Achievements & Challenges of Independent Legal Aid
Independent legal aid as a critical part of the justice system was in focus of an international conference in Tbilisi on September 28-29.
The event brought together representatives of the Georgian Parliament, Government, judiciary, international organizations and civil society, as well as the members of the Legal Aid Reformers’ Network (LARN) and leading experts from Georgia, Great Britain, Lithuania, Moldova, Sierra Leone and Ukraine.
The Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze, opened the conference with welcome remarks.
This was followed by addresses from Nino Gvenetadze, Chief Justice of Georgia; Niels Scott, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia; Peter Danis, Manager of Justice for All Program of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia; Laura B. Berger, Acting Director, Democracy, Governance and Social Development Office, USAID/Georgia; and Giorgi Burjanadze, Human Rights Program Manager of the Open Society Georgia Foundation.
Meliton Benidze, Director of the Legal Aid Service of Georgia, and Eka Popkhadze, Chairperson of the Legal Aid Board, emphasized the importance of quality legal services for the vulnerable as an integral part of the right to justice and fair trial.
“Georgia is strongly committed to developing and promoting a competent and sustainable legal aid service,” Benidze said. “We have achieved a lot since 2007, when the Legal Aid Service was first established in Georgia, and are determined to move forward, benefitting from the growing cooperation with our partners across the region”.
The two-day conference addressed a range of topics, including effective models of administering and monitoring legal aid, and ensuring the quality of legal services. The conference participants discussed challenges faced by legal aid in various countries, as well as the use of modern technology and innovative solutions in providing access to justice for all.
The conference was organized by the Legal Aid Service of Georgia (LAS) and supported by Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF), European Union, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), USAID project “Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia” (ProLOG), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
By Katie Ruth Davies