CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE _____________________________________________________________________ justice is a reality for urban elites, it is problematic for the vast majority of Burkina Faso people, and for various reasons. 221. First, justice is officially free in Burkina Faso. Deed costs have been revised downwards (e.g. the cost of lodging deeds has decreased from 4% to 2%) or have even been dispensed with. However, the cost of invoking procedures, in particular those costs relating to auxiliary justice services (e.g. the services of bailiffs, notaries, lawyers, etc.) remain very high for a population of which almost half lives below the poverty threshold. 222. Secondly, there is low coverage with regard to the dispensing of justice, and the courts are geographically remote owing to their limited numbers. People must travel long distances to attend the hearings of a tribunal. This causes a real problem, especially when viewed in the context of the poverty that prevails in a country like Burkina Faso. To illustrate this, one need only consider a region like Boucle du Mouhoun. This region comprises six provinces, but there are only three functioning courts, with a fourth under construction. Moreover, the isolation of the people, a lack of roads and vast distances discourage people from seeking access to justice, with the result that they resort to other methods of dispute settlement (either peaceful or sometimes violent, or they simply migrate to other areas). Mobile courts (transporting justice to the villages to allow community hearings) are not held because of a lack of transport and security, even though they are budgeted for annually for each court. 223. Thirdly, there are communication difficulties. In a country where the majority of defendants are illiterate and do not understand the official language, French, justice is not easily accessible in the absence of an adapted communications system. In these circumstances, rural populations, especially those that are very attached to their traditional values and customs, prefer the settlements proposed by their chiefs. The result is a duality of law and a conflict between two legal systems (modern law and traditional law) – there are in essence two ‘countries’ (the legal country and the real country) – where the judge is often helpless or powerless. Rural people interviewed during meetings with the CRM consistently highlighted their greater familiarity with the traditional justice system and the solutions it offers. Therefore, one of the challenges for Burkina Faso in the near future is to achieve a compromise – a balance between modern justice and traditional justice – in order to positively capitalise on the mediation and conciliation efforts of traditional leaders, provided that there is always respect for human rights. 224. Fourthly, justice is slow. This is due to a combination of several factors. First, the number of magistrates still falls considerably short of what is required. Secondly, despite the progress made over the past five years, there is a deficit with regard to material means of various kinds (offices, documentation, computers for drafting decisions, reproduction equipment, vehicles, etc.). This delay is seen by people as a type of impunity that is a discredit to justice. The Norbert Zongo case, as well as various economic crimes, are often cited as examples. 115