The Fijian Government today approved the Trust Account Amendment Decree 2012, which increases the distribution of interests from trust accounts belonging to legal practitioners to the Legal Aid Fund from 50% to 65%.
“This increase in distribution of interests to the Legal Aid Fund will ensure that more Fijians living at the lower end of the socio-economic scale will be better able to access the justice and legal services available in this country,” stated Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. “These provisions will now afford for the opening of more Legal Aid offices throughout the islands, as well as the expansion of the scope of their services.”
New Legal Aid offices will now be opening in major cities throughout Fiji, and they will accord improved access to the impoverished and disadvantaged of the country who were previously unable, or dissuaded from filing reports due to geographic and other limitations.
The addition of office locations will ensure that more Fijians will be able to more easily access their services, and with increased speeds of processing, they can be confident that proper attention will be attuned to their issues and needs.