Legal Aid Service, Parliament and EU mark 150,000th free legal consultation of Legal Aid Service in Georgia

პოლიტიკა - 17:09, 04 Dec, 2017

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At a ceremony in Kutaisi today, Mr. Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Mr. Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, and Mr. Meliton Benidze, Director of LAS marked ten years of the Legal Aid Service by congratulating Mr. David Janjgava, the 150,000 recipient of free legal consultation.

The LAS is financially and institutionally independent from the Government, reporting directly to the Parliament. It provides free-of-charge legal services to vulnerable people in Georgia.

The success of Legal Aid Service has been attained in part through the continued assistance of the European Union over the past 10 years.

Mr Janjgava recieved legal assistance at the Kutaisi LAS bureau in settling his status as an IDP from Abhazia. Speaking at the event, Mr. Janjgava expressed his satisfaction with the services provided by LAS and noted that his personal success story that could not have been attained without LAS support. "LAS restored my sense of feeling at home" he stressed.

At the event, Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze, stated: “The most important endeavour of LAS is that it strives, foremost, to protect human rights in the country. This means that it largely contributes to the strengthening of rule of law.

Legal Aid Service provided 150,000 consultations during the 10 years of its existence and this fact is an impressive indicator. Special attention, therefore, needs to be paid to its further development. Parliament, which takes the institutional responsibility over Legal Aid Service, will do its maximum to strengthen and support further development of this institution.

· I would express my gratitude to all partners, including international organisation, but my special thanks goes to the European Union for its support andits contribution to the success of the Legal Aid Service in Georgia.”

Ambassador of the European Union, Janos Herman noted that “The EU has been supporting the Legal Aid Service from its very start, working closely with the Government and Parliament to assist both its improvement and expansion. Our goal has always been to ensure that all Georgians, regardless of their socio-economic status have access to high-quality legal consultation and representation. The example of David Janjgava personifies to all of us today that EU assistance has a positive impact on the lives of many Georgians. In essence, this is the ultimate goal of our cooperation. Therefore we look forward to continuing work in this area in the years to come."

Director of LAS, Meliton Benidze, spoke about the achievements of the Legal Aid Service during the last 10 years. “Legal Aid Service is an independent, qualified and client-centred organisation, that is ensuring equal access to justice and the protection of human rights in Georgia. Availability of services provided by Legal Aid Service is increasing and as of today, we provide services through 12 bureaus and 7 consultation centres throughout Georgia. We also offer online consultations via our website and Facebook pages, as well as through a hotline number.” Mr. Benidze also expressing his gratitude to the State of Georgia for financing the services of LAS and to the European Union for supporting the organisation in the last 10 years.

The event in Kutaisi also presented a national public awareness campaign that will – through five personal stories – present what LAS services are available to Georgians. Billboards and posters will be placed on Tbilisi Metro and buses and regional ‘LAS Consultation Day’ events will take place across Georgia in the week of 4 December. Two so-called ‘mobile consultations’ will take place with the minority Azeri and Armenian communities.