On Tuesday, 27 February, the Government approved the Cabinet Regulations [1] prepared by the Ministry of Justice to implement a project to establish a state-provided legal aid system. The project will increase access to legal aid services for vulnerable persons and improve support mechanisms for victims of crime.
Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere: "The project will strengthen the quality of legal aid services by providing training to those working in this field and by promoting effective dispute resolution. The project will promote mediation as a mutually beneficial and respectful way of resolving disputes, especially in family and children matters. We will also explain why legal problems need to be solved quickly and not postponed, in order to prevent negative impacts on people's social and financial quality of life and, in extreme situations, to prevent the risk of poverty. The project will also develop digital solutions to improve people's access to information about state-provided legal aid, so that they can effectively defend their rights and strengthen cooperation between the institutions involved."
The project will also include other activities, such as the introduction of new models of cooperation and support through a pilot project, which will contribute to the development and capacity building of the state-run legal aid system.
The total funding for the project is €1 305 000, including €1 109 250 from the European Social Fund Plus and €195 750 from the national budget. The beneficiary and implementer is the Judicial Administration, which ensures access to justice for vulnerable persons by providing state-guaranteed services such as legal aid and financial support, as well as by establishing a fair and adequate state compensation mechanism for victims of crime and providing victims of crime with information support.
The project is planned to start in the second quarter of 2024 and to run until 31 December 2029.
The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations can be consulted on the Single Winding-Up Portal.
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[1] Rules for the implementation of measure 4.3.5.5 "Access to justice" of the Specific Support Objective 4.3.5 "Improve equitable and timely access to quality, sustainable and affordable services; improve social protection systems, including promoting access to social protection; improve accessibility, efficiency and resilience of long-term care services" of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme for the period 2021-2027.
