LESSONS FROM SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL AID IN SMALL AND DEVELOPING COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/obiter.v26i2.14748Keywords:
models of delivery, modest per capita annual expenditure, judicare, pro bono work, legal aid services, public defenders, intern public defenders, cooperative agreementsAbstract
The South African legal aid scheme experience is a useful model for small and developing countries because it has tried numerous models of delivery and operates on a modest per capita annual expenditure. In most Commonwealth countries judicare, supplemented by pro bono work, is the most common form of delivery of legal aid services. The South African scheme illustrates how a combination of public defenders, including intern public defenders, and judicare can be used to operate justice centres that deliver a full range of legal aid services. It also shows how cooperative agreements between the Legal Aid Board and university law clinics,
public interest law firms and paralegals can be used to supplement legal aid services, particularly in civil matters.
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