Enhancing Accessibility and Quality
Andriy VYSHNEVSKY Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision
Kyiv, Hotel “Hilton” November 25, 2015
WHY CRIMINAL LEGAL AID? Tortures prevention «Access to legal aid is the second key factor that reduced the number of illegal violence using by law-enforcement officers. In comparison with 2011 number of such violations reduced half as much. Number of individuals suffered from tortures reduced as well – from 120 000 to 57 000» Yevhen Zakharov, Director of Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
Verdicts of acquittal 2013
2014
Jan.-Oct. 2015
45
+140
+137
=322
EXTENDING ACCESS TO LEGAL AID IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
DEVELOPING THE LEGAL AID QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
THE BAR’S ROLE IN LEGAL AID QUALITY MANAGEMENT
UKRAINIAN NATIONAL BAR ASSOSIATION
responsible for quality of legal aid via Qualification and Disciplinary Commissions, and Quality Commissions functioning
conduct competition to select lawyers who agree to provide legal aid
LAWYERS WHO HAVE PRIVATE PRACTICE provide legal aid to clients
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF UKRAINE
COORDINATION CENTRE FOR LEGAL AID PROVISION
concludes contracts for legal aid provision with lawyers selected via competition
NEAR FUTURE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 1. Liberalisation of legal aid lawyers selection process – “from testing to training” 2. Further introduction of IT into legal aid management system to enhance its transparency and optimise current expenses 3. Increasing of legal aid lawyers’ remuneration 4. Transition from “ex officio” to a mixed model of criminal legal aid by piloting of public defender offices in selected regions 5. Enhancing co-operation with Ukrainian National Bar Association in the area of professional ethics and quality of legal services 6. Institutionalisation of the “cascade trainings” model as the network of 5 inter-regional recourse centres for lawyers