Importance

1. Importance

A functioning legal system is a key bedrock of an orderly, fair and just society. It protects and promotes citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms to live in dignity. These rights include – but are not limited to – protection of liberty and property, political participation, equal treatment of all individuals, equal access to education, protection of the vulnerable in society, equality before the law and non-discrimination, freedom of speech, assembly, and association. In a diverse society consisting of individuals and groups with varying levels of power and influence, a robust legal system levels the playing field, and ensures equity and fairness, even for the disadvantaged. And without the stability and predictability provided by a sound legal framework, the economic activities needed to improve our quality of life cannot be sustained. An effective law enforcement cannot exist without a functioning justice system.

The foundation of a justice system is the legal system, which has several important components. The country needs a sufficient number of qualified judges who are well compensated. The laws on the books must be relevant to the country's context to ensure their credibility and effective application. Procedural safeguards should be adequate, and the state must invest to ensure accessibility to justice for all. In other words, bringing justice to the doorstep of the people regardless of their geographical location in The Gambia.  Laws that are enacted must be well enforced in a fair and impartial manner by law enforcement agencies. The office of the Attorney General must effectively and impartially litigate cases.

In ensuring that the country has a legal system that actually works for our current context—as opposed to simply copying systems and procedures from elsewhere—it is important to be clear about the relevant challenges we face as a country. A good legal framework should provide solutions to two interrelated areas that are currently our major challenges: domestic law enforcement and the business enabling environment.

a. Domestic law and order: Crime has been increasing in the country recently, ranging from small nuisances to more serious occurrences of armed robberies and murders. A good legal system is required to classify crimes and outline appropriate punishments to ensure justice prevails, including appropriate investment in policing to prevent serious crime and upholding law and order.

b. Business enabling environment: Economic growth has been sluggish in the country, partly due to a weak investment climate. While the components of a business-enabling environment are varied, a legal framework that can quickly and credibly adjudicate contract disputes, fraud cases, and other civil cases (e.g., land cases) is highly important. It is widely understood that taking someone to court in The Gambia is best used as a threat rather than acting on it because of the extremely slow pace of our justice system. A proper functioning judicial system that ensures quick resolution of civil disputes and enforcement of judgment boosts investor confidence.

2. Status Quo

The ultimate arbiters of whether the country's legal system is working as it should are its citizens. On this question, Gambian citizens have given a clear "No." In the most recent Afrobarometer Survey in the country (2024), the following key findings were documented:

  1. More than half of citizens are not confident that wronged individuals can find justice in our courts.
  2. Less than half believe a case would be resolved fairly.
  3. Only a small fraction of citizens are aware of legal services in their area.
  4. More than half of citizens do not believe that court cases would be resolved in a timely manner.
  5. Only a minority of Gambians (31%) would turn to the police to resolve a legal problem.

No one living in the country is actually surprised by these findings. They simply provide objective confirmation of the lived experience of the average Gambian. There is low trust in the courts because the judiciary and other components of the legal system have not undergone the needed reforms.

Beyond the empirical facts established by this independent and reputable institution, additional problems can be identified with our justice system:

a. Wrong diagnosis in judicial reforms: The indigenization of the judiciary that has been championed by the current Chief Justice was the wrong solution for the country's challenges in the justice system. Yes, there were foreign mercenary judges during the dictatorship, but there were equally Gambian nationals who did the dictator's bidding. While increasing the number of citizens among judges is important, the actual problem we faced was the high number of unqualified judges who were available for sale. Competent judges who cared about their reputation and were ethical did not pervert justice, regardless of their nationality. The problem therefore was not nationality but character and competence. Indeed, the fact that a majority of Gambians still do not have confidence in the justice system despite years of indigenization is all the verdict one needs regarding this misguided approach.

b. Inefficient case management: Cases that go through Gambian courts take an inordinate length of time before they are decided. In some instances, straightforward cases take a long time just to be assigned to a particular judge. For cases that do get started, there is a high frequency of adjournments, often with poor justifications for the delays. Court cases are also delayed due to information not being accessible when such problems could be easily handled with proper record keeping. Another cause of delay is inmates under state custody not being produced in time for court dates. Due to a combination of these and other avoidable reasons, justice is regularly denied to the average Gambian.

c. Poor court infrastructure: Most court buildings are highly dilapidated. This is particularly the case with courthouses located upcountry. While the quality of the building does not necessarily equal the quality of justice, the dilapidated state of the infrastructure is symptomatic of poor administration of justice in the country. A country with crumbling courtrooms is most certainly a country with a poor information management system for cases before the judiciary.

