Tanzania
1 in 10 respondents in Zanzibar agree that the courts deliver affordable, timely and quality service
The quantitative surveys in households and courts as well as focus group discussions together highlight important justice needs in communities, as well as gaps in how the justice system works to meet them. This chapter highlights efforts to improve access to justice that Zanzibar can focus on. It also provides additional analysis of court statistics to help contextualize the findings from the surveys and FDs.
The highlighted themes are not an exhaustive listing of possible issues that can and would need to be addressed. Nonetheless, it is hoped that they provide reasonable indications of areas where priority attention can be directed. The issues are grouped along three broad themes within which several sub-themes can still be recognized.
- Responding to the common legal issues and grievances in communities
- Improving the functioning of the justice system
- Improving legal literacy and access to legal assistance services
The leading common legal issues and grievances, as noted earlier, include divorce and domestic disputes, bullying, labor issues, damages and monetary claims of various kinds as, and child maintenance and custody issues.
Even though reliance on formal justice mechanisms is growing, more effort may be needed to support the informal alternatives and to relieve them of their growing burdens. Authorities could consider fostering collaboration between state-funded and nonstate-supported mechanisms, by prioritizing areas where community members see such mechanisms as more effective. This is especially important where resources are limited in the formal justice system, as in Zanzibar.