Project Description:

The breakdown of the rule of law has been identified as one of the underlying causes of Liberia’s conflict and one of the areas where intervention is critically needed. The Ministry of Justice – the key Government agency in this sector – the lacks the resources and personnel to fulfil its role in providing due process and assuring public safety and security. Specifically, in the criminal justice system, prosecution services have been weakened by a lack of human and material resources and as a result, public safety is undermined and citizens have little faith in the ability of the criminal justice to hold criminals accountable or to provide victims of crimes with redress. This project is designed to increase public confidence in the criminal justice system’s ability to provide redress by addressing weaknesses in the prosecution element of the criminal justice system stemming from lack of qualified and properly trained prosecutors and deficiencies in the infrastructure and logistics needed for prosecutors to effectively and justly perform their role.  

Peacebuilding Impact:

Improving prosecution services will contribute to establishing a functioning and credible criminal justice capable of ensuring that criminals are fairly prosecuted, the innocent are acquitted, and victims have fair and effective redress though the justice system, with a view towards enhancing public trust and promoting public safety and justice.

Outputs and Key Activities:

Key Outcomes:

• The ministry of Justice’s internal management is enhanced and there is greater efficiency of its utilization of resources and personnel
• Prosecutors are effectively trained in procedural and substantive areas in order to enhance justice delivery to the community, and donor funding is coordinated to eliminate duplication and maximize impact of training activities
• Standard operating procedures are developed and put into place to create consistent application of institutional rules and regulations to promote support for the legal system, generally, and the Ministry in particular, through the creation of accountability mechanisms and the improvement in the professional delivery of services
• Linkages are created between the prosecutors, the police and the community served by them in order to develop sustainable relationships to enhance public trust and promote public safety and justice.

Outputs:

• Strategic plan for improving prosecution services created by the Ministry of justice
• The Office of Training and Development (OTD) established within the Ministry of Justice to design a comprehensive training programme, provide training courses and materials in identified substantive areas, including juvenile justice, to county attorneys and city solicitors, and coordinate donor training activity
• The Office of the Deputy Minister of Justice for Administration and Public Safety (DMA)’s capacity for operational management built, and the development of standards and policies for prosecutors, including a code of conduct/ethics, supported
• Mechanisms for community outreach developed to promote joint police-prosecutor efforts, increase public investment in rule of law and justice, and to enhance public dialogue

Key Activities:

• Strategic plan approved; implementation plan design; disseminated to the public
• Office of Training and Development established; comprehensive training programme designed; various trainings undertaken
• Database established; standard policies and procedures developed and submitted to the Minister for approval; complaint mechanism established
• Community forums held in three counties

Procurement:

• Office equipment and supplies
• MOSS compliant vehicle (to be turned over to the MoJ for use by the OTD at the end of the project)