Improving Access to Justice for the Disadvantaged in Tanzania

Results achieved as of the end of the project include: (i) legal aid provided to 73 746 clients including 21 706 women 742 children 105 people with disabilities and 2 978 elderly people in seven class action suits; (ii) 733 cases resolved through mediation and reconciliation; (iii) 11 871 documents for legal aid clients prepared and filed in relevant judicial bodies or non-judicial institutions; (iv) 11 self-help kits on legal issues related to land marriage inheritance civil and criminal procedures contracts HIV/AIDS corruption labour and child-protection laws published and disseminated; (v) support provided for the capacity development and expansion of Mobile Legal Aid Camps in Mbeya Mwanza and Mtwara regions; (vi) expanding the capacity operations and networks of eight Legal Aid Centres expanded across Tanzania; (vii) strategic litigation undertaken to challenge the violation of the right to education of pregnant girls expelled from their school the Law of Marriage Act (1971) which allows girls to marry at 14 and boys at 18 the sexual exploitation of children and to demand access to information gathered under the Public Leadership Code of Ethics (Declaration of Interests Assets and Liabilities) Regulations; and (viii) recommendations presented to a Parliamentary Committee on the Worker’s Compensation Act Bill the Public Health Act Bill the Mental Health Act Bill and the Political Parties (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act. These interventions contributed to improving people’s access to quality legal services and supporting good governance and respect of legal and human rights in Tanzania.