The Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU is working on draft
Law No. 5107 on simplifying access to free legal aid and improving its
quality. The authors of the draft law note that it is developed with
the aim of effective implementation of human rights, including children
and people with disabilities, to receive free legal aid. To do this,
the draft law proposes to simplify the mechanism for organizing of such
aid.
The document also proposes to settle the issue of mandatory
participation of a lawyer in the court's consideration of the following
cases:
• on limitation of civil capacity of a person, recognition of a person
as incapable and restoration of civil legal capacity of a person;
• compulsory psychiatric care;
• involuntary hospitalization in a TB facility.
In Ukraine, the system of free legal aid has been operating since 2013.
It is financed from the state budget. This system was created to fulfil
Ukraine s obligations to the Council of Europe. At the same time, the
authors of the draft law note, that for the implementation of
regulations related to free legal aid some issues need to be resolved
through amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid” and
through the development of new legislation.
Accessibility for all categories of people — is one of the principles
on which the state policy in the field of free legal aid in Ukraine is
based. The vast majority of people who apply for legal services belong
to socially vulnerable categories, including children, people with
disabilities, and others.
Under the law, applications for free primary legal aid concerning
children are sent or submitted by their legal representatives, and
applications concerning persons declared incapable by a court or whose
legal capacity is limited are sent or submitted by their guardians or
trustees. However, there are cases when legal representatives or
bodies, which by law have the right to protect the rights, freedoms and
interests of such people, do not exercise their duties or improperly
protect them.
Thus, the draft law proposes at the legislative level to:
• ensure the right of children, incapacitated persons or persons with
limited legal capacity to apply for free primary legal aid, as well as
the right of these persons to apply for free secondary legal aid,
establish the procedure for such application;
• establish a mechanism for the provision of free primary legal aid by
centres;
• establish the right of the free secondary legal aid center to engage
an interpreter in a language that the applicant can communicate,
including a sign language interpreter, at the expense of the state
budget if the person wishing to receive free secondary legal aid does
not speak the state language and/or has a hearing impairment;
• specify the list of subjects of the right to free secondary legal aid;
• improve the procedure for submission, consideration of applications
for free secondary legal aid, as well as the grounds for refusal to
provide such aid;
• define the rights and obligations of the subjects of the right to
free secondary legal aid;
• also provide for the establishment of a commission to independently
assess the quality of free secondary legal aid.
More
about the draft law