Transforming Access to Justice through Legal Aid Centres

Lack of Access to Justice 

Access to justice and legal support is a significant and long-standing challenge in Ethiopia, especially for those in vulnerable groups, such as people living in poverty or with disabilities, those under the age of 18 and those living on the streets or in remote, rural areas. Enshrined in Ethiopian law is the right to appear before a court within 48 hours of being arrested and to receive legal representation. However, these rights are frequently not exercised.  

As a result of insufficient access to legal support, many detainees are not granted bail and are detained for far longer than they legally should be. This not only causes overcrowding in cells but constitutes a violation of rights.  

The Establishment of Free Legal Aid Centres 

Since October 2022, with support from the Civil Society Innovation Fund (CSIF), a consortium of Lawyers for Human Rights, Advocates Ethiopia, and Mizan Young Lawyers Center has been working to transform access to justice for detainees by establishing free legal aid centres in and around police stations in Hawassa, Adama and Addis Ababa. Specifically, these centres focus on providing pre-trial support to secure detainees’ bail rights in criminal cases; they are the first of their kind and have the potential to benefit over 2,000 detainees. 

The centres are based in and around police stations in the Addis Ababa subcities of Akaki Laity, Nifas Silk and Gulele, the Adama subscities of Lugo, Buta, Aba Geda and in the Hawassa area. CSIF supported the setting up of these legal aid centres including furnishing the spaces, as well as the recruitment and training of additional lawyers, paralegals and secretaries.   

Following establishment of the centres, the consortium has provided free legal aid services to a total of 967 detainees, of which 763 were men and 204 were women. While not all these detainees had been arrested for bailable crimes, 215 acquired their bail right directly through the service (173 men and 42 women). Female detainees received support from female legal aid providers, and the project also facilitated the transfer of female detainees with medical issues to more suitable police stations. Lawyers have also provided legal support to some of the families of detainees. 

As a result, overcrowding in police stations has significantly reduced. For example, prior to the project, there were over 100 detainees held at any one time in the most overcrowded Hawassan Police Station. This has now reduced to around 30.  

The achievements have shown the necessity and importance of this work. Moving forward, the consortium’s priorities are to continue the operations of the existing nine stations and start a mobile legal aid centre. Check out our website and social media channels for updates.