OSCE Mission to Moldova roundtable discussion identifies new opportunities to enable provision of essential legal aid
The OSCE Mission to Moldova brought together representatives of law faculties, state authorities and relevant NGOs in Chisinau on 18 May 2017 to discuss new possibilities to strengthen the provision of much-needed primary legal aid in Moldova.
The discussion was also attended by law students and paralegals who have participated in previous stages of an OSCE-supported project to ensure the provision of legal aid to vulnerable persons across the country.
Participants took stock of efforts within the project, as a result of which some 1,800 vulnerable persons have benefited from the legal aid delivered by law students through 52 public lectures held in 35 communities since 2015. The law students and paralegals who participated in the project shared their impressions and experiences of the project’s impact. In 2017, the project will engage law faculties and local NGOs in order to diversify the potential providers of primary legal aid, including in localities along the Dniester/Nistru River so that individuals from Transdniestria can receive assistance.
“In the beginning, the project’s aim to widen the scope of state-guaranteed legal aid in Moldova seemed rather ambitious, and I am glad to say that it has been successfully implemented,” said Lilian Darii, Executive Director of the National Legal Aid Council. “We hope that this project can now be continued by interested organizations.”
Moldova’s marginalized population is entitled to access free legal assistance through the current national legal aid system. However, limited resources impede the state’s ability to provide adequate services and to develop the system of free legal aid. Recent statistics show that primary legal aid is only available in 31 villages (out of 1,600) via paralegals.
The project is implemented jointly by the Mission and the NGO Institute for Penal Reform, based in Chisinau. As part of the project, three publications and a package of documents on how to replicate the model of student-provided legal aid have been developed.