Access to legal assistance for indigent accused person during the pre-trial stage: an analysis of the role of paralegals.
| dc.contributor.author | Mackay, Ulrich Eduardo | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-15T08:31:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-15T08:31:23Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | South Africa (SA) remains one of the most unequal societies in the world with a highly skewed income distribution. The gap between the rich and poor grows each year, and it is undeniable that poverty is an epidemic in SA. In light of the vast disparities between indigent and affluent persons in South Africa, it may be understood why few people can afford legal representation and even less can access quality legal representation.The right to legal representation has been recognised in South African statutes from as early as the beginning of the Nineteenth Century.3 The Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 31 of 1917 (CPEA), for example, referred to a defendant’s right to legal assistance. In section 97 of the CPEA, an accused was afforded access to their legal counsel during the pre-trial stage. Similarly, the right to legal assistance was adopted in our present-day Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 in section 73 (1) that entitles an arrestee, the assistance of their legal adviser from the time of arrest. However, for the indigent accused the accessibility to legal representation during the pre-trial stage is usually illusory. Prior to the inception of constitutional democracy, access to legal representation for the vast majority of South Africans was, sadly, inadequate. The Legal Aid Board provided limited judicare service legal representation, dependent on a means test, that left the majority of applicants unrepresented.4 Our constitutional democracy, however, brought about a significant change to the accused persons’ right to legal representation. Section 35 of the Constitution5 unequivocally confers the right to legal representation to an accused person. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | N/A | |
| dc.identifier.issn | N/A | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10566/20913 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Western Cape | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | N/A; N/A | |
| dc.subject | Pre-trial stage | |
| dc.subject | Legal services | |
| dc.subject | Criminal justice | |
| dc.subject | Indigent accused | |
| dc.subject | Paralegals | |
| dc.title | Access to legal assistance for indigent accused person during the pre-trial stage: an analysis of the role of paralegals. | |
| dc.type | Thesis |