quote:

---

Originally posted by gambiabev

Can anyone explain the legal system in Gambia to me?!
Is there two courts, civil and crown, similar to UK?

Is it normal for people to be able to pay money as a fine to avoid a prison sentence?

Is it normal for poor people to have no representation in court?

How much power do individual judges have to decide sentences?

Are Judges and court officials honest or are they open to bribary?

I guess I am asking is there one justice for the rich and one for the poor?
If you have money can you avoid prison?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alhassan

quote:

---

Originally posted by gambiabev

Can anyone explain the legal system in Gambia to me?!
Is there two courts, civil and crown, similar to UK?

Is it normal for people to be able to pay money as a fine to avoid a prison sentence?

Is it normal for poor people to have no representation in court?

How much power do individual judges have to decide sentences?

Are Judges and court officials honest or are they open to bribary?

I guess I am asking is there one justice for the rich and one for the poor?
If you have money can you avoid prison?

---

Bev,
IAs I am not a lawyer, I shall try to give you the answers that I am awear of.
In the Gambia, there is both a Magistrate and a high ciourt.
You can avoid prison if you pay a fine imposed on you by the court. As I am awear of you eigther get a prison sentence or a fine depending on the crime committed.
No even if you have money and a sentence has been passed, you are to serve the term in jail.
Yes there is bribery and corruption withn the system.
Note that I might be wrong in some of the answers, but there are people who are more awear of the Gambian system who can correct me.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by kondorong

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alhassan

quote:

---

Originally posted by gambiabev

Can anyone explain the legal system in Gambia to me?!
Is there two courts, civil and crown, similar to UK?

Is it normal for people to be able to pay money as a fine to avoid a prison sentence?

Is it normal for poor people to have no representation in court?

How much power do individual judges have to decide sentences?

Are Judges and court officials honest or are they open to bribary?

I guess I am asking is there one justice for the rich and one for the poor?
If you have money can you avoid prison?

---

Bev,
IAs I am not a lawyer, I shall try to give you the answers that I am awear of.
In the Gambia, there is both a Magistrate and a high ciourt.
You can avoid prison if you pay a fine imposed on you by the court. As I am awear of you eigther get a prison sentence or a fine depending on the crime committed.
No even if you have money and a sentence has been passed, you are to serve the term in jail.
Yes there is bribery and corruption withn the system.
Note that I might be wrong in some of the answers, but there are people who are more awear of the Gambian system who can correct me.

---

Sometimes it mandates a judge to give both a fine and a sentence. Sometimes, the judge can fine instead of a sentence but if he/she fails to pay the fine he ould serve a term in jail. Sometimes you are sentenced to a jail term and given the option to pay a fine.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by kondorong

Madida

Its basic legal studies. The Gambian legal system is based on the English law and operates with similar settings. In fact, the current law volumes which were bound in 1990 was done by the Commonwealth help and printed somewhere in India or Pakistan or thereabout.

The magistrates operate on more civil matters and used to be called Traveling Magistrates as they were assigned to Divisions and hold court sessions usually at Divisional headquarters but also some bigger towns.

You start as a Magistrate, then Senior Magistrate and then Principal Magistrate. They specialize in different areas sometimes like Commercial Courts. This was part of a recommendation to ensure that financial crimes were properly adjucated and also attract foreign investments. I am not sure if the Commercial Courts are fully staffed now and working. The complain from the west was that there were few legal protection for business to pursue financial crimes and even if they existed, there were few qualified judges who understand business issues. This started before 1994. I hope its working fully now.

Normally, Principal Magistrates go on to serve on more senior court like the Criminal Courts or Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal. Now, even a junior Magistrate can become an Attorney General.

At the Prosecution level, they start as State Counsel, then Senior State Counsel, and then Principal State Counsel, then Legal Secretary, Deputy Director of Prosecution and then Director of Public Prosecution. A sub unit called the Drafting Unit also operates to ensure new laws are enacted or revise old ones to keep in tune with current legislation.

Under the various job portfolios, they may handle deeds, registrations ( lease hold lands, business registrations etc ), marriage certifications and also provide legal opinions to state institutions like the Public Service Commission or the Personnel management Office in areas of employment law. The latter is now dead given the rate of hiring and firings these days without due process as stipulated in the Public Service Act of 1994, or the Public Service Commission Regulations of 1970(Revised), or the 1996 Constitition or the General Orders of 1992 (revised).

Criminal cases are transferred to higher courts not by the Magistrate courts or between Magistrate courts depending on the level of functions and position of the magistrate. Junior Magistrates usually attend to more civil matters like pilfery, cattle rustling, small microfinance issues, stealing, driving infractions, etc.

Until recently, non-Gambians had always handled the position of Chief Justice. Savage recently made history. I think it was by design not by an accident.

Another issue to note in the legal system is 99.99999% of all private legal practitioners in the Gambia were once state counsels from 1965 to date. Every body out there. They gather experience in the courts and make their connections and then resign after two years by which time they would have made impacts. No wonder newly appointed state counsels (prosecution) or magistrates tend to show some level of judicial stiffness or an air of fairness in their dealings.

