In accordance with the Free Legal Aid Act, which came into effect on 1 October, the Register of Free Legal Aid and Free Legal Support Providers has been published on the website of the Ministry of Justice.
The Register will be updated regularly in the future to ensure that citizens are fully informed to whom they can turn for free legal aid and support.
The Act stipulates that the Register is kept by the Ministry of Justice as a single public electronic database. Citizens can access the database and search for attorneys, local governments, notaries public, associations, law schools and mediators who, under the Act, provide free legal aid and free legal support.
The purpose of the Free Legal Aid Act is to ensure equal access to justice for all citizens.
One of the most important provisions relevant to citizens is that three groups of beneficiaries of free legal aid have been identified, so in the future the right to this type of aid will be exercised by: beneficiaries of social and child benefits; persons who, by paying legal aid themselves, would found themselves in a situation to become eligible for social benefits; and members of vulnerable or socially disadvantaged groups, including children, victims of domestic violence, asylum seekers, refugees, persons with disabilities, victims of human trafficking, etc.
The Act states that free legal aid encompasses provision of legal advice, drafting of submissions, representation and defence, while free legal support includes provision of general legal information, completing forms, drafting notarial documents and dispute mediation.
The Act also regulates the manner of financing free legal aid and free legal support stipulating the use of funds from the budget of the Republic of Serbia and local self-government units, as well as donations and project finance.