The Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland have both embedded the right to legal redress within their respective constitutional frameworks, affirming the importance of access to justice as a fundamental right for all individuals under their jurisdiction. These provisions, which apply in principle to citizens and non-citizens alike, provide a legal foundation for individuals—including refugees, stateless persons, and internally displaced persons (IDPs)—to seek judicial remedies in cases of discrimination, rights violations, or administrative abuse. However, the practical realization of this right remains constrained by systemic and structural barriers.

In Somalia, the Provisional Constitution of 2012 guarantees the right to legal redress in Article 39, which states: “Every person has the right to institute proceedings in a court to claim a right or redress a grievance.” This broad formulation suggests that all individuals, regardless of nationality or legal status, are entitled to pursue legal action to enforce their rights. In theory, this includes non-citizens, such as refugees and stateless individuals, who may face discrimination in accessing services, documentation, or protection. However, the effectiveness of this constitutional guarantee is significantly undermined by deep-rooted challenges, including limited availability of legal aid, widespread insecurity, inconsistent judicial capacity, and gaps in legal awareness—especially among marginalized and displaced populations.

In Somaliland, the Constitution of 2001 similarly affirms the right to access justice in Article 28, which provides: “Every person shall have the right to institute legal proceedings in a competent court.” The language of this provision—referring to “every person”—theoretically extends protection to all individuals within Somaliland’s jurisdiction, including refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons. Yet, practical barriers persist, such as limited access to affordable legal services, insufficient legal aid coverage, lack of institutional training on refugee and statelessness issues, and potential bias within the legal system. In some cases, social stigma or fear of reprisal may deter displaced individuals from pursuing legal action, even when clear violations have occurred.

While UNHCR and other legal protection actors—such as the University of Hargeisa Legal Aid Clinic and Kullow Legal Aid in Puntland—have worked to expand access to justice for displaced populations, these services often remain geographically limited and under-resourced. As a result, the gap between constitutional rights and actual remedies remains significant, particularly for those most in need of legal protection.