s trateg I es

c l I ent focus and ser VI ce del IV ery

Goals and objectives

Making legal aid accessible, credible, affordable, sustainable and accountable for clients with the following goals and objectives by:

• Ensuring that the Legal Aid Commission provides an effective, professional and responsive service to legal aid clients, including ‘first hour contact’ for arrested and detained persons.

• Creating an efficient management system so that legal aid cases and their administration may be effectively managed.

• Ensuring that legal aid staff deal with client’s cases as timeously as possible.

• Installing a toll-free helpline that is accessible to the public.

• Amending the Policy Guidelines to take into account civil cases and new areas of the law.

• Establishing sufficient legal aid offices and outreach programmes.

• Ensuring that the public perceive the Commission as Independent, professional, efficient and providing quality legal aid services.

• Making the Legal Aid Commission accountable and transparent to the public by publishing an annual report.

• Working in partnership with other stakeholders

• Strengthening the brief-out system by introducing an ethical rule compelling legal practitioners to accept brief-outs from the Commission and to engage in pro bono work for the Commission.

Key activities

• ‘A first hour contact’ system which was established and piloted in Suva from November 2016 for arrested and detained persons in accordance with best international practice to be extended for another term at the expiry of the pilot period in April 2017.

• An efficient case management system is identified and installed to enable quick access to client’s files by the end of 2018.

• Adequate staff are recruited to meet the increasing demand and to ensure timely delivery of legal aid services - ongoing.

• An appropriate toll-free legal aid helpline programme is identified and operational by the mid 2017.

• Staff are trained to deliver legal aid in all relevant areas of legal practice - ongoing.

• The Policy Guidelines are amended to allow civil law cases to be approved by Director of Legal Aid or his or her designate by end of 2017.

• One new office and outreach programmes operational in Seaqaqua by the end of 2016, and four offices and outreach programmes operational in Kadavu and Rotuma and Keyasi and Vunidawa by the end of 2017.

• An Access to Justice Assessment is conducted which includes public perceptions and those of other stakeholders regarding legal aid by the March of 2017.

• An annual report and pamphlets are published widely so that the public and stakeholders are aware of the independence of the Commission and its activities and services – ongoing.

• Formal agreements are entered into with stakeholders such as NGOs, universities and others, and annual legal aid stakeholders meetings are held, with the first meeting emphasizing the independence of the Commission and that legal aid lawyers should not be referred to as ‘government lawyers’ – ongoing .

• By the end of 2017, the Commission approaches the Legal Practitioners Unit to introduce a provision that strengthens the brief-out system by establishing a condition that legal practitioners will not have their practice certificates renewed unless they prove that they have accepted a certain number of brief-outs from the Commission and to engage in a certain amount of pro bono work for the Commission and validated by the Commission.

Measure of achievement

The achievement of the goal and objective of a client focus and qualify service delivery approach will be measured by a range of indicators including quality of case management system, availability of free legal assistance for impoverished and vulnerable groups, satisfaction of callers to the toll-free legal aid helpline and number of people indicating increased understanding and awareness of their rights as a result of awareness outreach programmes.