An Insight into the Reform Process of Liberia’s Corrections Legislation

The Ministry of Justice, in coordination with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the German governmental organisation GTZ, has formed a Legal Prison Reform Working Group to review Liberia’s corrections and rehabilitation legislation. As a member of the working group, I am gaining an insight into how the reform process works as well as the necessary steps that are required in order to undertake an effective legislative review. Although we are very much at the beginning of the process, we have created an action plan which will guide our approach to reform. In this post, I describe the approach we will be adopting. The post should be of particular interest to those who are undertaking similar reviews in other countries.

1. Review of Existing Legislation: The first stage requires the working group to undertake an assessment of the current legislation to identify areas of the law which either fail to meet local realities or have become outdated, as well as areas which are missing from the legislation altogether. For example, even a brief examination of Liberia’s corrections legislation will reveal an overly centralised and paternalistic approach to prison management. In addition, the provisions regulating access to healthcare, education and justice in the prison system are extremely vague. The disciplinary procedures within the prison place too much arbitrary power in the hands of the warden in charge and should prisoners have complaints, they do not presently have recourse to an independent complaints body. Ultimately, even a casual reader will quickly realise that Liberia’s corrections legislation is in desperate need of reform.

2. Comparative Analysis: The second stage requires the working group to undertake a comparative analysis of prison legislation and policies across the international community. An emphasis should be placed on countries with a similar level of capacity and resources. Focusing on the legislation of affluent nations when undertaking reform within a nation which has a severe lack of capacity will not take into account local restraints, customs or realities. Recourse should also be made to international documents and NGO research reports. In the field of prison reform, the best resources that I have come across are those written by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Penal Reform International, the Governance & Justice Group, Prison Fellowship International, and the International Centre for Prison Studies.

3. First Draft of Amendments: The working group members should meet regularly to discuss each clause that requires reform. Each amendment must conform to international standards whilst meeting the needs of the local population. To ensure that amendments meet local realities, field trips should be made to various prisons and meetings conducted with different stakeholders involved in the prison system. This will provide a unique insight into local restraints as well as an indication of issues of particular importance to those who work within the system on a day-to-day basis.

4. Consultation: Once draft amendments have been agreed upon by the working group, the fourth stage involves holding more formal consultations with various stakeholders in the prison system. This stage is likely to prove the trickiest part of the reform process because the various stakeholders may take opposing points of view on each of the amendments. A new draft of the amendments should be constructed taking into account the views that have been put forward during the various consultations. It may be that several rounds of consultations are needed in order for a consensus amongst stakeholders to emerge.

5. Parliamentary Approval: Ultimately, any legislative review process will fail unless there is the political will for reform. Therefore, the fifth stage requires gaining the formal backing of a Member of Parliament and raising support amongst his colleagues so that the amendments can be passed into law. The proposal is likely to be subjected to modification during parliamentary debates, although the hope of any law reform working group or commission will always be that the fundamental structure and principles of their initial proposal will remain untouched.

6. Awareness Campaigns: If the amendments are passed into the law, the final stage requires raising awareness of the new law amongst the various stakeholders and local population. This can be done by holding workshops and training sessions to publicise and explain the changes that have taken place to the prison system.

Legislative review is important as a first step to improving the corrections system of any country. It provides the basis for an integrated approach to be adopted by the government, civil society and other stakeholders in implementing prison reform projects. For example, a program to speed up trials for pre-trial detainees and thereby reduce overcrowding in prisons can only work if there is complementary legislative reform reducing the number of individuals being given custodial sentences (e.g. by decriminalising minor offences and/or increasing the number of alternative sentences that judges can render). Legislative reform also provides renewed publicity and impetus for new prison projects to be put forward by the government and civil society.

Undoubtedly, there is a long road ahead for Liberia’s prison system, but it is my personal hope that the legislative review process will mark the first step towards a brighter future for Liberia’s prisoners.