THE LEGAL aid programme suffers from chronic underfunding, which limits its reach and discourages lawyer participation, says noted attorney Dennis Morrison, QC, speaking on Tuesday night at The Grace, Kennedy Foundation's annual lecture.
"The scheme has been chronically underfunded from the beginning and in less than two years the impact of this began to be felt in long delays in payment to attorneys and in due course, a drastic reduction in the level of participation in the scheme by them," he said.
DISCONNECTION
There is a disconnect between what the scheme is meant to achieve, said Mr. Morrison, and what its current allocation can pay for.
He noted that the scheme could also easily disappear because of the lack of funding.
"I think it is fair to say that unless the government is prepared to fund this kind of legal aid scheme that the legislation describes, it will wither and die," Mr. Morrison said.
The Legal Aid Council is currently funded at $2.6 million per month.
The council owes lawyers some $43 million.
The lecture, titled: 'Citizens and the Law: Perspectives Old and New' was attended by a wide cross section of Jamaicans, ranging from students to civil servants. The lecture is the 16th in the series, which is meant to spark discussion on some of the issues presented.
