Legislative, Policy and Institutional Arrangements for Criminal and Civil Legal Aid: Ukraine's Case
ANDRIY VYSHNEVSKY CEO Legal Aid Ukraine
Second International Conference on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems Buenos Aires, Argentina 16 November, 2016
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK: KEY STEPS 1996
1997
2005
2006
2011
2012
Constitution of Ukraine
European Convention on Human Rights
Council of Europe Resolution on Access to Justice in Ukraine
Concept of the Legal Aid System
Legal Aid Law
New Code of Criminal Procedure
"everyone has the right to legal aid. In cases stipulated by the law, legal aid should be provided free of charge"
“everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights: to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require”
“…to improve the conditions of access to a court by establishing a system of legal aid in line with the Council of Europe standards and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights”
provides for principles of the state policy in the area of legal aid, defines the legal aid system, main tasks and responsibilities of the legal aid providers, eligibility criteria for legal aid, governance and administration arrangements for the legal aid system
guarantees early access to legal aid for detainees and regular access for those suspected of or charged with a criminal offence
…
EARLY ACCESS TO LEGAL AID
Yevhen Zakharov, Director of Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
“Access to legal aid is the second key factor that reduced the amount of illegal violence by law-enforcement officers. In comparison with 2011, the amount of such violations reduced by half.”
REGULAR ACCESS TO LEGAL AID 2. At the request of a suspect or accused, or without such
request if, according to the CCP the interests of justice so require:  makes the decision to assign a lawyer and  sends it to Regional Legal Aid Centre
1. Requests assistance
if he/she has no possibility to hire lawyer
about 44,000 cases / year
3. Assigns a lawyer
LAWYER
4. Contacts with a client and
provides legal aid in accordance with Quality Standards
THREE-LEVEL INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 100 LOCAL CENTRES
(FROM JULY, 2015) with 400+ LEGAL AID BUREAUS (FROM SEPTEMBER, 2016):
Legal empowerment of communities Legal consultations Civil legal aid for vulnerable clients Access for victims of crime and witnesses 25+2 REGIONAL CENTRES (FROM JANUARY, 2013):
Defence in criminal proceedings Early access for detainees Access for imprisoned 1 COORDINATION CENTRE (FROM JUNE, 2012)
5 000 SELECTED LAWYERS “ex-officio” 2 000 EMPLOYED LEGAL COUNSELS
PROFESSIONAL FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT ACCESS TO LEGAL AID MANAGEMENT
LEGAL AID QUALITY MANAGEMENT
IT MANAGEMENT
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT
REGULAR TRAININGS
MAIN PRIORITIES FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Legal aid system model CLASSIC PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES TO INDIVIDUAL
VS
PROACTIVE LEGAL EMPOWERMENT OF COMMUNITIES
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, IT SERVICES DEVELOPMENT
Innovations
Criminal legal aid model
“EX-OFFICIO”
PUBLIC DEFENDER OFFICES
FINANCIAL, HR MANAGEMENT Decentralisation of functions
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! www.legalaid.gov.ua