|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|**Trustees' Annual Report for the period**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**From**|Period start date|||**T**
**o**|Period end date|||
||01|01|2024||31|12|2024|
Section A Reference and administration details
**Charity name** Evolve – Foundation for International Legal Assistance **Other names charity is known by** Evolve International **Registered charity number (if any)** 1167888 **Charity's principal address** C/O 1MCB, 44 Southampton Buildings London **Postcode** WC2A 1AP ~~———~~
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
**Name of person (or body) Dates acted if not for Trustee name Office (if any) entitled to appoint trustee (if whole year any)** 1 Tanya Murshed As above 2 Marianne Alton As above James MurrayAs above 3 Smith 4 Bernadette Smith As above 5 Naomi Barnard As above
**Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)**
**Name Dates acted if not for whole year** Same as above Same as above ~~——~~ **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address** ~~=——————~~ **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information) EVOLVE - FILA** 1
January – December 2024
## **Section B Structure, governance and management**
## **Description of the charity’s trusts**
Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution)
Constitution
Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) Appointed by resolution Trustee selection methods (eg. appointed by, elected by)
## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about:
- policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
- the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
- relationship with any related parties;
- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
## **Section C Objectives and activities**
To promote the criminal justice system in Uganda and East Africa by providing assistance, advice, training, education and other forms of support to:
**Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document**
1. Those charged or convicted of a criminal offence, particularly those on death row;
2. Members of the legal profession and
3. Individuals/organizations working within the criminal justice sector
**Technical Legal Assistance –** Evolve continued to offer pro bono technical legal assistance in individual capital appeals and to build capacity in the legal profession in Uganda by working closely with Ugandan defence advocates to prepare capital appeal cases.
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January – December 2024
**Defence Advocacy Training Project** – Evolve entered into a new partnership with the Uganda Law Society to provide for training and guidance for lawyers undertaking appeals of death row inmates. The scheme aims to widen access to justice and improve the quality of representation in capital cases. In September 2024, Evolve’s pro bono barristers provided specialist training to defence lawyers undertaking capital cases through Moodle, an online platform.
**The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.**
## **Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about:
- policy on grantmaking;
- policy programme related investment;
- contribution made by volunteers.
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January – December 2024
Section D Achievements and performance
## **Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year**
## **TRAINING, EDUCATION & ACCESS TO JUSTICE:**
## **Technical Legal Assistance in Capital Cases**
Evolve continued to improve access to justice and build capacity in the legal profession by working closely with Ugandan advocates in the preparation of capital appeals cases, and through the preparation of high quality written submissions.
In 2024, Evolve’s barristers worked pro bono alongside Ugandan advocates to prepare the following appeals:
- Uganda v NM – Evolve (AB) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal against the death penalty succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a determinate sentence.
- Uganda v WM – Evolve (MRKC & MA) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. Evolve’s submissions contended (amongst other things) that the findings in relation to WM’s age were seriously flawed. The Court of Appeal agreed and, following a determination that the state had failed to prove that WM had been an adult at the time of the offence, quashed the death sentence and imposed a sentence resulting in his immediate release.
- Uganda v OJ – Evolve (MRKC & MA) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appellant had killed his father while suffering an episode in which he described hearing voices and thought that he was bewitched. He had no previous history of violence. Despite these factors, no investigation had been conducted into his mental health at the time of his conviction. Evolve’s intervention ensured that a psychiatric assessment was obtained. The Court of Appeal found that he had not been of sound mind at the time of the offence, and accordingly quashed the death sentence and ordered his immediate release.
- Uganda v VT and another – Evolve (TM & AB) worked alongside Ugandan advocates to prepare this appeal. The appeal against sentence succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a determinate sentence.
- Uganda v EB – Evolve (MA) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal against sentence succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a determinate sentence.
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Evolve’s barristers also worked pro bono on the following appeals that were heard in 2024 and had their judgments delivered in 2025:
- Uganda v GB – Evolve (MA) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal against sentence succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a determinate sentence.
- Uganda v AS – Evolve (FH) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal against sentence succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a determinate sentence.
- Uganda v TM and KB – Evolve (RF, FH and MA) worked alongside Ugandan advocates to prepare this appeal. The appeal was refused by the Court of Appeal and Evolve will continue to provide the appellants with assistance before the Supreme Court.
- Uganda v LM - Evolve (FH) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal against sentence succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a determinate sentence.
- Uganda v MA – Evolve (AB) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal was refused by the Court of Appeal and Evolve will continue to provide the appellant with assistance before the Supreme Court.
- Uganda v CO and two others – Evolve (TM, AB and FH) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. The appeal against sentence succeeded and the death sentence was replaced with a sentence of life imprisonment.