current state

Intervention

3. Government's Track Record

A government has an unmatched role in building and maintaining the legal system of a country. All branches of government need to do their part. Unfortunately, failure to perform applies to all three branches of government in The Gambia and includes the following:

a. Aborted transitional justice: One of the most tragic shortcomings of this government has been its failure to deliver on transitional justice. Significant resources were spent on the Janneh Commission, the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). All of these bodies completed their work after countless efforts and millions of dalasi spent. Yet, the implementations of their recommendations were not fully adopted by the current government for largely political reasons.

b. No new constitution: It is almost a decade since the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh ended, and the country is still under the 1997 constitution that he created. What's more, the country spent over D100 million and conducted extensive consultations to draft a new constitution through the CRC. Yet, the government of Adama Barrow blocked the adoption of this new constitution largely because it restricted his rule to a maximum of two terms (10 years). His government later presented another draft constitution that is transparently self-serving and geared more toward entrenching his rule rather than ushering in real democracy in the country.

c. Aborted justice: The quality of government prosecution has been quite poor. Many cases in the country end up being dismissed for reasons related to the prosecution team not being properly prepared. A contributing factor can be attributed to police investigations being poorly conducted. During trials, cases also collapse due to non-appearances of prosecution witnesses, which is a reflection of poor case management by the state. Sometimes, simple operational matters like transporting inmates from jail to the courthouse cannot be managed due to a shortage of vehicles at the prison service.

d. Lack of priorities: After years under a dictatorship, the country needed to update a large number of laws. Instead of prioritizing those that are truly important, the government focused on legislative changes that are politically expedient or difficult to rationalize. For example, the Adama Barrow administration recently passed a law that bans insulting the parents of government officials and has actually started arresting individuals and prosecuting them under it.

4. PPA’s Solutions for a Justice System That Works

Having a well-functioning legal system to ensure justice for all is too important to be left in its current state. People's confidence and trust in the country's justice system must be restored. Among the reforms our government will implement are the following:

a. New constitution: One of the first acts of the PPA-led government will be to push for and enact the draft constitution prepared by the CRC. It is unconscionable that a whole decade has passed since the removal of the Yahya Jammeh dictatorship and Gambians are still living under its constitution. We acknowledge that the CRC draft is not perfect, but it provides a solid basis for further improvements. More importantly, it is significantly better than the 1997 constitution currently in place.

b. Improvement in the judiciary: Working with the National Assembly, the PPA-led government will push for major changes in the judiciary. Just as needed in other branches of government, change in leadership is the key prerequisite when chronic problems have been the norm in any entity. Our government will pay close attention to the composition of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) since the quality of personnel is the most important determinant of institutional quality. Having a discussion about the independence of the judiciary is pointless if its quality of human capital is lacking. A key objective of the JSC would be to restore Gambians' faith in the judiciary by ensuring that justice actually works for ordinary people.

c. Infrastructure: Infrastructure—both physical and soft—is essential for institutions to work well. The PPA-led government will improve judicial infrastructure. This will include physical structures and an integrated information management system for the efficient processing and handling of not only court cases but for law enforcement as well.

d. Updating laws: There are still many laws in The Gambia that were enacted during the previous regime's rule. Many of these laws are incompatible with democracy and the rule of law. These include giving law and order mandates to the military. Another example is the Public Order Act, which is a tool of repression. There are many others. The PPA-led government—working with other branches of government—will immediately repeal all laws that are not consistent with the modern democracy envisioned for the country. Furthermore, we will update laws where they are urgently needed.

e. Speedy adjudication of cases: The speed with which court cases drag on in The Gambia is not acceptable. The PPA-led government will put measures in place to ensure that ordinary Gambians can have reasonable expectations for speedy trials. This will start with recording and publicly tracking the length of time that individual cases take and noting where the sources of delay occur. The responsible authorities will be held publicly accountable for delays that originate under their jurisdiction. Enforcement of judgment will be streamlined and simplified to ensure successful litigants enjoy the fruits of their judgment. Current administrative and bureaucratic bottlenecks that impede speedy and fair enforcement of court judgments will be completely overhauled to restore speed and efficiency in the system.

solutions

f. Law enforcement and fair trial: A properly functioning legal system must have well-trained, equipped, and professional law enforcement. PPA’s plans for law enforcement are discussed in more detail under the Security Sector. The prosecution team will be reinforced and provided with the resources it needs so that court cases are properly managed. The National Agency for Legal Aid (NALA), which was established to assist poor Gambians with adequate legal representation has been functioning as envisioned due to lack of resources and limited scope. The PPA-led government will increase its funding and broaden its scope to cover more cases.

g. Sensitize ordinary Gambians about their rights: One of the best safeguards for protecting people’s rights is educating them. People are more likely to fight for their rights when they know about them. The PPA-led government will ensure that Gambians, regardless of their socio-economic level, are informed about their rights.

Follow us on @ Electionify