The 5th meeting of the National Co-ordination Body for implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid in North Macedonia gathered remotely to discuss important matters concerning a more efficient implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid in North Macedonia.
36 participants from the key institutions in the field of free legal aid such as the Ministry of Justice and its Regional Offices (ROs), Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Centre for social work, Bar Association, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Legal Clinics authorized for providing free legal aid, had the opportunity to exchange views and opinions in addressing key challenges related to the free legal aid system in North Macedonia such as support to victims of domestic violence, access and awareness on FLA etc.
During the meeting were presented by the action team key foreseen interventions in the field of FLA stressing the importance of the continuous coordination and communication among the stakeholders in the FLA system through the functioning of the National Coordination Body. A particular focus was devoted to awareness raising initiatives on the use of FLA and specific actions in reaching the most vulnerable groups such as victims of domestic violence and their access to legal aid services. The participants shared their experiences and challenges from their everyday work regarding the cases related to victims of domestic violence, emphasizing the need for better coordination and communication among the relevant institutions in this field.
The meeting continued with the presentation of the Council of Europe consultants sharing some of the European best practices and CoE standards in regard to a more efficient application of Free Legal Aid especially for the vulnerable groups.
To summarize and provide key information to different audiences on the FLA activities in North Macedonia, the draft version of the Bulletin on free legal has been prepared and shared with the participants representing a very useful and informative tool about the novelties related to the FLA system in North Macedonia.
The National Co-ordination Body for implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid (NCB) will continue its work and commitment towards achieving better coordination and communication among the main actors in the Free Legal Aid system in future.
The meeting has been organised by the action “Supporting enhanced access to higher quality Free Legal Aid services in North Macedonia” which is part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.
