Five-year performance: Free legal aid panels are 'ineffective', says report

Just 40 per cent of female litigants have been given free legal aid

ISLAMABAD: Only a quarter of the funds allocated to the district legal empowerment committees have been spent since the committees were formed some five years ago, a Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) report said.

The report said the district legal empowerment committees — constituted in an effort to provide free legal aid to poor litigants — have been largely ineffective.

Reviewing the performance of these committees, he said that a total of Rs21. 2 million was distributed to DLECs, but spent just Rs2.26 million, amounting to 24 per cent of the allocated funds.

Punjab spent 41 per cent on poor litigants, the highest ratio of funds, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 31 per cent, Sindh 9 per cent and Balchistan 5 per cent.

Just 40 female litigants were given free legal aid, the data showed.

Out of 569 cases all over the country, free legal aid was given in 357 in Punjab, 166 cases in K-P, 33 in Sindh and 27 cases in Balochistan.

Even after four years, too few people knew these committees existed, observed Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali,who is the LJCP’s chairman.

“In addition to improved transparency, the factsheet will also serve to raise stakeholders’ awareness about DLECs, enabling deserving persons to access DLEC support and will sensitise committee members and high courts of the imperative and urgency of the meeting legal aid needs,” he observed.

Challenges for DLECs

The report cited lack of awareness as the main challenge facing DLECs as hardly any stakeholder, such as bar associations, DC offices, police departments, judiciary etc, was aware of their existence.

Inordinate delays in filing court cases, lack of clear criteria for selecting civil society members, low case fees, irregular meetings on progress of DLECs, and weak oversight and performance review mechanisms.

“We can make DLEC members accountable only if there is a formal oversight and performance review mechanism … High courts and LJCP should devise oversight and performance review mechanisms for DLECs to enhance its effectiveness,” the report stated.

The report also cited delays in payment of lawyers’ fees, court fees and reporting of funds utilization status.

A senior official in LJCP told The Express Tribune that a special meeting of all high court chief justices will be held soon to review the performance of DLECs.

The committees comprise five members such as the district & sessions judge, deputy commissioner, district jail superintendent, president of the district bar association and a representative of the civil society.

There is one committee in each district of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2016.