The Haramaya University College of Law Free Legal Aid Program served more than thirty-five thousand (35,910) people in the 2nd quarter of 2016 EC. The free legal aid services are provided to the poor, marginalized and vulnerable members of the community, which includes women, children, the handicapped, the elderly, and those with serious long-term illnesses, in the East and West Hararghe Zones, and Maya City, of the Oromia National Regional State, as well as the Harari People’s National Regional State.
The free legal services include legal advice, the preparation of pleadings, court representation, prisoner follow-up, as well as legal awareness, including its widely popular HU FM 91.5 “Law and Community” program.
All services are provided by licensed lawyers in the Haramaya University College of Law Free Legal Service Centers established in all district courts, and circuit courts, as well as in the respective state high courts, prison administrations, and offices of women, children and youth affairs. More than sixty (60) full-time lawyers are engaged in providing free legal services across the two states, which provides comprehensive coverage in all districts. Recently, Haramaya University College of Law Free Legal Aid Centers also opened in all Sub-City Courts in Maya City- Gende Mude, Adele, and Awaday- as well as in the Maya City High Court in Awaday. Cases are also routinely taken on appeal from the First Instance Courts in the Oromia National Regional State, and the Harari People’s National Regional States, to the respective state High Courts and Supreme Courts, and even up to the Cassation Bench of the FDRE Federal Supreme Court.
The estimated savings to the community are more than seven-and-a-half-million birr (7,515,200 ETB), in the 2nd quarter of 2016, using a current market estimate of hiring a private lawyer. This allows the most vulnerable community members access to the formal court system, which ensures that their constitutional rights are protected and justice is secured. As many of the most vulnerable members of the local community often cannot read or write- and due to chronic poverty, also cannot afford an attorney- it becomes an insurmountable hurdle for them to properly access the formal justice sector without the provision of free legal aid services.
Therefore, without the Haramaya University College of Law Free Legal Aid Program, many of the most vulnerable members of the community would face injustice, persecution, and increased marginalization, which has severe ramifications for community harmony, stability, and social cohesion. The Haramaya University College of Law Free Legal Aid Program helps to reduce these risks by providing access to justice and legal awareness for the most vulnerable members of society and supports the justice sector by ensuring the constitutional rights of its citizens are protected.
Haramaya University Public & International Relations Directorate