Abstract
The provision of legal aid in Zimbabwe is meant to assist people who otherwise would be unable to afford legal representation and accessing court systems. In 1980, the Legal Aid Directorate was established (Zimbabwe Legal Aid Act, 1996 (Chapter 7:16) to assist disadvantaged members of society in accessing justice through the provision of free legal advice and representation. While the enactment of law would normally aim at promoting access to justice, it is arguable whether the Zimbabwean government has fully implemented its commitment under the Constitution concerning indigent persons and access to justice particularly in relation to free legal advice and representation. Law clinics, by their nature, offer alternative lawyering pathways but it is still unknown whether the clinical activity in Zimbabwe is playing an effective role in enhancing access to justice in and we will never know until we evaluate their role. This project is not about playing the blame game but aims to bring together key Zimbabwean experts for the first time in the jurisdiction to assess the extent to which the Zimbabwean law clinics have improved access to justice for indigent communities in Zimbabwe, and what strategies should be employed to enhance future access. The method of research will utilise an Appreciative Inquiry approach to identify good practice, design effective development plans, and ensure implementation by focusing the research process on what works, rather than trying to fix that which does not work. The context selected for piloting Appreciative Inquiry in Zimbabwe was clinical legal education and access to justice. A review of recent literature on clinical legal education as an alternative lawyering tool in the provision of access to justice in Zimbabwe revealed a paucity of research on Zimbabwe clinicians’ views on what can be considered as good practice for law clinics in accessing justice in Zimbabwe. Moreover, local faculties of law in Zimbabwe have implemented several initiatives in their respective law schools to build clinical legal education, but these initiatives have not yet been sufficiently evaluated to determine the extent to which law clinics complement the Zimbabwean government’s constitutional obligations under section 31 which provides that the "State must take all practical measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to provide legal representation in civil and criminal cases for people who need it and are unable to afford legal practitioners of their choice." Evidencing the activities of the law clinic and the impact clinical programmes have on indigent communities in accessing justice remains a challenge in Zimbabwe. Despite a remarkable rise in the creation of clinical programmes in the jurisdiction, there still exist a lack of research and evidence that evaluates the role of clinics in the provision of access to justice. An evaluation process can potentially influence policy formulation and implementation in the provision of such services, and it is therefore important that I engage with Zimbabwean clinicians to see how we can establish a culture of writing and disseminating research on the role of clinical legal education in Zimbabwe. Hence, access to justice through the provision of a clinical pedagogy seemed a good choice of focus for the application of Appreciative Inquiry approach.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Unpublished - 23 Jul 2024 |
Event | The Indigent Person and Legal Aid Provision in Zimbabwe: Using Appreciative Impact to Evidence Impact on Access to Justice - Amsterdam Law School, Amsterdam, Netherlands Duration: 22 Jul 2024 → 24 Jul 2024 https://encle.org/events-and-news/events/10th-encle-21st-ijcle-conference |
Conference
Conference | The Indigent Person and Legal Aid Provision in Zimbabwe: Using Appreciative Impact to Evidence Impact on Access to Justice |
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Country/Territory | Netherlands |
City | Amsterdam |
Period | 22/07/24 → 24/07/24 |
Internet address |