More than 200 thousand socially vulnerable families will be able to receive state-funded advocacy service not only in criminal proceedings but on civil and administrative cases too. This is envisaged by amendments made to the Georgian Law on Legal Aid which were enacted on April 15.
Regarding this novel, the author of the above-mentioned legislative amendments, a member of the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia – Zakaria Kutsnashvili and the director of Legal Aid Service – Meliton Benidze visited Mtskheta on April 15 and got introduced with the launch of new advocacy service. The other members of the Parliament and socially vulnerable citizens attended the event which was held at the LAS Mtskheta bureau.
According to the legislative changes, at the first stage, advocacy service (court representation) will be carried out on family and inheritance disputes, as well as matters of social protection. If a beneficiary meets the criteria of insolvency and the case is evaluated as complex and important, then a lawyer is appointed. The service is available in the territorial bureaus of Legal Aid Service which operate in 11 regions.
The state has provided free legal aid since 2007. Till now, this service mainly covered criminal cases. In order to expand legal aid on civil and administrative cases, the Parliament of Georgia made amendments to legislation in December, 2014.