By Aminata Abu Bakarr Kamara
The Technical Committee on the Consolidation of Criminal Statutes, chaired by Justice Miatta Maria Samba Bangura of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JSC), today continued its deliberations as part of ongoing efforts to reform and modernize Sierra Leone’s criminal legal framework. Tuesday, 29 July 2025
The consolidation project, initiated under the auspices of the Law Reform Commission, seeks to harmonize the country’s wide-ranging criminal laws into a single, coherent legal instrument. It aims to bring greater consistency, improve accessibility for legal practitioners and researchers, and enhance judicial efficiency through clearer and more organized statutes.
During the Committee’s latest sitting, members built upon the foundational discussions from their inaugural meeting. Central to the day’s agenda was determining the scope and structure of the consolidation exercise. The Committee examined which criminal statutes and legal instruments should be included, and began mapping out a framework for categorizing and analyzing them.
To enhance the efficiency of the process, the Committee established several sub-groups. These will focus on thematic areas within criminal law, including regulatory offences, substantive criminal conduct, and procedural statutes. The goal is to streamline research and ensure a comprehensive and nuanced approach to the consolidation effort.
One of the key issues addressed was how to distinguish between legislation that merely includes criminal sanctions and those laws that are primarily criminal in nature. The Committee debated the treatment of regulatory statutes, ultimately agreeing that such laws should be thoroughly reviewed to determine their relevance and alignment with the objectives of the consolidation.
Speaking during the session, Justice Bangura emphasized the importance of a disciplined and inclusive approach. She reiterated the Committee’s mandate to produce a final consolidated document that reflects both international best practices and the unique legal traditions of Sierra Leone.
The process we have embarked upon is both technical and transformative, she stated. It will require rigorous legal analysis, collaboration, and a shared commitment to enhancing our criminal justice system.
The initiative has already generated considerable interest among legal scholars, practitioners, and judicial officers, many of whom view the project as a long-overdue modernization of the country’s legal landscape.
As the Committee moves forward with its work, optimism remains high that the final consolidated statute will significantly contribute to legal certainty, improve public access to the law, and support ongoing judicial reforms.
Further updates on the Consolidation of Criminal Statutes project will be provided in subsequent communications from the Law Reform Commission.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday,1st August 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
