Wits Justice Project video: community paralegals in Orange Farm

Community paralegals at work (Photo: Timap for Justice)

Watch Paul McNally’s video on community paralegals, made after the Wits Justice Project’s recent breakfast discussion on community paralegals in South Africa.

McNally interviews Bricks Mokolo of the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre about the centre’s work, funding challenges and a recycling initiative to raise money for the centre.

WJP coordinator Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi also features in the video, arguing that community paralegals can relieve some of the pressure on SA’s criminal justice system and make it more effective.

Watch the video.

Related resources:

Outcome report: Justice for Breakfast discussion on community paralegals in SA 

Bringing the law to the people: The role of community paralegals in our country by WJP legal intern Thandeka Khati 

Community paralegals may improve access to  Justice in SA by WJP journalism intern Hazel Meda (published in the Saturday Star) 

 

Outcome Report: Justice for Breakfast discussion on Community Paralegals in SA

Stakeholders including Miles Bhudu of the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights discussed the use of community paralegals. (Photo: Hazel Meda)

Following the Justice for Breakfast discussion on community paralegals held earlier this month, the Wits Justice Project and the Wits Graduate School for Public and Development Management’s Crime, Policing and Criminal Justice Programme have released an Outcome Report highlighting the main issues debated.

These include the definition, funding, training and accountability of community paralegals.

Read the “Justice for Breakfast: Community Paralegals in South Africa Outcome report”.

Bringing the law to the people: The role of community paralegals in our country

Community paralegals have assisted many people in Sierra Leone. (Photo: Timap for Justice)

By Thandeka Kathi, Legal Intern at the Wits Justice Project

The marginalized people in society rarely have access to justice because they face many impediments, such as lack of knowledge of the law. When they do know their rights, they cannot afford the services of a lawyer. When lawyers are available pro bono they are usually out of reach, because their offices are based in the cities.

This is a flaw in our legal system. On one hand we have a legal system which boasts one of the best constitutions in the world. But on the other hand we have people who do not have access to legal remedies.

This is where community-based paralegals can help, especially in rural settings.

I recently attended a Justice for Breakfast event on the role of community-based paralegals, held by the Wits Justice Project and the Wits Graduate School for Public and Development Management. Before this event, I did not know that this branch of paralegals existed. I thought that paralegals worked in law firms and banks to help attorneys with legal research and so forth.

I learned that there is no agreed-upon definition of what a community-based paralegal is. According to the World Bank “Definitions vary, but roughly a community-based paralegal is a person trained in law and the workings of government who employs tools like education, mediation, advocacy, and organizing to address instances of injustice”.  Therefore, a community-based paralegal is more than a legal assistant. At the roundtable there was much debate as to whether a common definition of the term “community paralegal” is needed or if we leave it as it is because a broad definition gives the community access to individuals who possess a variety of skills.

While I acknowledge the importance of community-based paralegals and the positive impact they have, especially in rural communities, I am also concerned about the negative impact they might have.

The law is a complicated machine that has to be operated with the utmost care. I am fearful that people who have not received training in the law can give legal advice. My concerns were echoed by Ruby Matthys, who represented the Association of Regional Magistrates of Southern Africa. She warned that the community is vulnerable to people who may not be qualified to give legal advice and who are not held accountable for the advice that they give.

The regulation of paralegals is essential to ensure that the community is protected. The second draft of the Legal Practice Bill does not include the regulation of paralegals. The Law Society of South Africa, in its submissions about the Legal Practice Bill lists the exclusion of community-based paralegals from the Bill as positive. I do not understand why this is viewed as positive because leaving community-based paralegals unregulated makes communities vulnerable to unqualified people posing as community-based paralegals.

In my opinion, community-based paralegals should be regulated because they play a vital role in bringing justice to the people. In the words of one roundtable participant, “Community-based paralegals can be traced to the 1980s. They are resilient and are not going anywhere”. Therefore they should be regulated like all other professions.

Community paralegals may improve access to justice in SA

Community paralegals have proved successful in other African countries, such as Sierra Leone. (Photo: Timap for Justice)

(Published in the Saturday Star, 16 February 2013)

HAZEL MEDA

RICHARD “BRICKS” MOKOLO has been a community activist since the 1980s. In those days he fought the apartheid government, demanding it recognise the human rights of all South Africans. But he says his fight is not over.

“After the new dispensation, there are other challenges,” says Mokolo, the Paralegal Coordinator at the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre.

Mokolo believes one of those challenges is access to justice, which is a constitutional right but not a reality for the economically-disadvantaged residents of Orange Farm. Many do not have the money to travel 30 kilometres to the nearest court, which is in Vereeniging, or to pay for private lawyers.

