NCJ Number
222933
Journal
International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 1-11
Date Published
January 2006
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article examines Malawi’s Criminal Justice System, and shows that in spite of the equality that people are entitled to in Malawi before the law, in practice access to justice does not work exactly as the theory says it should.
Abstract
Through government cooperation, NGOs have been able to access prisons and educate prisoners about their rights and in the process change the attitude of the government and the general public towards prisoners. The paralegal advisory teams, under the Paralegal Advisory Service, hold a number of paralegal legal aide clinics in the four main prisons and observe the subsequent trials. The Paralegal Advisory Service is meant to acquaint offenders with the court process and legal issues involved. It brings the criminal justice actors together by directly working in a partnership with Malawi Police Services, Malawi Prison Services, and the Judiciary. Despite having these paralegal NGOs, the need for legal aid remains great. However, the government is unwilling to invest money in the criminal justice system which also affects the legal aid services. The Human Rights Commission of Malawi has described the country’s criminal justice system as weak, citing justice as compromised because of the too many archaic laws on the statute books and the denial of justice due to lack of legal representation for the indigent. References