Gov’t takes steps to improve access to justice

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By Theresa Gordon
[email protected]
Steadroy Benjamin, attorney general, yesterday confirmed that government had started the process of reviewing the legal aid requirements in Antigua and Barbuda to ensure access to justice is improved.
This follows on a promise that was made by the government a year ago to lower the requirements for residents who are not able to pay for legal services.
Benjamin said his office is in the process of commissioning a study to determine the steps that could be taken by the government to achieve this goal.
“Very shortly we will come up with a scale of fees to see who qualifies and who does not,” Benjamin said.
He said the government also intends to relocate the Legal Aid department from the Government Complex on Queen Elizabeth Highway to a more central location on Redcliffe Street so members of the public can have easier access to the services being offered.
The services of the Legal Aid department will also be expanded to cover not only civil and family matters but criminal matters as well.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)

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