Law on Free Legal Aid Lacks Crucial Components

Since 2007 Civil Rights Defenders in cooperation with Macedonian Young Lawyer’s Association (MYLA) has worked on drafting a proposal for a new Law on free legal aid, a law that will be crucial for people’s access to justice.

MYLA leads a coalition of 20 organisations which monitor the process. Previously we successfully lobbied on the Ministry of Justice to allow non-governmental organisations to provide free legal aid according to the new draft law. But the draft still contains some components that could be negative to certain groups, besides there are still no clear procedural rules for how free legal aid should be approved.

The draft law is now in parliamentary process and will be discussed again this week. MYLA has requested that some amendments be made to the draft. Together we have written a letter that has been sent to several embassies in Macedonia and to the EU delegation to ask for support in our efforts to get the amendments adopted. Read the letter here: Law on Free Legal Aid

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