PRESS RELEASE
The Board of the Legal Aid Commission at its meeting on 28 January 2010 confirmed the appointment of Mr Sunil Sharma as the new Director of the Legal Aid Commission.
The Chairman of the Board, Mr Christopher Pryde, said that out of the applications received, it was clear that Mr Sharma was the most suitable candidate for the position.
“The Board is confident that the day to day management of the Legal Aid Commission is in very capable hands,” Mr Pryde said.
Mr Sharma who had been acting in the position since May, 2009 expressed his gratitude to the Chair and the Commissioners for having confidence in him.
“I am looking at building an efficient, responsive and robust organisation. We have a very energetic, hardworking and dedicated team to support the work of the Commission,” Mr Sharma said.
The Director added that his priority was team building and he would be organising in-house skills and advocacy training for the Commission’s lawyers to be able to deliver a quality service to the public of Fiji.
He said that the Commission had progressed from strength to strength and he would ensure this consistency was maintained during his three-year tenure.
“The Legal Aid Commission provides a variety of services, in particular in the areas of family and criminal law. We have a duty lawyer scheme, which is handled by in-house solicitors. Initially it used to be for criminal law but this has been extended to family law matters with the introduction of the Family Law Act 2003.
“I am happy to say that the Legal Aid Commission has responded very well to the increasing demand and I would like to commend my hard working staff, all of them, for their dedication and their input in maintaing the integrity of the Commission.”
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