About SierraLII
SierraLII provides free, unrestricted access to the primary and secondary legal materials of Sierra Leone. Free Access to Law supports the rule of law, access to justice and transparency.
Sierra Leone Legal Information Institute ("SierraLII") is a non-profit organization registered in Sierra Leone that aims to contribute to the continuing national progress by providing free access to the nation’s legal information. Free access to legal information from other countries and regions of the world is also made possible through its affiliation with the Free Access to Law Movement and the global network of Legal Information Institutes.
It was originally established as a legacy project of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in 2010, with generous sponsorship from the Open Society Foundations and was managed by Maria Warren, Chief of Legal Operations of the Office of the Prosecutor. She was assisted by Bridget Osho, Legal Officer, who subsequently served as the sites first Sierra Leonean Coordinator. Bridget was succeeded by Martina Egbenda, and then by Leroy Spencer, who is now the current Coordinator of the Institute.
Membership in Sierra LII is open to all organizations and individuals who are providers and consumers of legal information. The primary target user groups of Sierra LII are members of the Judiciary, Parliament, Legal and associated professions, schools and universities, the Media, NGO community and the business sector. Free, easily accessible, up-to-date information delivers two key benefits to various user groups:
- enhance the quality of their work
- reduce the cost and effort to complete such work
SierraLII Organizational Structure
Sierra LII is set up as a Company limited by guarantee with a Board of Directors and General Members. Within the Board of Directors, there are working committees established to handle specific SierraLii issues.
Oversight of the work of Sierra LII is conducted by the Board of Directors. The current directors are representatives of the following organizations:
- Justice Sector Coordination Office -Chairperson
- University of Sierra Leone
- Attorney General & Minister of Justice
- The Sierra Leone Judiciary
- The Sierra Leone Parliament
- Law Reform Commission
- Human Rights Commission Sierra Leone
- Selected Civil Society Groups
The General Membership is open to all organizations and individuals who are providers and consumers of legal information. Regular meetings are held with the General Membership to provide updates on recent progress with SierraLII and to receive feedback and input when necessary. If you are interested in attending a General Membership meeting, please visit the contact us page and send us an email.
SierraLII is a member of the AfricanLII community. It has also received generous funding from the Indigo Trust to implement a project titled Free Access to Law.
AfricanLII
AfricanLII is a part of the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit at the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. AfricanLII helps individuals, organizations, and governments build and maintain sustainable free access to law portals, and reach the people of Africa and beyond.
Laws.Africa
Laws.Africa is a South Africa non-profit organisation that digitises African legal information for public use. Open access to digital African legal information helps communities to thrive, businesses to succeed, and judicial officers and civil servants to deliver services efficiently and effectively.