Timap for Justice is a nonprofit organization based in Sierra Leone that employs paralegals to provide legal assistance to individuals dealing with disputes or awaiting trial. ^{1 2}

The organization was created with support from the National Forum for Human Rights and the Open Society Justice Initiative, a program of the Open Society Foundations. ³

The founder of Timap for Justice, Vivek Maru, worked for the World Bank before founding Namati Inc., a left-of-center legal advocacy nonprofit and the host of the Legal Empowerment Network, a group of over 3,000 international advocacy organizations. ⁴

Background

Timap for Justice is a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to the people of Sierra Leone in West Africa. The organization was founded in 2003 with support from the National Forum for Human Rights and the Open Society Justice Initiative, a program of the Open Society Foundations (OSF; formally Open Society Institute) a private grantmaking foundation created and funded by billionaire financier and liberal philanthropist George Soros. ⁵

According to an archived version of its website, Timap for Justice, as of 2009, employed 25 paralegals, people trained in subsidiary legal matters but are not qualified lawyers, who worked in thirteen paralegal offices across Freetown and the Northern and Southern provinces of Sierra Leone. The organization was headed by two lawyers from Sierra Leone, Simeon Koroma and Nancy Sesay, who trained and supervised the paralegals. ^{6 7}

The paralegals working for Timap for Justice focus on providing legal assistance for issues such as government corruption, and disputes between individuals. The organization began providing legal assistance to pretrial detainees in 2009 as part of its Criminal Justice Project. The Criminal Justice Project was supported by the Open Society Justice Initiative’s “Global Campaign for Pretrial Justice.” ⁸

As of March 2015, Timap for Justice ensured inappropriate charges were dropped in 28 percent of cases, and secured bail for 55 percent of detained suspects. ⁹

Timap for Justice also launched its Community Mediation Programme in 2009. The project was in partnership with the Sierra Leonean government’s Justice Sector Development Programme and focused on resolving individual disputes in communities across Sierra Leone through mediation, and training ordinary citizens to be mediators for their communities. ¹⁰

Financials

Timap for Justice has received grants from organizations such as the World Bank, which refers to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA), two of the five institutions under the umbrella of the World Bank Group. The organization provides grants and loans to low- and middle-income countries with the goal of promoting economic development and reducing poverty. ¹¹

The World Bank granted Timap for Justice a three-year grant of $879,000 in 2006 through its Japan Social Development Fund, which supports programs that alleviate poverty. ¹²

People

Vivek Maru is the founder and former director of Timap for Justice. Maru left Timap for Justice in October 2007 and moved on to work for the World Bank as a consultant before being made a senior counsel of the organization’s Justice Reform Group in November 2007. ¹³

Maru left the World Bank in August 2011 and founded Namati Inc., a left-of-center legal advocacy nonprofit and the host of the Legal Empowerment Network, a group of over 3,000 international advocacy organizations. ¹⁴

In a 2021 op-ed published in Law360, Maru criticized President Joe Biden for “acting inconsistently” with regard to climate change issues, especially the reduction in fossil fuel manufacturing. ¹⁵

1. “Innovative Efforts, Proven Results: How Timap for Justice Provides Legal Aid in Sierra Leone.” Open Society Justice Initiative. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.justiceinitiative.org/publications/innovative-efforts-proven-results-how-timap-justice-provides-legal-aid-sierra-leone.
2. Maru, Vivek. “Timap for Justice.” Our Work. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20090511063906/http://www.timapforjustice.org/work.
3. ^[1] “Timap for Justice.” Datanyze. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.datanyze.com/companies/timap-for-justice/347249717.
4. “Vivek Maru.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivek-maru-25941b43/details/experience/.
5. “Timap for Justice.” Datanyze. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.datanyze.com/companies/timap-for-justice/347249717.
6. Maru, Vivek. “Timap for Justice.” Our Work. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20090511063906/http://www.timapforjustice.org/work.
7. Maru, Vivek. “Timap for Justice.” Staff + Contact. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20090408003902/http://www.timapforjustice.org/staff/.
8. “Timap for Justice.” Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR). Accessed December 12, 2022. https://acjr.org.za/ppja/english/countries/sierra-leone/timap-for-justice.
9. “Innovative Efforts, Proven Results: How Timap for Justice Provides Legal Aid in Sierra Leone.” Open Society Justice Initiative. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.justiceinitiative.org/publications/innovative-efforts-proven-results-how-timap-justice-provides-legal-aid-sierra-leone.
10. “Timap for Justice.” Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR). Accessed December 12, 2022. https://acjr.org.za/ppja/english/countries/sierra-leone/timap-for-justice.
11. “Who We Are.” Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are.
12. “World Bank Awards Grant to Pioneering African Paralegal Nongovernmental Organization.” Open Society Justice Initiative. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.justiceinitiative.org/newsroom/world-bank-awards-grant-pioneering-african-paralegal-nongovernmental-organization.
13. “Vivek Maru.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivek-maru-25941b43/details/experience/.
14. “Vivek Maru.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivek-maru-25941b43/details/experience/.
15. “Attorneys, Fight For Enviro Justice With Both Law And Protest.” Law360. October 17, 2021. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.law360.com/articles/1431729/attorneys-fight-for-enviro-justice-with-both-law-and-protest.