IN THE COURTROOM
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied....Democracy and the Sierra Leone Judiciary
By
Mar 4, 2008, 02:58

The saying of Justice Giorgio Del Vecchio of the India Supreme Court states that  "Without Justice, life would not be possible and even if it were; it would not be worth living" The notion, theory of law can be defined as a study based on presupposition or ideal which  man seeks for his realization through law. This is most time referred to as the Theory of Justice. The word justice has been derived from the actual concept of justness which acts as the primordial factor for any state to provide for its populace.

The concept of justice was vitiated with various welfare, moral and psychological factors. Recognition of these features act as a social tool that makes justice accessible to all citizens. Justice is a generic term, which includes both procedural (Natural) and substantive (Social) justice. In some nation-states justice has been adorned as the very embodiment of God, whose sole mission is to uphold justice, truth and righteousness.

Under our Sierra Leone 1991 constitution, the objective of Justice sets the ultimate goal for all of us to serve our nation. It is a mixture of natural and social as evident in the entire document. In reality, it sets out to secure all its citizens justice in terms of social, economic, political and equality in the face of the law. Our current stress on justice itself is a reminder of the fact that justice is not available to us all as citizens of the state, something contrary to the document being referred to as constitution.

Democracy and the Sierra Leone Judiciary
In a democratic country like Sierra Leone; the judiciary is expected to play a vital role in establishing a state of justice. Therefore being the watchdog, the judiciary through the promotion of the rule of law should not be seen or allowed to shift its burden of responsibility to others for its failure to establish an actual State of Justice. It is the judiciary on which millions of people have struck their faith of getting justice. It has the capability of imparting justice to the aggrieved. It is that part of our constitution which acts as its Messiah. It is that structure of our society, which cemented its place next to God and if not properly dispensed will shatter down the entire trinity of democratic instrumentalists with checks, balances, parliamentary structure and the judicial facets of our constitution.

Generally, aggrieved with lots of pain, anguish and hope in their heart approach the court of law for their grievances to be clarified but at the end of the day the procedural lacuna left them with bare hands. They are denied of their most important right of Justice. In Sierra Leone, Justice is beyond the reach of most; and the right of access to it is not communicated to the citizens properly. In many circumstances it was discovered that the litigant who has access to the court failed to obtain quick relief and for some; never have the opportunity even to knock the doors of the court due to ignorance and poverty.

If we want justice to be accessible to all, then it must be relieved from the Laissez faire pattern, where justice like other commodity can be purchased and initiative must be taken to educate the populace. Quest for justice has nothing to do with procedure or jurisdictional aspect rather it cares for its speedy disposal. Delay in disposal of cases is considered as one of the most vexed and worrying problem. It is the code of procedures, which makes it so worse.

However, some personalities have opined that Justice in common parlance is considered as blind but in Sierra Leone it is both lame and blind. It is on the verge of collapse with lots of cases clogging the system. There are cases that take so much of time that even a generation is too short to get any type of redress. Procedures must be utilized to advance the cause of justice but in Sierra Leone it is used to thwart it. Justice is something which should be dispensed as early as possible otherwise it will be too late for a critic to add a common adage to what is mostly perceived as Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.

Current situation at the judiciary clearly show that it will take more than years to clear the backlog of cases in the courts, irrespective of the financial input made by international donor organizations to fast-track the process. Delay in disposal of the cases facilitates the people to raise eyebrows, sometime genuinely, which if not checked, may shake the confidence of the people in about the judicial system. The problem of delay in the justice delivery system had engaged the attention of several legal practitioners for a quite a long time now. To cushion this situation several proposed amendments have been made.

Reasons for the delay in disposal of cases
 There are several reasons advanced by competent legal sources for the delay that have not gone through empirical test. Firstly, there is an increase in litigation. People now- days are in a habit of dragging their point of grievances to the court of law that can be solved outside the purview of the court. Secondly, non-adherence with the code properly by the judges and the lawyers both add to same cause in a greater extent. Thirdly, the judicial system is not equipped with required number of judges. Fourthly; in this writer’s opinion is government insensitive nature to the real situation that obtains in the court system in the country. While it can be understood that delay may occur in the civil cases but the same is not expected in the criminal proceedings. If we compare these two on the basis of its disposal then it is very much advent that criminal justice system is at its worst and this position leads to a situation where the common man had lost its complete trust on the efficacy of the criminal redress system. Delayed decisions, piled up files and indefinitely extending projects, never serve their purpose. They are the real roadblocks to development in any state or nation. Generally, delayed decisions take its maximum toll from the under privileged section as Poor section of our society, who are always treated as “animals”. They are often denied of their bare amenities of life. Social justice will be possible only if the entire concept of egalitarian politico-social order is followed, where no one is exploited, where every one is liberated and where every one is equal and free from Hunger and poverty. The proverb ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’ is proved as it is denied to the poorest of the poor. Providing basic necessities to them will amount to Justice because the definition of justice varies from individuals to individuals on the basis of its economic conditions. The situation today is so grim that if the poor is able to reach the stage of a high court, that itself is considered an achievement for him. At this juncture the author is of the opinion that judiciary obviously owes an obligation to deliver quick and inexpensive justice irrespective of the complicated procedures but it cannot be hurried to be buried. Cases should be decided for imparting justice not for the sake of its disposal. Secondly, Arbitration procedure must be utilized as a better option for quick disposal of cases. Finally, to conclude with the words of Lord Hewet “it is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.