19 legal aid bureaus will start operating in Chernihiv region from September 1

Instead of territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice in Chernihiv region, legal aid bureaus will start operating. They will promote the active dissemination of legal information and provide access to legal consultations at the level of territorial communities. This was announced on August 17 during a press conference at the “My City” media center by the director of the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid in Chernihiv region Iryna Protchenko; director of the Chernihiv Local Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid Volodymyr Bobruyko; and program manager of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Nataliya Kulikova.

Iryna Protchenko

reminded those present that regional centers for the provision of secondary legal aid started operating in Ukraine on January 1, 2013. Their main task is to create equal opportunities for access to justice. In particular, this includes protection and representation of the interests of persons entitled to free secondary legal aid in courts, other state bodies, local self-government bodies; before other persons; drafting procedural documents.

On July 1, 2015, 100 local centers for the provision of secondary legal aid started operating throughout Ukraine. In the Chernihiv region, they operate in the cities of Chernihiv, Nizhyn and Mena and serve certain districts. The next step is the creation of 400 legal aid bureaus in the structure of local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid in districts and cities of regional significance by eliminating 586 territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice. According to Iryna Protchenko, from September 1, 19 legal aid bureaus will be operational in Chernihiv region, namely: in Bakhmach, Bobrovytsia, Borzna, Ichna, Novgorod-Siverskyi, Nosivka, Pryluky, Semenivka, Shchorsa, Varva, Kozelka, Korop, Ripki, Sosnytsia, Talalaivka, Gorodna, Koryukivka, Sibny, Slavutych. The bureau’s specialists will provide free primary legal aid (legal consultations), will ensure the reception of applications for receiving free secondary legal aid from citizens who, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid”, are entitled to it and will ensure the representation of the interests of such citizens in court. In addition, citizens will be able to access the online services of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

– The Legal Aid Bureau is a network of points for active dissemination of legal information and access to legal consultations at the level of territorial communities and socially vulnerable social groups, – said the director of the Chernihiv Local Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid

Volodymyr Bobruyko

. – The activities of the Legal Aid Bureau will be aimed at achieving such goals as increasing the legal literacy of residents of rural areas and small towns; promoting pre-trial settlement of civil and administrative disputes and reducing the burden on the judicial system; preventing crime, primarily among minors; strengthening the legal capacity and legal opportunities of territorial communities.

According to experts, the work of the bureau reduces the risk of restricting access to law and justice for the most socially vulnerable segments of society due to the introduction of the exclusive right of lawyers to representation in court and the lack of lawyers in rural areas and small towns. Territorial communities will be more actively involved in the work of the local self-government bodies they have formed. There is hope that the level of domestic corruption will also decrease. By their status, legal aid bureaus are not separate newly created institutions, do not have the status of a legal entity, do not have administrative staff and do not require additional administration costs. These are structural units of 100 local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid that are already operating.

The bureau is fully resourced due to savings resulting from the liquidation of justice departments at the district and city levels. The bureau consists of practicing lawyers who provide free legal advice, using a single database of such advice, which they form and maintain up-to-date (WikiLegalAdvice “cloud technology”). If necessary, these lawyers will represent certain types of disputes in court for certain vulnerable categories by decision of local centers for the provision of free legal aid. A “side” effect of the legal aid bureau’s activities in the medium term will be the influx of “fresh blood” into the legal profession at the level of rural areas and small towns, stimulating competition in the legal services market and improving their quality.

Program Manager of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

Nataliya Kulikova

noted during a press conference that public organizations are actively working in all areas of legal aid provision. “The situation with respect for human rights in our country is quite complex, therefore, the provision of free legal aid requires the joint efforts of both local centers for the provision of legal aid, as well as local self-government bodies, public and volunteer organizations,” emphasized Natalia Kulikova. “Not all categories of citizens can currently receive assistance in local legal aid centers, because the Law grants such a right only to certain categories. One of the possible ways to solve the problem is to create a system for the provision of free legal aid in communities, and to consider and adopt local Programs for the provision of free legal aid.”

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The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in cooperation with the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid in the Chernihiv Region within the framework of the project “Integration of Primary and Secondary Free Legal Aid at the Level of Territorial Communities of the Chernihiv Region” within the framework of the Project “Affordable and High-Quality Legal Aid in Ukraine”, which is implemented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education with the support of the Government of Canada and the Program Initiative “Human Rights and Justice” of the International Renaissance Foundation.