TLS seeks EU’s help in funding projects
TLS President, Mr Harold Sungusia. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The seven areas in which the EU could help include public awareness on ongoing legal reform efforts, the African Court, constitutional review process, and capital punishment
Dar es Salaam. The Tanganyika Lawyers’ Society (TLS) has started negotiations with the European Union (EU) to see how those countries can help them get funds to implement their various projects, such as the public awareness campaign on the ongoing amendment of the laws.
According to TLS, there are seven areas in which the EU could help, including public awareness on ongoing legal reforms, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, constitutional review, and capital punishment, among others.
Speaking to journalists yesterday, TLS President Mr Harold Sungusia said in a recent meeting the EU delegation in the country was positive about the possibility that EU member countries could fund some of the activities. The meeting brought together TLS officials and the EU head of delegation, Ambassador Manfredo Fanti.
“We had a good conversation with Ambassador Fanti, and we opened a new page of cooperation,” Mr Sungusia noted.
He said that TLS has several activities that need to be funded, citing as an example the ongoing activities of a presidential committee formed to look into criminal justice.
“We believe that after completing the work, they will issue recommendations. So we need to educate the people about that,” he insisted.
Mr Sungusia said they also talked about the abolition of the death penalty, which is a sensitive issue in the country and has elicited a lot of debate.
“In this area, we will have discussions in our 21 branches, and then recommendations will be sent to the law reform committee,” he said.
TLS also plans on running a campaign to persuade the government to lift its ban on people and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) filing cases before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the TLS president noted.
Mr Sungusia said the issues of overhauling TLS were also on the agenda in the negotiations. TLS wants an improvement in the use of technology to improve the working environment and eliminate the challenge of lawyers waiting for cases for a long time.
