OSCE Centre in Bishkek fosters development of state-guaranteed legal aid in Kyrgyzstan

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 29 September 2010 - A roundtable discussion on issues related to implementation of Kyrgyzstan's law on state-guaranteed legal aid started in Osh today. 

The event was organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek's Field Office in Osh, in collaboration with the Province Department of Justice and with the support of the Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan. Local lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police investigators and NGOs discussed practical ways to implement the law and on existing problems.

"Since 2005, the OSCE Centre has supported 10 free legal aid centres across Kyrgyzstan, staffed by 58 professional lawyers. These centres provide legal advice and support to the most vulnerable individuals within society," said Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, in his welcoming remarks. "The Centre is actively exploring ways these legal aid centres can be better integrated into the provisions and structure of Kyrgyzstan's state guaranteed legal aid system, which will start functioning throughout the country from 2011. This roundtable discussion in Osh which brings together state and private legal practitioners will help take forward this process."

Jyldyz Mambetalieva, the Deputy Justice Minister, chaired the discussion. She said: "On 3 June 2010 the Provisional Government adopted a decree on implementing a pilot project aimed at providing state-guaranteed legal aid. In the course of today's event much attention will be paid to find ways to realize the project's pilot phase in the Nookat district, for which the Osh Province Department of Justice plans to recruit several local lawyers to provide legal aid to the people who need it."

The roundtable was organized as a part of project by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Osh Field Office aimed at supporting the implementation of Kyrgyzstan's law on State Guaranteed Legal Aid.