Access to Legal Aid - Burkina Faso

Legal assistance 

It is the aid that the Burkinabè state provides to indigent people so that they can have access to justice. The destitute here is the person who does not have sufficient resources to meet their basic needs such as food, housing and health.

Assistance recipient 

* victims of acts of attack on life or bodily integrity such as serious blows and injuries, acts of torture carried out by agents of the State in the exercise of their function, 

*persons in charge of minor children in the procedures for alimony or contribution to household expenses who have no income of their own;

* the spouse in charge of a minor child in the process of divorce who has no income of his own;

*widows in charge of minor orphans who do not have their own income in inheritance proceedings, nbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbspnbsp

*any other person of Burkinabè nationality provided they provide a certificate of indigence issued by the town hall of their place of residence dated less than three (03) months;

*persons of foreign nationality provided that they usually reside in Burkina Faso and that Burkinabè can also benefit from similar assistance in their country.

The procedure to follow 

Citizens wishing to benefit from this assistance must send an unstamped written request to the president of the legal aid commission. This commission is at the High Court. This written request must include:

*his surnames, first names, profession, domicile and nationality;

*the subject of the trial with a summary statement of the reasons;

*the surnames, first names, domicile of the opposing party;

*the court seised or that which must be seized of the case or, if it is a conservatory act or an act of execution, the place where they must be executed with the indication of the names, first names and address of the enforcement agent, if applicable;

*the surnames, first names and addresses of the lawyer, public or ministerial officials chosen, if applicable.

the benefits of support

On the one hand, when the request is accepted, you benefit from the assistance of court officers. For example, a lawyer may be appointed to assist the litigant. On the other hand, the State fully or partially bears the costs of the proceedings depending on whether the legal aid granted is total or partial.