On March 3, 2011 IBJ’s India Fellow, Ajay Verma, hosted a delegation of justice officials representing Helmand PRT from Helmand, Afghanistan. The officials included Chief Justice of the Helmand Appeal Court, Syed Hossein Najibi; the Chief Prosecutor of Helmand, Khoshal Shafa and the Director of the Department of Justice, Haji Mohammed Taib. The officials were on an informational trip to New Delhi and sought to increase their knowledge of the Indian legal system by meeting with local prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges, and justices.
On the fourth day of their visit, Helmand PRT’s delegation attended a meeting hosted by IBJ’s India Fellow, Ajay Verma. The meeting took place in an Advocate’s robbing room and was attended by New Delhi prosecutors and defense lawyers. In the meeting, members discussed the differences between the role of the prosecutor and defender in India and in Afghanistan. In India, members discussed, prosecutors are actively involved in assessing whether cases should go to trial and preside over courtroom litigation. Chief Prosecutor Khoshal added that in Afghanistan, prosecutors are much less involved- a detail that highlighted the difference between adversarial and inquisitorial systems.
The New Delhi defense lawyers then explained to the Helmand group that in India, defense lawyers are independently practicing and represent indigent clients under the Delhi Legal Services Authority. In India, organizations exist at most courts and prisons to ensure that those who require legal assistance receive it-regardless of their financial status. Chief Justice Najibi of Helmand then added that in Afghanistan, a legal aid system exists also. The quality of the aid offered by the Afghan system, however, is extremely poor and inadequate compared to that in India. By the end of the meeting, all participants agreed that they had increased their knowledge of the differences between legal systems, bettered their understanding of roles lawyers play in different countries, and acknowledged the importance of a strong, efficient legal aid structure.