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Nizhyn discussed how to integrate primary and secondary free legal aid in the south of Chernihiv region
On June 8, 2016, a roundtable meeting was held in Nizhyn on the topic: “Cooperation between local governments, executive authorities with local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid and public organizations to ensure the organization of the provision of free secondary legal aid in communities.”
The event was attended by the director of the Regional Center for Free Secondary Legal Aid in Chernihiv Oblast
Iryna Protchenko
, director of the Nizhyn Local Center for Free Secondary Legal Aid
Volodymyr Bryhynets
, lawyer of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights
Iryna Biryuk
, representatives of local governments, executive authorities, public organizations, and media representatives.
Opening the meeting, the head of the Nizhyn District Council
Oleh Buzun
, emphasized the importance of holding joint events between the local center for free secondary legal aid and public organizations with representatives of district councils and state administrations to address the problems of protecting the rights of local residents.
“The program of free legal aid for the population of Nizhyn district for 2016-2018 was approved in January 2016,” the head of the district council noted. “The program is being actively implemented, so we are already seeing positive results for the residents of the district, in particular thanks to cooperation with other providers of free legal aid.”
The Director of the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Legal Aid in Chernihiv Region
Iryna Protchenko
told those present about the current process of reforming the justice system.
“Unfortunately, the reform is not going smoothly, because many employees of the liquidated justice departments have lost their jobs,” Ms.
Protchenko
noted. “From September 1, 2016, legal aid bureaus should begin their work, which will operate in almost every district of the region. Competitions are currently underway to recruit employees for these bureaus. Each institution will have 6-7 full-time employees, 2 of whom will be lawyers, who will have the authority to represent citizens in court.”
According to Iryna Protchenko, another problem remains that people often do not understand and confuse the concepts of “primary” and “secondary” legal aid. According to statistics, today 30% of applications to the centers of the Legal Aid and Legal Aid Centers are secondary legal aid, and 70% are in need of primary legal aid. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the legal education of the population, including with the assistance of public organizations and international donors.
The Director of the Nizhyn Local Center for the Provision of Legal Aid
Volodymyr Bryhynets
spoke about the specifics of the work and the assistance that the center’s employees and lawyers provide to residents of 11 districts of the south of Chernihiv region, which fall under the Law of Ukraine “On the Provision of Free Legal Aid”.
As the head of the local center noted: “The categories of persons entitled to legal aid are expanding, the number of applications from residents is increasing, as the amount of information about the Center’s activities has increased. However, residents of remote areas are still not sufficiently informed about the Center’s work, and often do not have the opportunity to contact the Center in Nizhyn due to limited transport connections and significant travel costs.”
“The Nizhyn local center for the provision of legal aid in cooperation with local governments and public organizations is actively working on the implementation of local programs for the provision of free legal aid, – noted
Volodymyr Bryhynets
. – Yes, programs for the provision of free legal aid to residents of communities in Nizhyn, Borznyanskyi, Varvynskyi districts, as well as in the Vertiivska united territorial community have already been approved.”
Lawyer of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Iryna Biryuk said that the public organization is actively working in all areas of the provision of legal aid and the protection of human rights and provides assistance to all citizens who turn to them.
“The situation with respect for human rights is quite difficult in the state. To provide free legal aid in communities, it is necessary to join forces with both local centers for providing free legal aid, as well as local self-government bodies, public and volunteer organizations. Due to the requirements of the legislation, not all categories of vulnerable citizens who need free legal aid can receive assistance in state centers for providing free legal aid. Therefore, the adoption of targeted programs at the level of local communities will provide an opportunity to provide legal aid and information to all local residents,” emphasized
Iryna Biryuk
.
During the round table discussion, the issues of obtaining free qualified legal aid by citizens were raised, the problems of legal awareness of the public, namely citizens of the southern districts of Chernihiv region, were discussed, and those present tried to find ways to solve them.
One of such ways is the creation of a system for providing free legal aid in communities. The question of the feasibility and possibility of adopting free legal aid programs for the population of the districts turned out to be interesting and necessary. This event became an impetus on the path of helping citizens gain legal awareness and get the opportunity to legally protect themselves.
The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in cooperation with the Nizhyn Local Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid 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.