INTRODUTION

Legal aid is elucidated as the assistance provided to people who cannot afford legal
representation and access to the court system. These people in legal terms are
referred to as indigents. Legal aid is regarded as an essential component in
providing access of victim to justice by ensuring the equality before the law, the right
to counsel and the right to a fair trial. An effective legal aid system is vital for
distinctive reasons that include the insurance of the right to a fair trial, equality before
the law, people get to know the law and respect of the law and justice. However the
legal aid system of Zimbabwe is also flawed in that some legal practitioners fail to
reach indigents in the rural area,
To begin with, an effective legal aid system is vital in Zimbabwe in the insurance of
equality before the law. Section 56(1) of the constitution asserts that all persons are
equal before the law and have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.
Legal aid respects the concept of equality before the law, meaning that the
underprivileged can get justice regardless of them being indigent. In Zimbabwe, legal
aid applicants are asked to fill in declaration forms that show, among other things,
employment history banking accounts, assets held and ownership of immovable and
movable assets. This assessment is done to determine eligibility for legal aid so that
those who can fend for their own legal costs do so and those who cannot get
assisted. Whatever rights and responsibilities exist are worthless unless it is possible
for all to access the law. Nonetheless, the legal aid system in Zimbabwe is flawed in
this bid to making law accessible to all in that some legal practitioners might fail to
reach rural based people. The Legal Aid Directorate is only located in provincial
capitals of the ten provinces of Zimbabwe and these are urban areas. It has not been
decentralised to rural areas where majority of the indigent reside. Therefore, one can
come to a conclusion that legal aid making the law accessible to all and ensuring
equality before the law is a prepossession.
Conjointly, a potent legal aid system in Zimbabwe is also vital in succeeding a fair
trial. Legal representation is a characteristic of a fair trial among other traits.It is the
duty of governments to provide legal assistance to indigent persons in order to make
the right to a fair trial more effective.A fair trial is significant in ensuring justice.If one
party does not get legal representation the judgement made is prone to be biased. In
1996, South Africa made it a constitutional obligation to provide all indigent persons
free legal representation. In Zimbabwe, the Legal Assistance and Representation Act
only provided legal aid to indigent persons charged with criminal offences and when
it was repealed, the Legal Aid Act was enacted and it mandates the Legal Aid
Directorate to offer its services to indigent clients involved in both criminal and civil
matters. This made the right to a fair trial more accessible. On the contrary the legal
aid system in Zimbabwe is defected on this issue of ensuring a fair trial in that legal
aid is not automatic. Although legal aid is key in ensuring access to justice for the
indigent and vulnerable groups, the LAA does not provide for an automatic right to
legal aid.An applicant for legal aid must meet the requirements of legal aid before it
is granted.Failure to meet these requirements means that the legal aid does not
granted.Therefore,not everyone is guaranteed to get legal aid as some may not meet
the requirements of the legal aid act.
In addition, an effective legal aid system is important in Zimbabwe because people
get to know the law. Public legal practitioners can give Zimbabweans enlightenment
on legal matters. The Legal Aid Directorate offers services that include legal advice
among others such as legal representation and drafting of legal documents. Besides
the legal Aid Directorate, Law students as a human resource provide legal advice
and assistance in university law clinics. In light of this people can get educated and
enlightened on the law. However, this is incognizant in Zimbabwe as there are few
legal aid offices in Zimbabwe and as said above most legal practitioners cannot
access the indigents in rural areas. The Legal Aid Directorate is only located in
provincial capitals of the ten provinces of Zimbabwe and these are urban areas. It
has not been decentralised to rural areas where majority of the indigent reside. This
makes the accessibility of legal aid practitioners.Moreover,there is little public
information dissemination on the right to legal aid. Public awareness on the right to
legal aid is non-existent.This alone shows the difficulty of educating people on the
law.
Moreover, an effective legal aid system is significant in Zimbabwe because it avoids
unresolved or poorly resolved legal matters. There is a close link between the legal
system and society. A society will be in progress and in good health its legal system
will help and fully meet the needs of society. When people feel safe in the hands of
the justice system they are less likely to resort to taking matters in their own hands.
The judgement made by the legal authorities is less prone ti bias as compared to
that made by any unprofessional individual. Access to justice through legal aid
increases trust in the justice system and reduces civil unrest.Unresolved legal
problems can affect a persons life in distinctive ways such as affecting their health,
dignity and ability to earn. Therefore an effective legal aid system is vital in
Zimbabwe as it avoids unresolved legal matters.
An effective Legal Aid system is very important in Zimbabwe as it allows the legal
practitioners to enforce the law in the interests of the ruling class, which is usually
represented by the dominant class. According to the Marxist theory, the purpose and
function of law are to protect the rights of the ruling class and ensure that the
interests of the employers are protected. The ruling class has the means to produce,
and it is the only one able to bring charges in court. However, according to Marx,
Engels, and the other theorists, there are not enough laws protecting the interests of
the ruling class in every case. As the ruling class owns the means of economic
production, it controls the base and uses the law to protect its interests. The legal aid
systems also highlight that they serve not only the will of the ruling class, as can be
seen in the resignation of Robert Mugabe supported the citizens in their revolt
against the late Gabriel Mugabe.