Highly qualified specialists delivering legal aid to the poor and socially vulnerable is vital, but not the sole component of the efficient system of legal aid delivery, which has another crucial aspect - support of the local governments. However, such support in some cases is attained with difficulties. A round table organized by the Institute of Law and Public Policy in St. Petersburg on 29 January, 2010 aimed at establishing smooth cooperation between the legal aid centers and local governments.
Round table was opened by the Director of North-West Branch of Russian Law Academy Olga Alexandrova, who underlined that accessible justice could become a vain promise without a system of legal aid. In support of this argument Irina Lodyzhenskaya, the president of the Leningrad regional court, drew attention to the role of the Project in both establishing legal aid system on the national scale and political importance of Project’s experimental element. She stressed that misunderstanding of the Project by the local governments significantly impedes Project development. Therefore, she called the representatives of the local governments to support implementation of the Project, in particular, in awareness raising on the work of the legal aid centers.
Vladimir Skorobogatov, a chair of the Municipalities’ Committee in the Government of Leningrad region, admitted that bearing in mind social and political weight of the Project, which is also evinced by the Project’s support of the Russian Ministry of Regional Development, a large awareness raising campaign on the Project activities is needed to enhance municipalities’ loyalty to the Project.
Further round table discussion was focused on the core problems of legal aid systems, presented in the report of the Project leading expert V. Mazaev, such as an urgent need for legislative design of the legal aid system in all Russian regions and competence determination of different actors of this system. Dynamic discussions were amplified by the presentation of the experience on legislative design of legal aid systems in Netherlands, England, Australia, Norway and Sweden, delivered by the Project expert Irina Kalinina.
A closing session of the round table targeted elaboration of the effective models of cooperation between legal aid centers and municipalities in awareness raising and organization of field trips to the rural and distant areas. Despite some legislative gaps hampering cooperation, reprehensive of the local governments showed interest in assisting the Project promotion.
Handouts
Irina Kalinina. Models and Standards of Legal Aid for the Poor: Russian and International Experience (presentation)
Vladimir Mazaev. Legal Aid in Russia as the Social Duty of the Public Authorities
