ESTABLISHMENT, DEVELOPMENT, PRIORITIES
Andriy Vyshnevky Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision
PORTRAIT OF THE SYSTEM MISSION Protecting human rights by providing equal access to legal information and justice, and strengthening legal opportunities and the legal empowerment of vulnerable groups and local communities
VISION People across Ukraine employ legal tools to address their dayto-day life challenges and enjoy equal access to justice. A network of independent legal aid providers meets people’s legal needs. Local communities and the state recognise the importance and necessity of legal aid as a social guarantee, and provide sustainable funding for legal aid from national and local budgets
VALUES
human rights and dignity trust and partnership transparency and accountability independence innovation and commitment to excellence
> 5 000 lawyers contracted by legal aid centres
> 1 600 jurists employed by legal aid centres
> 500 access points to legal aid
> 350 000 clients per year
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
2012
2013
new institution
regional centres (27)
2014
2015
2016
INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
LEGAL AID PROVISION
local centres (100)
legal aid bureaus (429)
All-Ukrainian call centre
network of mobile and remote access points
Secondary legal Secondary legal Secondary legal aid to detainees, aid aid to vulnerable and suspects / to imprisoned groups in civil and accused in administrative criminal cases proceedings
Legal consultations and information Legal education in local communities Secondary legal aid for internally displaced persons
ACCESS POINTS TO LEGAL AID (2017)
Coordination Centre All-Ukrainian Call Centre Regional Legal Aid Centres (24) Local Legal Aid Centres (97) Legal Aid Bureaus (429)
SECONDARY LEGAL AID IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (2013 – 2016) NUMBER OF CASES defence of detainees defence by appointment in criminal proceeding secondary legal aid for imprisoned (since 25.10.2014)
EFFECTIVENESS OF DEFENCE
Total
Average, per year
> 113 000 > 182 000
> 28 250 > 45 500
> 5 000
> 1 700
> 300 000
> 75 400
2013
2014
2015
2016
cases receiving less sanction than those pleaded by the prosecution
159
623
1 445
1 750
verdicts of acquittal or closures of criminal proceedings
522
377
467
549
cases with minimal or less sanction than provided by law
n/a
500
2 417
2 409
2 999
6 840
7 107
releases from serving punishments with a period of probation
QUALITY STANDARTS AND QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM
LEGAL AID IN CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CASES (2016) NUMBER OF CLIENTS
MAIN TARGET GROUPS
> 275 000 clients
> 239 000 received legal consultations
> 34 000 decisions to provide secondary legal aid

40,6%
persons with low income
25,6%
persons with disabilities
30,1%
war veterans (including ATO participants)
1%
refugees
1%
orphaned children
1,7%
other categories
HUMAN RESOURSE DEVELOPMENT
“CASCADE TRAININGS� SYSTEM FOR LAWYERS
Determination of training needs and best practices
Training of tutor lawyers from all the regions
Trainings for lawyers through the regions conducted by tutors
Methodical recommendations on each topic
TRAININGS for the employees of legal aid centres and the Coordination Centre for lawyers
20 trainings per year (on average) > 600 participants > 80 trainings per year (on average) > 1 900 participants
INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S REPORT following the assessment of the free secondary legal aid system in Ukraine (2016)
“It is of utmost importance to establish the mechanisms for the increase of quality and accessibility of the legal aided guaranteed by the state. Ukraine may be congratulated with the considerable advancements it made in accomplishing this task” Мårten Ehnberg, Head of CoE’s Office in Ukraine
ANALYSIS BY REANIMATION PACKAGE OF REFORMS a coalition of leading organisations and experts of Ukraine (2016) Development of the legal aid system was included into the top-10 of the real accomplishments of Ukrainian reforms
“These legal centres and bureaus may have a colossal impact on more than 8 millions of potential clients”
MEDIUM-TERM DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGAL AID SYSTEM AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF STRATEGIC REFORMS AGENDA
Judiciary, Litigation and Related Legal Institutions Reforms Strategy for 2015 – 2020 National Human Rights Strategy – 2020 National Strategy of the Civil Society Development in Ukraine for 2016 – 2020
Re-orientation of the legal aid system from legal aid provision to individuals to the legal empowerment of local communities
Establishment of effective legal knowledge management system and human resource development of the legal society and partner networks
Decentralisation of the legal aid system
Transition from the ex officio model to public defender offices model in criminal proceedings
Medium-term Government Action Plan 2017 – 2020 Development of the Legal Aid Complex Information-Analytical System and implementation of IT
INTER-REGIONAL RESOURSECOMMUNICATION PLATFORMS
DNIPRO
ODESA
Thank you for your attention!
Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision 04053, Ukraine, Kyiv, Sichovykh Striltsiv str., 73, office 312 Tel.: (044) 486-71-06 Fax: (044) 486-77-45 www.legalaid.gov.ua ะต-mail: info@legalaid.gov.ua