Chapter 5: The Legal Aid Authority
Andriy Vyshnevsky
Director, Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision, Ukraine Informal Expert Group Meeting to Review UNODC Model Law on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems June 1-3, 2015 Vienna
OVERALL COMMENTS TO CHAPTER 5: THE LEGAL AID AUTHORITY (1)
It is important to divide the legal aid authorities for a body with a mandate of overall supervision of the legal aid system development and a body in charge of management of the system Supervisory Board can assist in recognition of the interdependence of the various elements of the justice system. The authority of Supervisory Board can serve as an important source of advice to the Ministry of Justice/Attorney General/Parliament respecting legal aid and access to justice for individuals. Establishing this advisory role allows for the Supervisory Board to make a meaningful contribution to broader judicial sector reforms that have the potential to impact upon legal aid and access to justice for individuals.
OVERALL COMMENTS TO CHAPTER 5: THE LEGAL AID AUTHORITY (2)
A dynamic, flexible and innovative legal aid system requires a dynamic, flexible and innovative legal aid Implementation Agency The composition of legal aid Implementation Agency would benefit from definition on the basis of a competency-based framework that allows for the appointment/engagement of the staff on the basis of defined knowledge, skills and experience requirements. There needs to be more formal recognition of the role and importance of nonlegal expertise in the management and governance of legal aid systems. Capacity of the Legal Aid Implementation Agency should reflect the functions to be performed (i.e. the authority’s ability to determine its own procedures (i.e. by resolution, etc.). The procedure for the appointment of the head/executive director of the legal aid Implementation Agency (i.e. board appointed, designated by the Ministry of Justice, other) should be established in the law.
OVERALL COMMENTS TO CHAPTER 5: THE LEGAL AID AUTHORITY (3)
It is important to situate the legal aid authorities, and overall legal aid system, within the broader community context Legal aid system resources are finite. As such, it is imperative for legal aid authorities to engage broadly with communities in assisting individuals in resolving their legal problems and in facilitating access to justice. There is a need to create sufficient space for new actors and partners to be engaged through innovative approaches to community engagement in support of legal aid service delivery It would be reasonable to insert a function of the Implementation Agency related to engaging actors and partners at a local/grassroots level through innovative approaches to community engagement in support of legal aid service delivery within this subsection, networking of independent legal aid providers.
OVERALL COMMENTS TO CHAPTER 5: THE LEGAL AID AUTHORITY (4)
The importance of the role of legal aid authorities in undertaking effective evaluation and reporting cannot be overstated Legal aid authorities must comprehensively look at the legal health/legal needs of their populations, with appropriate frameworks for monitoring and evaluation. There needs to be a strong emphasis upon evaluation and reporting within legal aid authorities in order to demonstrate value for public resources. This wide role needs to be appropriately reflected in a mandate of the Supervisory Board. There needs to be sufficient in-house capacity within Implementation Agency to perform ongoing monitoring, evaluation and reporting functions.