A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

appointed through the appropriate process of law and as their qualifications merit.
Administration of Justice: Access to Lawyers & Legal Services
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that efficient procedures and responsive
mechanisms for effective and equal access to lawyers are provided for all persons within its
territory and subject to its jurisdiction, without distinction of any kind, such as discrimination
based on race, color, ethnic origin, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national
or social origin, property, birth, economic, or other status. 213
• The Government of Liberia should ensure the provision of sufficient funding and other
resources for legal services to the poor and, as necessary, to other disadvantaged persons.
The Liberian Bar Association should cooperate in the organization and provision of these
services, facilities, and other resources. 214
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that lawyers:
o are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance,
harassment, or improper interference;
o are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country
and abroad; and
o shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic,
or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional
duties, standards, and ethics. 215
• The Government of Liberia should support policies to assist prosecutors when appropriate
in waiving prosecution, discontinuing proceedings conditionally or unconditionally, or
diverting criminal cases from the formal justice system, with full respect for the rights of
suspects and victims. For this purpose, the Government of Liberia should fully explore the
possibility of adopting diversion schemes not only to alleviate excessive court loads, but also
to avoid the stigmatization of pre-trial detention, indictment, and conviction, as well as the
possible adverse effects of imprisonment. 216
Administration of Justice: Juvenile Justice
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that prosecution of juvenile offenders is undertaken
consistent with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of
Juvenile Justice. 217
• Accused juvenile persons should be separated from adults and brought as speedily as possible
for adjudication. 218
• Juvenile offenders should be segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate
to their age and legal status. 219
435
Chapter Fourteen