Free Legal Aid – from the idea to becoming an administrative law institute
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35774/app2019.04.086Keywords:
free legal aid, Сoordination center, regional center, local center, legal aid bureauAbstract
The free legal aid system in Ukraine is one of the most successful projects of the Government and the Ministry of Justice in particular. The article describes aspects of the development of the domestic free legal aid system as an institution, as well as the administrative and legal structure of the system.
Affordable and high-quality legal assistance is an obligation that our state has assumed while adopting the Constitution of Ukraine, however, it has also been reflected in the country's European integration perspective. For the purpose of implementing Article 59 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which states that everyone has the right to professional legal assistance, and in the cases provided for by law, this assistance is provided free of charge and a system of free legal aid has been created.
The full realization of the constitutional right of a person to legal aid is impossible without the functioning of a specialized institution. Creating one in Ukraine was a significant step both in the perspective of the country's European integration and in ensuring access to justice. The world of practice knows many models of free legal aid systems, and accordingly existed before the creation, as there are many versions today of how the system should function in domestic realities.
The purpose of the article is to outline the formation of a free legal aid system in Ukraine as an administrative and legal institute, as well as to analyze the institutional structure of the system and to identify the complex tasks and functions of each of the levels.
The free legal aid system in Ukraine is an established institution that implements a person's constitutional right to legal aid. An analysis of the institutional structure shows that each structural level has its own set of tasks and powers.
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