to bail for possible bailable offences.
The Judiciary said in the statement that, as a way of addressing those issues, “26 Judges will be deployed across the country. During this Judicial Week, a total of 1,013 inmates would be given the opportunity to have their incarcerations reviewed in Prison Courts holden outside the Correctional facilities with those without indictments been given opportunity for their cases to be dealt with expeditiously or as the justice of case may require”.
This is one of the initiatives of the current administration of the Judiciary spearheaded by the Honourable Chief Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards to enhance access to justice and to further decongest correctional centers by ensuring that inmates/accused persons or some convicted persons have the opportunity to be heard and have their cases reviewed by specific Judges deployed across the country.
In the light of the above, there will be one-week recess across the country where all other Court matters will not be heard except for those matters to be dealt with during this Judicial Week, accord to the statement. “In effect, no Court siting will take place because the Judges will be using all the Courts across the country to expedite the process in a transparent manner.”
By Sallieu S Kanu