‘In the first six months since the date of application of the Free Legal Aid Act (1 October 2019), around 15,000 citizens requested free legal aid and assistance,’ State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Radomir Ilić stated today during his visit to the Free Legal Aid Department in Novi Sad with the member of the Novi Sad City Council in charge of administration and regulations Milan Đurić. Mr Ilić explained that over 12,000 requests were for free legal assistance, and the rest were for free legal aid.
Mr Ilić pointed out that different governments over the past 20 years had announced the passing of the said statute, for which the right conditions were created once Serbia had established a stable economy and a stable budget. He explained that citizens on social welfare and those who, by paying court fees would have to go on social welfare, were entitled to free legal aid as well as vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities, displaced persons, victims of violence, asylum seekers, etc. He added that free legal aid was provided by attorneys, departments of legal assistance within units of local self-government, and citizen associations which had been offering free legal assistance to vulnerable groups of the population for years.
Mr Ilić also noted that the Ministry of Justice and the Bar Association of Serbia had signed a Protocol on the Establishment of a Free Legal Aid Call Centre which enabled an even distribution of assigned cases to attorneys. ‘Visiting Novi Sad, I have witnessed how important the Act has been and how it is being applied. I would like to congratulate Novi Sad on having organised and prepared its services in time for the application of the Act,‘ he said.
Mr Đurić explained that the City of Novi Sad had been providing free legal aid to its citizens since 1961, and that it had approximately 7,000 cases in 2019. He noted, however, that ever since the application of the Act, and with the funding for free legal aid now split 50−50 between the State Budget and the City Budget, the number of cases had dropped to around 300.
Legal Officer in the Free Legal Aid Department Goran Gajić regarded the enactment of the Act as an important step to citizens exercising their rights. He believed the application of Act in Novi Sad was effective based on the satisfaction of its citizens.
Video coverage of the visit can be downloaded for free from the following website: www.infobiro.tv.