LEGAL AID

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THE GOCASI PROBONO PROGRAM

GOCASI PROBONO PROGRAM supports indigent vulnerable and marginalized people whose rights are violated and abused to access justice at a free cost.

This program is headed by a project manager who is based at the headquarter and supervises all the coordinating offices of the organization.

The GOCASI legal aid project started in 2010  to assist and to enable the indigents, vulnerable, and marginalized persons to access justice

SERVICES OFFERED BY THE GOCASI LEGAL AID PROJECT

  1. Giving advice or providing representation to indigent, vulnerable and marginalized persons.
  2. Involvement in free community Legal Education
  3. Involvement in giving free Legal Advice

The following are professional services related to the above offered by GOCASI Legal Aid.

  • Employment and industrial law;
  • Tenancies;
  • Land rights;
  • Environmental and Health;
  • Human rights;
  • Administrative law;
  • Criminal Law;
  • Debt and credit;
  • Employment and industrial law;
  • Family law and succession;
  • Wills and estates;
  • Child care and protection

GOCASI LEGAL AID however doesn’t involve in the following;

  1. a) Business Law in relation to non profit making organizations;
  2. b) Local Government and planning issues;
  3. c) Intractable disputes between Neighbors;
  4. d) Personal injury and professional Negligence

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

GOCASI monitors and evaluates the performance of advocates involved in provision of Legal Aid services under this PROBONO SCHEME, To ensure efficient and effective provision of PROBONO SERVICES, to ensure that;

  1. Development of clear measurable indicators on performance for each participating advocate.
  2. Advocates present monthly progress reports;
  3. Our Staff makes visitation meetings to courts and discussion with participating advocates as well as feed back mechanism from other stake holders.

We use PROBONO monitoring tools Like Case file progress reporting  forms, client satisfaction forms, court attendance forms, prison visit forms, peer assessment, case outcome reviews, Adhoc attendance, CT enhanced interaction and documents of court sessions.

Review Workshop to access the Progress of the PROBONO.

HOW DOES GOCASI WORK ON YOUR PROBONO CASE

The probono Manager and the program officer are the first contact persons at the GOCASI PROBONO office and they are the ones to make the initial contact with the client and the select advocate to represent.

HOW DOES GOCASI RECEIVE YOUR CASE MATERIALS

1) Before a file is allocated to an advocate, he /she is first contacted by the PROBONO Coordinator and his/her interest, specialty and expertise ascertained.

2) When a suitable file is identified, Its delivered to the selected advocate who peruses it and on acceptance of the same; he is required to sign the confidentiality and advocates acceptance forms.

3) The COORDINATOR will then later contact the client and schedule their initial meeting where the client shall be introduced to the selected advocate who will schedule their first interview.

4) From there on wards, the advocate will be required to regularly update the file using the case progress forms provided and the same will be collected and replaced regularly.

GOCASI MANAGES OUR CLIENT’S EXPECTATION AND CHALLENGES

A) Our participating advocates are Frank and open, respectful while in discussion with our clients about what is possible and what is not possible in the impending advocate-client relationship. This helps to stipulate the advocates role and responsibility of the client on the very first visit. This enables the participating advocate to manage the expectation of his or her client from the on set.

b) Our Advocates know that the GOCASI Pro Bono Clients are Indigent, Vulnerable and Marginalized and therefore require patience and understanding .many of them come when they are victims of oppression and Unjust treatment.

c) Our advocates Exhibit, the highest standard of professionalism when working with clients of PROBONO Scheme.

GOCASI PROBONO CASE MANAGEMENT

The PROBONO section of Gordon care Samaritan international (GOCASI) applies a comprehensive Mechanism/tool To ensure that PROBONO services are offered to persons who need them most. The criterion include;

a) Mapping client’s needs and select cases for Legal Aid and therefore forwarded to selected GOCASI advocates for PROBONO

b)Cases handled include Criminal and Civil(land rights; Administrative Law; Business Law In relation to non profit Making organizations; Child care and protection; Criminal law; debt and credit; Discrimination; Employment and industrial law; Family and succession Law; Wills and Estates; Human Rights; Tenancies; Womens Rights; Environment and Health).

c) Consultation among practicing advocates on the Nature of cases to be undertaken depending on thematic/area of Specialty and interest.

d) Cases selected should have merit; and

e) Development of a means and merit test to ensure only deserving cases for Legal Aid are identified and selected for PROBONO.

                       CASE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICE

The manager provides the case management support to all advocates participating in the Program.

These include:

a) He carries out a means and merit test to ensure that the selected cases are deserving representation free of charge and that the case has merit;

b) Opening of Files and keeping of Duplicate of the same;

c) Identify project advocates depending on their area of Expertise and ensuring individual participation and compliance;

d) Allocate and follow up cases periodically with instructed advocates

Accomplishments of the GOCASI PROBONO SERVICES

The GOCASI legal aid support for indigent, vulnerable and marginalized persons whose rights are violated and violated started in 2014 and it has registered substantial success.

Since the inception of this project many people out of reach of legal Aid services got relieve and the violators of their rights many got punished or compensated them for the relieve sought.

The project has successfully completed 9800 criminal cases in the last 8 years and 3400 civil cases.   

Currently the project has 20,000 active cases running for indigent, vulnerable and marginalized people whose rights have been violated and abused.

The project registers many criminal cases compared to civil cases as many human rights abuses are committed against poor people and the fact that Uganda has not adopted A PROBONO POLICY to support those in violation and abuse of rights of the poor, this has left many in a state of hopelessness.

OUR PARTNERS

In delivery of these services to deserving groups, we partner with many departments according to the area of corporative advantage since each has a role to play on the success of our cases.

The partners inter alia;

  1. Police departments
  2. Probation and welfare officers
  3. Courts of judicature
  4. Local council leadership
  5. Beneficiaries
  6. Uganda law society legal Aid project and organizations with relevant similar initiatives like Uganda Christian lawyers fraternity.

We defend rights like the right to affair hearing, we promote the rights of an accused person, right to property, rights of children

Women suspected of stealing money and were stripped naked, this is a violation of the accused person’s right and their right to privacy

This man was accused of stealing a cow and then tortured until he was hunged by the locals.

The accused person above knocked a pedestrian and the mob could not give him the right to a fair hearing to take him to police but instead decided to kill him thus this is a violation of the rights of a suspect/accused person which should be promoted, protected and defended

GOCASI Legal Aid advocate with prisoners from Luzira prison who had stayed on remand for more than three years without trial.

GOCASI Legal Aid advocate with prisoners at Nakawa Court preparing to enter court