Sustainable development goal 16.3 aims to “promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”. In 2012, Sierra Leone enacted a progressive legal aid law which established a mixed system of criminal and civil legal aid to be provided by a variety of players including paralegals, private and public lawyers, NGOs, and law clinics. By that law, the government committed to place at least one paralegal in each of the country’s 190 chiefdoms to provide legal advice, assistance, and education to the inhabitants. However, fiscal constraints mean that the government funded Legal Aid Board and NGOs delivering paralegal services cannot operate and deliver their services at scale. This research aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on approaches to expanding access to justice in Sierra Leone and globally in a cost-effective, strategic, and sustainable manner.Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA
