Sierra Leone: a Country Review of Crime and Criminal Justice, 2008

This review is intended to complement the formal APRM process by focussing on a sector currently outside its focus.

Sierra Leone provides an interesting case study on the assessment of crime and the criminal justice system. As a country in transition from one-party authoritarianism and 11 years of a fratricidal war, there are serious implications for crime and the functioning of the criminal justice system.

As a participating country in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) under the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) - which Sierra Leone accedd to in 2004 - the country is an appropriate candidate for a review of its criminal justice system. Although the justice system is not included in the APRM review process, it has important implications for democracy and good governance. This review is intended to complement the formal APRM process by focussing on a sector currently outside its focus.