To Whom Do The People Take Their Issues? The Contribution of Community-Based Paralegals to Access to Justice in South Africa

This report provides a broad analysis of the current state of the paralegal sector in South Africa. It begins with a historical overview of paralegal services in South Africa from the apartheid period to the present. The study then maps the current state of the paralegal sector, and provides detailed information on the structure and function of key organizations that provide paralegal services. Through an analysis of twelve case studies of paralegal-assisted cases, the report identifies facilitating and hindering determinants of Community Advice Offices (CAO) functions at both the institutional and organization level.

Year Published: 2012, 2013
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Uploaded on: Jul 22, 2013
Last Updated: Dec 16, 2015
Issues: Community Organizing, Community Paralegals, Generalist Legal Services, Policy Advocacy Tool Type: Monitoring, Evaluation, & Case Management Forms, Reports / Research Target Population: Rural Method: Mediation & Conflict Resolution Languages: English Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa Nature of Impact: Acquisition of Remedy / Entitlement / Information, Legal Knowledge and Skills, Rights Consciousness, Sense of fair process Institutions Engaged: Chief, Court, Local Court, National Court, NGOs, Police, Service Delivery Agencies, Traditional / Customary Authorities Evaluation Method: Interviews, Qualitative Case Tracking