Criminal justice system in Sierra Leone
This policy brief assesses the criminal justice system in Sierra Leone and makes recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness
After going through one-party and military authoritarianism and a decade-old civil war, Sierra Leone’s criminal justice system has serious systemic problems notwithstanding the valiant efforts being made by the government in collaboration with international partners. The 1991-2002 fratricidal war adversely affected the operations of the criminal justice institutions, especially the police, prisons and judiciary with fighting forces preventing the smooth working of the institutions, destroying their infrastructure and killing their personnel. This policy brief assesses the criminal justice system in Sierra Leone and makes pertinent recommendations to improve the effciency and effectiveness of the system1. It focuses on policing and prosecution, prisons, the judiciary, access to justice, juvenile justice, customary justice and the various international and regional treaties and protocols relating to the criminal justice system.
African Human Security Initiative
