A Compulsory Research Report Submitted to Mzumbe University – Mbeya Campus College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for an Award of the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree of the Mzumbe University
This research report is based on the need of free legal aid for rape offences. Since the punishment of this offence is severe. That is to say, one has to be subject to legal aid for justice to be equally rendered. Generally, as far as the laws governing legal aids and legal representation is concerned, they do not provide for the list of offences subject to free legal aid. The practice in other hand demonstrates that only capital offences like murder, manslaughter and treason are given legal aid. In very rare cases other serious offences are given legal aid in high court levels and not in courts subordinate to high court, and the process of the securing the aid is very cumbersome. This work therefore is divided into five chapters. Each one having its introduction, objective and concluding remarks respectively.
Chapter one; this chapter introduces the study; it highlights the general survey of the research paper. It also introduces the problem to be solved, its background, hypothesis underlying it and the methods applied in carrying out the research.
Chapter two; this chapter entails the history and development of the legal aid worldwide and in Tanzania. Critically it analyses the meaning, nature and essence of legal furthermore its entails the general history in Rome, French, England and Tanzania as well. Generally, this chapter will be centered to provide a historical development of legal aid.
Chapter three; this chapter deals with the analysis and overview on various laws governing legal aid and legal representation in both International and domestic levels. The main objective basically is to provide in detailed manner a link between law of legal aid of international sphere and that of Tanzania.
Chapter four; this chapter deals with findings and analysis relating to the need of free legal aid in Tanzania, particularly in rape offences and goes further by demonstrate the problems that individuals accused of rape face not once or twice but times without number barely because they were not given legal aid from one reason or another.
Chapter five; This chapter gives the general overview on observation, conclusion and recommendations as to what must be followed to overcome the aforesaid problem, in order to ensure the justice is not only done but seen to have been done.