Montenegro

Montenegro is creating a new legal aid system to enable equal access to justice for those unable to afford legal services

The Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Montenegro and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - Mission to Montenegro, organized a series of public debates about the working version of the Law on Legal Aid . The initial public debate was held in Podgorica, while the others were held on May 17th in Kotor (South), and on May 19th in Bijelo Polje (North of the country).

With comments, remarks and suggestions to the Working version of the Law the participants in the debates in fact took part in the process of high importance for Montenegro. The infrastructure for the implementation of the Law on Legal Aid should be established by the end of this year, and the public discussions represented a significant step in achieving equal assess to justice for all and creating an effective and sustainable system of legal aid services provision in Montenegro.

For the purpose of exercising the right to a fair trial and equal access to the court, individuals who by their wealth status are not able to exercise the right to judicial protection without damage to essential subsistence of themselves and their families should be provided free legal aid pursuant to the appropriate law.

Legal Aid involves the provision of necessary funds to fully or partially cover the costs of legal advice, preparation of pleadings, representation in proceedings before the court, the State Prosecutor's Office and the Constitutional Court of Montenegro and the procedure for out-of-court dispute settlement.

The objectives of the Law on Legal Aid are:
- Passing laws that conform with international standards (EU / UN);
- Establishing systems that will provide access to justice for all;
- Creating networks of legal aid that will suit the needs of users;
- Contribution to the democratization of society and to the EU accession.

Participants in the initial public debate in Podgorica stressed that this was an important act that would provide legal certainty and equality of citizens before the court.

In his introductory speech H. E. Mr. Miraš Radović, Minister of Justice at the Government of Montenegro said that if there was not free legal aid the equality of indigent individuals would be challenged before the court. “To exercise the right to a fair trial and equal access to the court, individuals who according to their wealth status are not able to exercise the right to judicial protection should be provided free legal aid in accordance with relevant legal arrangements,” he said.

“The Ministry of Justice is open to all suggestions in order to reach the quality of the legal text. When it comes to funding, according to some experiences from the neighboring countries, that kind of support is provided by the state. However, I think that the people living in poor economic conditions should be a concern of the entire society,” said Minister Radović.

Ambassador Paraschiva Badescu, Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro indicated that the right to effective access to judicial institutions is the basis of international legal standards. “Accessibility of courts and equality of the parties are crucial components of the right to a fair trial, which is one of the key principles of the rule of law. In order to secure respect for the rule of law and the law, and allow all citizens equal access to justice, it is necessary to create a normative framework for the establishment of free legal aid system through the adoption of necessary legislation,” Ms. Badescu concluded.

Mr. Alexander Avanessov, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro said that the organization supported the Ministry of Justice in the process of creating a new system of state legal aid that would allow equal access to justice for those who have not been able to afford legal services. “This undertaking shall put all citizens of Montenegro in an equal position, which fulfills one of the UN member states’ obligations - legal empowerment of the poor,” said Mr. Avanessov.

“The Law, as well as the newly established legal aid system will approximate Montenegro to the European Union, considering that this is one of the major requirements in the process of European integration,” Mr. Avanessov stated. He also especially thanked the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway for recognizing the importance of this project and for allocating the resources for its implementation.

Deputy Minister for Justice Ms. Branka Lakočević said that in preparing the legislation the working group was led by the international instruments of the United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union, while Deputy Secretary of the Secretariat for Legislation Ms. Slavica Bajić pointed out that the basic criterion for exercising the right to free legal aid was financial inability of citizens to pay for legal services. “We thought of those who have no assets, and their incomes do not exceed a certain threshold,” said Ms. Bajić.

Head of the District Court Department for free legal aid in Ljubljana Ms. Katja Širca explained that this law had been implemented in Slovenia since 2001, and more and more citizens were using its capacities. “In addition to lawyers entered in the register of competent authorities, this type of assistance can be provided by the NGO sector, too. About 700,000 euros were allocated for free legal aid from the State budget for the District Court in Ljubljana,” said Ms. Širca.

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The working version of the Law states that, inter alia, legal aid involves the provision of necessary funds to fully or partially cover the costs of legal advice, preparation of pleadings, representation in proceedings before the court, the State Prosecutor's Office and the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, as well as the procedure for out-of-court dispute settlement, and this right can be achieved by Montenegrin citizens, stateless persons who legally reside in Montenegro and asylum seekers, and aliens with permanent or temporary settlement permit.

“The right to free legal aid can be exercised by users of social assistance or other rights in domain of social protection, children without parental care, victims of domestic violence and indigent individuals,” the working version of the Law states.

According to the working version of the Law, “indigent individuals” means those who have no assets and their income and total income of family members not exceeding the amount of the minimum wage by one and of 20 euros for each subsequent family member. According to the legislation, an apartment where a person lives is not to be considered a property, which size is 25 square meters for one member of the household and 15 square meters for each of the subsequent household members, or up to 85 square meters.

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UNDP has been present in the judicial reform process in Montenegro since 2004. The Ministry of Justice of Montenegro is the main partner of the UNDP Montenegro from the very beginning of our involvement in the judicial reform activities. Our main focus in this field currently relates to the capacity development of the judicial bodies, anti-corruption and fight against organized crime initiatives as well as the access to justice for all.

UNDP has supported the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro in the process of creating a new legal aid system in the country, which will enable equal access to justice for those unable to afford legal services. This undertaking will put all the inhabitants of Montenegro in equal position which, beside the other benefits brought along by the Law, in this manner fulfils one of the UN’s commitments - legal empowerment of the poor.

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“Justice for all is becoming more of a dream and less of a reality in many parts of our world of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’”... Read the whole story: Montenegro’s legal aid reforms will avoid shortcomings evident in more prosperous countries