Main achieved milestones and future priorities in the efforts to advance free legal aid in North Macedonia were the focus of the discussion with key beneficiaries and actors in the field, during the 7th Steering Committee meeting of the EU and Council of Europe joint action “Towards a Consolidated and More Efficient Free Legal Aid (FLA) System in North Macedonia”.
The meeting brought together representatives of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Bar Association, authorised civil society organisations, legal clinics, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Delegation of the European Union to North Macedonia, and the Council of Europe had the opportunity to exchange on concrete steps to address challenges related to the free legal aid system.
Oleg Soldatov, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje, reiterated the Council of Europe’s commitment to supporting North Macedonia in its efforts to bring justice closer to its citizens. He underlined the importance of the EU and Council of Europe extended co-operation with the relevant authorities, CSOs, as well as OSCE and UNDP, to bring forward the reforms in the field of free legal aid.
The participants took stock of the fruitful co-operation between beneficiaries and partners, underlining significant impact on enhancing access to justice for citizens, particularly those in need of legal aid. They highlighted the impact of three mobile free legal aid teams which continued to reach local communities. During the last year the mobile teams provided primary free legal aid to 1 394 individuals at Civil Registry Offices in Skopje, Bitola and Shtip, thereby ensuring continued access to legal aid for vulnerable groups in these regions. In addition, a strong partnership was established with the Supreme Court of North Macedonia to enhance access to legal aid in criminal proceedings.
Beneficiaries underlined the importance of strengthening the capacities of employees of the Ministry of Justice’s regional offices, Centres for Social Work, and police inspectors through continuous capacity building activities on free legal aid provided by the EU/Council of Europe action, with a particular focus on gender-based violence, domestic violence, and children’s access to justice. In addition, the HELP course on child-friendly justice strengthened the capacities of domestic lawyers, while other capacity-building sessions focused on strengthening the capacities of students at legal clinics.
Digitalisation of the FLA system, strengthening the legal framework on free legal aid in civil, administrative, and criminal proceedings, as well as capacity-building and awareness-raising initiatives were some of the main priorities for the future. The Action will continue to strengthen co-ordination and communication among key stakeholders of the National Co-ordination Body (NCB) responsible for the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid.
The action “Towards a consolidated and more efficient Free Legal Aid (FLA) system in North Macedonia” is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, implemented by the Council of Europe.
Ms Slavica Cubric, Senior Project Officer