I am not saying that they do that so that they could get clients in private practice but it had always been this way. Perhaps a new broom sweeps clean. New Magistrates are very effective and hardly delay cases through unnecessary adjournments. The case of Pa Sallah Jagne comes to mind which was thrown out by a Junior Magistrate barely a year in the service. More senior foreign magistrates handled the case which kept dragging on. The Junior Magistrate was fired immediately after his ruling in court and reinstated after a protest from the Gambian Bar Association but was later fired again.

Another area of the legal system is the traditional institutions held by the Chiefs. These rulings are based on customs although they were to be exposed to some crash legal training to understand issues on evidence, and prosecution. These rulings are binding but can be appealed to the Magistrate Courts. They deal on land disputes, agricultural issues like grazing lands, village boundaries, and divorce matters, Estates etc. Pleas note that the Ministry of Local Government has no master plan on village boundaries and as such, boundaries are based on Customs and traditions. Only in the Kombo have lands been declared State lands and demarcations are in full gear.

Estates are also handled by the Magistrate Courts but there is a unit at the attorney General’s Office called the Intestate Estates for those non Muslim Gambians who prefer and accept Wills. Under Islam you cannot just will anything. There are restrictions. For example, you cannot will to your son, daughter wife mother father etc. These people have a right to your wealth and the portions are clearly stipulated by Islamic law. You can only will to people outside of those who have a right to inherit. Even in such cases, Islam restricts how much they can get to protect the rightful inheritors.

The Islamic Courts headed by the Khadi, also dispense justice usually in matters of Divorce, Inheritance, Certification of Muslim marriages etc. Their ruling is binding but can be appealed against in the higher courts. This appeal is very rare because as Muslims, the non-separation of religion and government makes such rulings difficult to appeal against. It’s like appealing against once religion. The Khadi is supposed to be a Man of God and as such “ give to Caesar what is due to Caesar and to God what is due to God” (Bible).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by kondorong

Madida

A Gambian is one who is accorded Gambian citizenship through two routes

1. The most common is being born in the Gambia and having one of you natural parents also born in the Gambia or one of your biological Grandparents being born in the Gambia. Merely being born in the Gambia is not prooof of citizenship. That is why on your Passport Application Form, you answer question on your Grandparents(Date of Birth, Place of Birth etc) in addition to your parents. A Gambian birth certificate is not proof f citizenshp. A Gambian ID card howver is proof of citizenship. You should not get a Gambian ID Card without your citizenship status being resolved and proofed beyond reasonable doubt. Am not sue if this happens.

2. Through naturalisation as citizen of the Gambia. In previous years, ie before Baby Jammeh was born, you had to give up your foriegn citizenship and then be allowed to naturalised which is approved by the President through the advice of Attorney General and some Cabinet memebers. Gambians who wanted to be citizens of other countries also gave up Gambian citizenship in which case they surrender the Gambian passport issued to them and all other documents which is approved by the President with advice of Cabinet. A letter is then issued confirming that such person is no longer a citizen of the Gambia. The Secretary to the Cabinet drafts such letters through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Now that we have dual citizenship so one can naturalise without giving up ones former citizenship whilst Gambians can be citizens of other countries at the same time.

I hope this helps.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by kondorong

Madida

The citizenship law was inherited through Britain. Remember until the conservative government came to power with Thatcher as Prime Minister, this was not the case at least from what i wa told. They changed the citizenship law. Only in the Republic of Ireland is it the reverse. In the U.S also citizenship is automatic to people born there.

Children born to non British citizens cannot qualify as citizens of the United Kingdom. I dont think it helps in the integration process. There are many childre of immigrants who are half residents.

I agree, one should be a citizen of a place through birth not because of parents. Well either fortunately or unfortunately, such children are usually not scrutinised except where parents of such children have a foreign accent like Nigerian, Sierraleonean, Ghanain etc and not fluent in the local languages.

However Senegalese nationals or Guineans can easily slip through the net.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by MADIBA

quote:

---

Originally posted by kondorong

Madida

The citizenship law was inherited through Britain. Remember until the conservative government came to power with Thatcher as Prime Minister, this was not the case at least from what i wa told. They changed the citizenship law. Only in the Republic of Ireland is it the reverse. In the U.S also citizenship is automatic to people born there.

Children born to non British citizens cannot qualify as citizens of the United Kingdom. I dont think it helps in the integration process. There are many childre of immigrants who are half residents.

I agree, one should be a citizen of a place through birth not because of parents. Well either fortunately or unfortunately, such children are usually not scrutinised except where parents of such children have a foreign accent like Nigerian, Sierraleonean, Ghanain etc and not fluent in the local languages.

However Senegalese nationals or Guineans can easily slip through the net.

---

Konds, Good. But A TAP YOU until you spell my name correctly. Wat is in a name?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by MADIBA

Konds, we are now friends again. Madiba is typically not a Fula name but my dad had friends across the peoples of The Gambia. My namesake is Mandinka.

---