Providers of free legal aid in Chernihiv region join forces

The implementation of the project “Integration of primary and secondary free legal aid at the level of territorial communities of Chernihiv region” continues. This initiative is quite relevant for residents of local communities of Chernihiv region.

Firstly, the demand for free legal aid, especially among the rural population, does not decrease. Thus, the Center for Legal Information and Consultations (hereinafter referred to as the CLIC) has been operating on the basis of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights (CHKZPL) since 2010, thanks to the work of which primary and secondary legal aid has become more accessible to residents of the region. During this period, more than 3,000 residents of Chernihiv region have already protected their legal rights by using free legal assistance.

Secondly, in response to this demand and in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid”, local governments are actively cooperating with public organizations in this area and initiating the approval of their own programs for providing free legal aid to residents of their communities.

Thirdly, with the opening of local centers for providing free legal aid, legal aid has become more accessible to vulnerable categories of citizens. However, despite the extensive information campaign of these centers, only a small percentage of people know about their existence and the availability of their services in small communities.

Thus, despite some work by entities providing primary and secondary legal aid (village councils, public organizations, local centers for providing free legal aid, etc.) in the communities of Chernihiv region, residents of small communities are still not fully provided with primary and secondary legal aid. This situation can be resolved by combining the efforts of these entities. Therefore, one of the main tasks of this project is to establish effective cooperation between entities providing primary and secondary legal aid (district, village/settlement councils, local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid and public organizations) in local communities.

As practice shows, local councils are ready to work on resolving the issue of developing a system for the provision of free secondary legal aid in their communities. Together with the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid in Chernihiv Oblast, the project plans to hold joint local round tables in communities to develop cooperation mechanisms (client referral, co-financing opportunities, joint events, etc.), and joint visits of lawyers of the ChGKZPL with specialists from local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid.

As part of the project, the stationary reception center in Chernihiv (57 Gorkogo St., tel.:

0462 612-532





0462 612-532) will continue its work and regular visits of lawyers to selected communities will be carried out to provide primary legal assistance – information and consultations to citizens, ensuring clarification of legislation, providing assistance in drawing up documents, preparing documents for submission to local centers for the provision of BVPD.

* * *

The project “Integration of primary and secondary free legal aid at the level of territorial communities of Chernihiv region” is implemented 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 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.

You’ll need Skype Credit

Free via Skype