When people form societies, organisations and countries, they would naturally come to a basic agreement regarding principles that would govern them and which would serve as their shared norms and values. Every member of that society, organisation or country is therefore expected to abide by the terms of those principles which in every sense are constitutive of what is known as the rule of law, loosely defined as a regulatory framework of the conduct of individuals in the society and existing as a control mechanism ensuring compliance and preventing, or at least attempting to prevent fundamental breach. Those individuals who are in default and whose actions fall short of the expectations of that framework are considered as serious threats to the existence and general well-being of that society. They are what sociologists would call deviants.They must therefore be sanctioned and punished.
For all intent and purposes, this article seeks to explore many dimensions of the criminal law and criminal justice in Sierra Leone. It will identify the elements that are vital to understanding and explaining criminal justice in Sierra Leone. Those elements include behaviour, rules, their enforcement, as well as the parameters for enforcing them. I must emphasise that the criminal law of Sierra Leone represents the rules of social control. It sets the parameters within which the country’s criminal justice system operates. It defines which action or set of actions are crimes and therefore inimical to the existence of the state if not tackled consistently.
But identifying and defining which actions are to be labelled as crimes with defined penal consequences and scripted and enacted into a code that serves as reference manual is only the first step in safeguarding society from criminal behaviour. This is because the criminal law does not enforce itself. Once a crime is committed, different agencies are involved in the arrest, interrogation of suspects, prosecution, trial and imprisonment of the guilty. This process invariably covers perspectives of interrogation of suspects, prosecution decisions, bail decisions, trial procedures, rules of evidence and appeals decisions. To this end, the criminal law therefore is no more an end in itself than the law of procedure, evidence and punishment through which it is enforced. Inevitably therefore, institutions exist to apprehend alleged wrongdoers, determine whether these persons have indeed committed crimes and those who are found guilty punished accordingly. These institutions combine to form the criminal justice system.
The criminal justice system of Sierra Leone, like most justice systems across the globe, therefore, involves a vast organization, including many different agencies responsible for the detection and trial of suspected criminals and the punishment of those who are found guilty.
Examining criminal justice involves many issues. Political issues are raised in asking what the aims of the system are and in whose interest it is run- the Order from Above Factor. Criminal justice also inevitably raises issues of fairness and freedom, as the system seeks to control and repress criminal behaviour– the Public Policy Factor. But if it does this too vigorously, a banana republic would be created and citizens may be arbitrarily arrested and unfairly accused and subsequently convicted of crimes they did not commit- the Justice Factor. However, we are all at risk if crime is tolerated and the system cannot deal effectively with it. This raises questions about how we understand and define crime, how we measure the extent of infraction, the question about criminals and victims and the effects of crime on victims and the community at large.
The criminal justice system itself involves processes used to convict the guilty and acquit the innocent as well as examining what the system seeks to achieve.
Since criminal justice involves different institutions that make up the system, it is important to appreciate how criminal justice agencies in Sierra Leone define and interpret their role and legal responsibilities; and since the criminal law does not enforce itself, it is also important to consider how the THREE WITCHES: law enforcement (the 1st witch), prosecutors, lawyers, magistrates, judges (the 2nd witch) and prison officers (the 3rd witch) perceive their job and their functions within the system. I shall therefore examine the role of each of these players in the BOILING CAULDRON of our criminal justice system in the sequels to follow.
About the author:
Roland Kamara Esq. is a holder of BA Hons degree in Political Science, LLB Hons USL, BL SLLS and LLM magna cum laude Washington University School of Law in St Louis, Missouri, USA.
Well written
Waiting on….