On March 11-12, Legal Aid Council members, together with LAS administration representatives, discussed the draft of new statute of Legal Aid Service at two-day workshop in Bojromi. The workshop was organized as a part of EU-UN joint program - Enhancing Access to Justice and Development of a Child-Friendly Justice System in Georgia.
New statute, which was developed with support of EU-UN Joint program, implies the introduction of three areas of management within the LAS central apparatus: 1) Professional, administrative and financial support, 2) Monitoring of quality of delivered service, 3) Development of human resources and services. The project is based on the concept of structural reorganization developed by the consulting company “Synergy Group”. The concept was created in coordination with Legal Aid Council and LAS administration.
The need for structural reorganization arose few years ago when Legal Aid Service became an independent organization and its mandate was expanded on beneficiaries defined by the Juvenile Justice Code; Cases related to family law, inheritance law and social protection; Protection of persons with psycho-social needs seeking the status of “beneficiary of support”; Protection of asylum and refugee status seekers. The new structure will enhance LAS capacity for service delivery, quality monitoring and development.
Structural reorganization is a part of EU-UN joint program
The process of structural reorganization has been supported by the EU-UN joint program since 2016 and several workshops, involving Legal Aid Council and LAS administration, were held during last year.