Identifying elements of the practice of Council of Europe member states , which can be valued by the authorities of North Macedonia in reforming the system of legal aid in criminal proceedings, was in the focus of the online roundtable (webinar) on sharing of best practices on provision of legal aid in criminal proceedings. This online event was organised in Skopje on 20 November 2020, with key stakeholders, legal professionals and international practitioners.

The participants had the opportunity to discuss various aspects of the provision of legal aid in criminal proceedings, such as beneficiaries of legal aid in criminal proceedings, providers of legal aid in these proceedings, appointment of lawyers to provide free legal aid, the quality of legal aid delivered and quality assurance system and management of the legal aid system, as well as co-operation of the stakeholders.

These discussions aimed to ensure the support and co-operation of Macedonian stakeholders in addressing the existing shortcomings and reforming the system of legal aid in criminal proceedings in North Macedonia.

The participants from key institutions in the field of justice, including the Ministry of Justice, Bar Association, civil society organisations (CSOs), Legal clinics etc., who attended the event had the opportunity to hear more about the different practices concerning legal aid in criminal proceedings in several Beneficiaries such as Latvia, Moldova, Kosovo*, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia by prominent practitioners from these countries.

This event 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”.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.