This project is aimed at the improvement of access to justice by low-income citizens an other socially vulnerable groups of population in the Russian Federation through implementation of Federal Law no. 324-FZ of 21 November 2011On Free Legal Aid in the Russian Federation.
Main purposes of the project are:
- improving access to free legal aid and more effective protection of rights and lawful interests of citizens;
- increased effectiveness of state guarantees of the right of citizens to free legal aid and positive dynamics of citizens' applications for aid in protection of their rights, which in its turn shall promote further growth of legal system indicators and strengthening the principle of the rule of law.
In order to reach the abovementioned objectives, it is important to develop the methodological and organisational approach which will help the regions determine the optimal Federal Law implementation procedure with account for the best practices and regional needs and possibilities.
The project is to be implemented in three stages.
Stage 1. At the first stage the analytical model to estimate the demand and proposal of free legal aid will be developed. For the purpose of model development, the comparative analysis of free legal aid systems in some member states of the Council of Europe will be carried out and adapted to Russian conditions. Such model will enable the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and regional authorities to determine the demand of vulnerable groups for legal assistance, as well as the extent to which free legal aid meets the demand. At the same time it will allow the development of measures intended to eliminate the deficiencies and ensure more effective planning of fee legal aid.
Stage 2. The analytical model of the demand and supply evaluation will be tested in two regions with different demographic indices and different organisation of the free legal aid systems. This will result in source data, including the demand and supply figures for each region. The data collected will allow further tracking and evaluation of the quality of free legal aid provided and help determine measures aimed to improve it within the region. On the basis of the results received, pilot projects for introducing target measures to improve the Federal Law implementation and increase the relevance of legal aid to citizens will be developed and implemented in two regions.
Stage 3. The results of pilot projects will be evaluated and discussed at the conference on issues regarding generalization of the experience received and spreading the best approaches to other constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The Consultative Group will be responsible for the strategic management of the project. The Group shall consist of representatives of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the Council of Europe, as well as Russian and international experts in relevant issues.
The project shall be financed by voluntary contributions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The project is estimated to last 24 months.