Good and Effective Governance
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A public attorney (right) talking to her client. © UNDP/David Khizanishvili. May 2010. Gori, Georgia
Georgia: Justice for All Kakha Kisishvili might have gone to jail for a theft he did not commit. Emma Esiava, who had fled from conflict in Abkhazia, might have lost her apartment and ended up on the street. Both escaped these injustices because they were able to seek free help from Georgia’s Legal Aid Service. The Georgian Government set up the service in 2007, and since then UNDP has backed national efforts to rapidly boost its quality and reach, especially among poor and marginalized communities. Today the service has achieved national coverage, so that all citizens, regardless of where they live or whether or not they can pay for legal council, have the right to access justice and seek protection under the laws of the land. “I spent a year in jail falsely accused because I could not afford a lawyer,” Kisishvili recounts. “If it weren’t for free legal aid, I guess I would still be in jail, even though I did not commit the crime I had been accused of.” Ketevan Gagoeva, the Legal Aid Service lawyer who represented Kisishvili, uncovered flaws in the investigation of the alleged crime, and soon all charges against him were dismissed. In Esiava’s case, the service helped her prove her legal rights to her home. More than 20,000 applications for legal advice and assistance streamed into Legal Aid Service offices in 2010. The service conducted almost 12,000 consultations, more than double the figure of 4,700 in 2008, its first full year of operations. It helped clients investigate, prepare and litigate over 10,000 court cases. A 2010 survey found that three-quarters of respondents rated the service “very satisfactory,” while 71 percent said they achieved a favourable outcome in court. For many, the service was their best hope for justice.