A wide cross-section of stakeholders in the criminal justice system discussed the role of community paralegals like Mokolo at a “Justice for Breakfast” event at Wits University’s Graduate School for Public and Development Management (P&DM) on Wednesday 13 February. The gathering was organised by P&DM and the Wits Justice Project.

Representatives of the Department of Justice, Legal Aid SA, the Law Society of South Africa, the National Alliance for the Development of Community Advice Offices (NADCAO) and other civil society organisations debated the pros and cons of community paralegals.

Robyn Leslie, a researcher at the Wits Justice Project highlighted the successful use of paralegals in other African countries. In Malawi paralegals have assisted hundreds of thousands of people, Leslie said.

Some audience members said community paralegals have an important role to play in alternative dispute resolution, which might relieve the caseload in South Africa’s overburdened courts.

Mokolo said the Orange Farm paralegals provide mediation in domestic violence and unfair dismissal cases.

Ivan Evans of the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders (Nicro) said paralegals could help reduce overcrowding in remand centres, by doing something as simple as helping awaiting-trial detainees to contact relatives, who could then provide bail money.

A number of participants in the breakfast dialogue raised concerns about the lack of clarity in the definition and role of paralegals in South Africa, the need for reliable training, and the fact that paralegal activities appear to be unregulated.

The problem of people masquerading as paralegals while charging the public for their services was also highlighted.

Mokolo says he and his colleagues refer people to organisations like the Wits Law Clinic and the Legal Resource Centre where they can consult lawyers for free.

“We are not saying to the people we are lawyers. We are opening doors for them to meet the lawyers.”

Another point of debate was whether community paralegals should be paid professionals or volunteers.

Winnie Kubayi of NADCAO said the work done by community paralegals is time-consuming and that they should be paid for it, adding that a salary and continuous training help to motivate the paralegals. She said her organisation’s salaried paralegals have been providing services to rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal since 1997, with no staff turnover.

Mokolo says the Orange Farm paralegals are volunteers who do the work because of their commitment to community activism.

Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi, the coordinator of the Wits Justice Project responded to calls for further studies on the issue of paralegals in this country.

“We hope to produce research on the socio-economic and financial benefits of introducing community paralegals into South Africa’s criminal justice system at critical nodes like courts and police stations,” she said.

*Hazel Meda is a member of the Wits Justice Project, which investigates miscarriages of justice.

WJP “Justice for Breakfast” on role of community paralegals

Advocate Anil Naidoo speaking during the Wits Justice Project’s breakfast dialogue on community paralegals. (Photo: Hazel Meda)

A wide cross-section of stakeholders in the criminal justice system discussed the role of community paralegals at a “Justice for Breakfast” event at Wits University’s Graduate School for Public and Development Management (P&DM) on Wednesday 13 February 2013. The gathering was organised by P&DM and the Wits Justice Project (WJP).

Representatives of the Department of Justice, Legal Aid SA, the Law Society of South Africa, the National Alliance for the Development of Community Advice Offices (NADCAO) and other civil society organisations debated the pros and cons of community paralegals.

Winnie Kubayi of NADCAO discusses a successful community paralegal programme in KwaZulu-Natal. (Photo: Hazel Meda)

The successful use of paralegals in other African countries was briefly discussed, with examples drawn from Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Making the case for widespread use of paralegals in South Africa, some participants said community paralegals have an important role to play in alternative dispute resolution, which might relieve the caseload in South Africa’s overburdened courts.

Ivan Evans and Nkosingiphile Mafuze-Sijora of Nicro participated in the dialogue. (Photo: Hazel Meda)

Ivan Evans of the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders (Nicro) said paralegals could help reduce overcrowding in remand centres, by doing something as simple as helping awaiting-trial detainees to contact relatives, who could then provide bail money.

Evans described a simple but effective Nicro project in the early 1990s, where young people volunteered to contact family members and then Legal Aid on behalf of remand detainees.

Richard Mokolo (extreme left) shares his experience as coordinator of community paralegals at the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre (Photo: Hazel Meda)

Some participants highlighted the lack of clarity in the definition and role of paralegals in South Africa, the need for reliable training, and the fact that paralegal activities appear to be unregulated. Another point of debate was whether the contribution of community paralegals should be recognised financially (in the form of a salary or stipend) or whether community paralegals should be unpaid volunteers.

Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi of the Wits Justice Project and Catherine Moat of the Wits Graduate School of Public and Development Management, co-sponsors of the event. (Photo: Hazel Meda)

WJP coordinator Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi concluded the event by announcing plans to do more research into the socio-economic and financial benefits of introducing community paralegals into South Africa’s criminal justice system at critical nodes like courts and police stations.