Evolve worked alongside Ugandan advocates to prepare the following appeals that were heard in 2024 but are still pending judgment:
- Uganda v LR; HB – Evolve (TM & AB) worked alongside a Ugandan advocate to prepare this appeal. Judgment was reserved and is still pending as of the date of this report.
## **Defence Advocacy Training Project**
In January 2024, following an in-person trip to Uganda by Evolve’s head of casework (MA), Evolve entered into a new partnership with the Uganda Law Society (‘ULS’). The Memorandum of Understanding provides for training and guidance for lawyers undertaking appeals of death row inmates. The scheme aims to widen access to justice and improve the quality of representation in capital cases. Under the agreement, Ugandan
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lawyers will receive specialist training in the law and procedure in capital cases, and work alongside UK-based lawyers during the phases of case preparation and presentation. The programme aims to provide Ugandan lawyers with best-practice guidance and equip them with the appropriate expertise to handle capital cases. It aims to increase capacity among those available to undertake this category of work, and to meaningfully contribute towards enhancing the rule of law.
In September 2024, Evolve (AB, TM, MA) provided training on capital cases to defence lawyers recruited through the partnership with ULS. The training covered:
- Common grounds of appeal against conviction and sentence in capital cases;
- Initial case preparation in capital cases;
- Appellate client conferencing;
- Capital sentencing law and procedure;
- Drafting grounds of appeal;
- Mitigation and aggravation in practice; and
- Practical guidance on drafting submissions in capital appeals.
This enabled Evolve to progress to the case allocation stage in 2025, and to provide further in-depth training to the Ugandan lawyers recruited to the programme.
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January – December 2024
**Section E Financial review**
The charity does not currently have a policy on reserves.
## **Brief statement of the charity’s**
**policy on reserves**
**Details of any funds materially in deficit**
## **Further financial review details (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant about:
- the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
- how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
- investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
## **Section F Other optional information**
**Section G Declaration**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
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## **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signature(s)** Marianne Alton **Full name(s)** Tanya Hasan Murshed ~~ee~~ **Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)** ~~e~~ Chair/Deputy Chair ~~s~~ **Date** 23 October 2025 ~~Pp~~
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January – December 2024
**Evolve - Foundation for International Legal Assistance 1167888 CC16a Receipts and payments accounts Month 2024**
**Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted Endowment Restricted funds Total funds Last year funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 Receipts** Individual Donation **11285 - - - - 11,285- -** ROLE Funding **2936 - - - - 2,936- -** SCCF Grant **0 - - - - - - - - -** Capital Expenditure **620- - - 620- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -** — Sub total(Gross income) ~~=====~~ **[-] 11,9052,936- - - 14,841- - A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - -- - -- - -- - - - - -- - -- - -- - - - - --** _**Sub total**_ **[-] -- - -- - -- - - - - --** —— _**Total receipts**_ ~~————_——~~ **[-] 11,9052,936-14,841-A3 Payments** Bank charges **343.24 75.0 - -- - 418.24- -** Hotel Travel and Subsistence **6844.73 723.95 - -- - 7,568.68- -** Capital Expenditure **0 0 - -- - - .00- -** Phone & Internet **444.52 0 - -- - 444.52- -** Printing and Stationery **493.9 0 - -- - 493.90- -** Consultancy fees & expenses **7220.14 - 1,4068,627- - - - -** _**Sub total**_ **15,3472,205-17,552- -** ~~LSS =~~ **A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)** _**Sub total**_ **---- -** — _**Total payments**_ ~~Se5=~~ **15,3472,205-17,552--** _**Net of receipts/(payments)**_ **-3,442 731 0 2,117 - - - - A5 Transfers between funds - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -** _**Cash funds this year end**_ ~~===>~~ **-3,442 731 0 2,117 - - -** ~~=>~~ **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment Categories Details funds funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ B1 Cash funds** Cash in hand **150- - - - -** Cash at Bank **39,525- - - - - - - - - - - - - -** _**Total cash funds**_ **39,675- - - - -** ———— (agree balances with receipts and payments account (s)) Agreement Error Agreement Error OK **Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment funds funds Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ B2 Other monetary assets - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -** ——_—_
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
29/10/2025
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|**B4 Assets retained for the**|Asus Laptop||||**-**
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|**charity’s own use**|Huawei Matebook D14 - 14 Inch Laptop||Huawei Matebook D14 - 14 Inch Laptop||**-**
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||Huawei Matebook D14 - 14 Inch Laptop||Huawei Matebook D14 - 14 Inch Laptop||**-**
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===>||||||||
|Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of
all the trustees|Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of
Signature|||Print Name|Print Name||Date of approval||
|||||TANYA MURSHED||||23 Oct 2025|
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
29/10/2025
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