The 10th meeting of the National Co-ordination Body for the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid (NCB) in North Macedonia, took place in Skopje on 7 October 2022 to discuss important questions regarding the Free Legal Aid system in North Macedonia.
Organised in the framework of the continuous support that EU and Council of Europe are providing to improve the Free Legal Aid services for the citizens of North Macedonia, the event gathered around 40 participants from the key institutions in the field of free legal aid including the Ministry of Justice and its Regional Offices (ROs), Bar Association, lawyers, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Legal Clinics authorized for providing free legal aid. Employees at the Regional Offices of the Ministry of Justice had also the opportunity to follow the event remotely .
The meeting was welcomed by the State Advisor at the Ministry of Justice, Arkin Jahiji, and the Senior Project Officer at the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje, Irena Cuculoska Jakimovska. They stressed the importance of the work of the National Coordination Body as an important co-operation and co-ordination mechanism ensuring improved access to justice for the citizens through advanced inter-institutional coordination.
The feasibility of establishing a single management entity that will take over the entire spectrum of competences related to free legal aid (in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings) was discussed in the first part of the meeting, during which the international consultants Mr. John Eames (judge at the United Kingdom) and Mr. Victor Zaharia (President of the Legal Aid Board in Moldova) presented the initial results from their mission in Skopje and the initial proposal for structure of the new entity. The idea for establishing a single body for free legal aid was discussed with the participants who unanimously supported the idea and found it necessary for ensuring more effective system of free legal aid.
The second part of the meeting was dedicated to discussing concrete proposals and recommendation for amending the Law on Free Legal Aid. The CoE national consultants presented the Draft Analysis on the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid and its need for amending, that was followed by in-depth discussion with the participants concerning the legal provisions that need to be improved.
The National Co-ordination Body will continue its work and commitment towards achieving better coordination and communication among the main actors in the Free Legal Aid system in future. NCB’s capacities will continue to be further strengthened to become entirely self-sustainable in the future beyond the end of the CoE project. In this direction, it is proposed that the Law on Free Legal Aid should provide legal grounds for the National Coordination Body regulating its competencies and composition.
The action “Supporting enhanced access to higher quality Free Legal Aid services in North Macedonia”, part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” will continue to support public authorities and key actors in the efforts to enhance the efficiency, quality, accessibility, and awareness of free legal aid in North Macedonia.
