1 / 22

NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU. How did it all start ?. The Legal Aid Act was promulgated in the “State Gazette”, issue No. 79/4.10.2005, coming into force on 1 Jan. 2006

leane
Download Presentation

NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  2. How did it all start? • The Legal Aid Act was promulgated in the “State Gazette”, issue No. 79/4.10.2005, coming into force on 1 Jan. 2006 • 13 Jan. 2006: Appointment of the first chairperson and of the deputy chairperson of the National Legal Aid Bureau (NLAB), and election of the three NLAB members from within the Supreme Bar Council, i.e., the practical start of its activity • 30 March 2006: Approval of the National Register of Legal Aid NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  3. What does the National Legal Aid Bureau do? • Securing equal access to justice for the citizens by means of: • provision of free legal aid • provision of mandatory legal aid as required by law • Analyzing the information and undertaking the required action for the planning and management of the legal aid system • Exercising control related to the provision of legal aid • Organizing the setting of the fees and the payment for the legal aid provided NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  4. The Legal Aid Act – legal aid types and delivery system • LEGAL AID made available by virtue of a decision of the Chairperson of the National Legal Aid Bureau: • consultation in view of achieving an agreement before the initiation of court proceedings or in respect of the institution of proceedings; • preparation of the documents for the filing of a case; • LEGAL AID made available by the authority in charge of the procedural activities (judges, prosecutors, examining magistrates and investigators) • procedural representation; • representation in case of detention in custody under Art. 63, para. 1 of the Act on the Ministry of Interior NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  5. Directions for the development of the National Legal Aid Bureau and of the legal aid system in the Republic of Bulgaria JUDICIARY REFORM STRATEGY FOR THE PERIOD 2008-2013 IN THE “EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE" SECTOR NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  6. We formulated the strategy after askingordinary people:1. “What do you know about the National Legal Aid Bureau?” Citizens interviewed in: • Judiciary institutions • Social assistance directorates • Institutions for the elderly • Pensioners’ clubs • Healthcare facilities • Random respondents NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  7. Result: Inadequate awareness of the public NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  8. 2. “In the view of the users, is legal aid efficient?” Citizens interviewed at: • Detention facilities • Probationary offices NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  9. Result: 62% are satisfied by the legal aid provided NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  10. Main objective andleading guidelines of the strategy • Main objective • Improvement of the organization of the system for the provision of legal aid • Clarification of the legal framework • Leading guidelines • Equal access of the people to justice by means of securing and providing efficient legal aid • Public character and transparency of the process of legal aid provision • European practices in the field of legal aid NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  11. Popularizing the legal aid system • Production and distribution of: • Information materials • Public display boards describing the types of legal aid • Handbooks/manuals for the citizens • The mass media and Internet • Hot telephone line • International information exchange NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  12. Guaranteeing the efficient functioning of the legal aid system • Guaranteeing the right of the users of legal aid to select on their own an attorney from the National Register of Legal Aid • Strengthening the control during the selection of attorneys in accordance with the type and the complexity of the procedure • Creation of aWORKINGmechanism to guarantee the participation of the appointed attorney at all stages of the procedure • Improvement of the mechanism for the selection ofattorneys on duty NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  13. Guaranteeing FREELEGAL AID • Expansion of the coverage of free legal aid • Facilitation of the procedure for legal aid provision • Unification of the criteria for the provision of legal aid NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  14. General and methodological guidance of the activities related to the provision of legal aid • Standardization of the practical application of the Legal Aid Act; • Refinement of the General Procedural Rules approved for the reporting, control, assessment and verification of the legal aid provided; • Formulation of recommendations and guidelines addressed to all participants involved in the process of the provision of legal aid aimed at the improvement and the refinement of the system; • Developing guidelines for the provision of legal aid related to international disputes and submission of the guidelines to the Ministry of foreign affairs – the Diplomatic Institute NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  15. Guarantees and control over the quality of the legal aid provided • Uniform standards for control and assessment of the legal aid provided • Developing a mechanism for joint inspections and control of the attorneys inscribed in the National Register of Legal Aid • Surveying the users of legal aid • Improvement of the mechanism for accountability and responsibility in case of unconscientiously or incompetently provided legal aid NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  16. Training: • Periodical training of the attorneys inscribed in the National Register of Legal Aid; • Training of junior attorneys at the School of Attorneys; • Training of magistrates at the National Institute of Justice; • Training of employees of the Ministry of Interior; • Training of employees of the consular services on the opportunities, conditions and procedures for the provision of legal aid in case of international disputes; • Periodical working meetings with representatives of the judiciary system, of thepre-trial stage and with attorneys; • Improving the qualification of NLAB employees NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  17. Computerizationof the legal aid system • Introduction of software products in the legal aid system • Creation of a unified information system forlegal aid at the national level NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  18. Budgeting and support • Bringing the budget of the legal aid system in line with the needs: • Payment of the attorneys’ fees • Strengthening the administrative capacity of the Bureau • Current support of the Bureau • Refinancing of the NLAB budget NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  19. Refining the regulatory framework of legal aid • Amendments and additions to the Legal Aid Act: • Expanding the coverage of legal aid • Standardization of the conditions for getting legal aid • Regulation of the payment of all expenses of an attorney, which are immediately linked to the provision of legal aid NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  20. Amendments and Additions to the Ordinance on Payment for Legal Aid • Regulation of the cases of legal aid provision left unsettled • Clarifying separate texts of the Ordinance • Changing the amount of the attorneys’ fees NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  21. Amendments to other legislation • Civil Procedure Code • Penal Procedure Code • Taxation and Social Security Procedure Code NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

  22. www.nbpp.government.bg nbpp@nbpp.government.bg NATIONAL LEGAL AID BUREAU

More Related