Ukraine’s experience with early access to legal aid and the impact on human rights

Andriy VyshnevskyDirector of the Coordinating Centre for Legal Aid Provision

Vienna12 may 2014

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What is the legal aid systemin Ukraine?

• Duty private lawyer scheme, functioning «24/7»• 27 Legal Aid Centres in all provinces

managed by Coordination Centerunder responsibility of the Ministry of Justice

• About 4.000 private lawyers selected through open competition by Ministry of Justice; nearly 2.000 of them contracted by Legal Aid Centres

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To whom the right to early access to legal aid is

guaranteed?Since January 1, 2013, legal aid has been provided to the individuals:• subject to administrative detention• subject to administrative arrest• subject to detention on the suspicion of

committing an offence

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Delivery early access to legal aid

• 27 round-the-clock administrators on-dutyin the Legal Aid Centres (rotating shift of 1 day on/3 days off)

• About 500 lawyers on-duty permanently, covering the whole territory of Ukraine

• Police is obliged to inform Legal Aid Centresabout every detention immediately

• Legal Aid Centres are obliged to assign a contracted lawyer and to ensure that he/she attends a detainee within two hours

• Toll-free phone number 800-213-103 to inform about fact of detention

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Scheme of interaction of key actors for early access to

legal aid

Prosecutor office

Police officeLegal Aid Centre

A detaineeContracted private lawyer on duty

Inform about violation of right for early access to legal aid

Pre-trial proceedings supervision

Obliged to inform immediately

Have right to inform (or his or her family)

Provide legal aidIncluding appellation to the court

decision on the prevention measure

Assign for legal aid providing Detains

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Information about the rightto early access legal aid

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Assuring quality of service

• Obligatory Quality Standards for Provision of Legal Aid at the Pre-Trial Investigation Stage developed and approved (to be implemented from 1st of July 2014)

• Set of Defender Manuals are developed and disseminated among all lawyers, providing legal aid

• Regular (every 4 months) trainings for all lawyers, providing legal aid, have been conducting

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Early access to legal aid in 2013 in figures

Incoming callson toll-free phone number

79,950

Legal aid has been provided to the individuals under:

detention due to suspicion of committing an offence

22,345

administrative detention 4,912

administrative arrest 5,097

Rejection from legal aid 6.9%

Thank you for Attention!

Coordinating Centre for Legal Aid Provision

ANDRIY VYSHNEVSKYIDirector 73 Artema Str., 04053, Kyiv, Ukrainetel. +38 044 486 71 06fax +38 044 486 77 45e-mail: andriy.vyshnevsky@legalaid.gov.ua

www.legalaid.gov.ua