Standards for Different Countries (QUAL-AID) Vilnius, Ministry of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Presentation of the results of the Project “Enhancing the Quality of Legal Aid: General Standards for Different Countries” (QUAL-AID)

Vilnius, Ministry of Justice 2019-06-27

• Dr. Simonas Nikartas

Lietuvos teisės institutas

“Enhancing the Quality of Legal Aid: General Standards for Different Countries” (QUAL-AID) Project partners

Enhancing the Quality of Legal Aid: General Standards for Different Countries (QUAL-AID) Objective: To enhance the quality of legal aid services in criminal proceedings within the EU by developing common standards for legal aid provision and quality assurance/supervision and by raising capacity of legal aid policy makers, administrators and providers for ensuring high quality legal aid

Project website: http://qualaid.vgtpt.lt/en

This project is co-funded by the European Union

Key-outputs

• Comparative analysis: Desk-research and

interviews in 3 Project countries

• Practice Standards for Legal Aid Providers -

focus on improvement of LA

• Tools and Criteria for Measuring Legal Aid

Quality – focus on evaluation of LA

• Training for legal aid providers, administrators

and legal aid policy makers

Available on project’s website: http://qualaid.vgtpt.lt/en

Comparative analysis: Desk-research and interviews in 3 Project countries

→ There is a Report available online: http://qualaid.vgtpt.lt/sites/default/files/0412675001517559135.pdf

Desk research: comparison of jurisdictions

Key finding: legal systems are too different to have just one “correct model” – but good practices can be shared

Interviews: needs and expectations

Clients tend to assess the performance of lawyers mostly from the perspective of an emotional criterion The legal aspects of lawyers’ work quality (i.e. the quality of the documents prepared by lawyers, legal reasoning, etc.) are less seen by recipients Judges, prosecutors and peers see this much more clear Key finding: LA quality assurance and evaluation should be modeled to take these different needs and expectations into account

Practice Standards for Legal Aid Providers

See: http://teise.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Qualaid- Practice-Standards-EN.pdf

General overview

• Based on research and survey of professionals

(answers from 90 respondents; over 20 countries)

• Set out selected good practices that are able to

contribute to enhancing LA

• Tools suggested range from education and

trainings, to procedural safeguards and

• perating principles

Key finding: there is no one best practice, several tools should be employed

Overview of categories we have identified

Education Trainings and qualification Evaluation Terms of reference for an audit of the quality and value

• f the services

Complaints Choice of lawyer made by the beneficiary/an Institution Increased information for beneficiaries Procedural safeguards Special needs of fast provision of legal aid in detention cases Operating principles Payment and costs

Some examples of suggested tools

• Establishing requirement of specialization (where this is

reasonable)

• Continuous education; online-trainings for LA lawyers
• Use of technologies (for first line LA, appointing lawyers, etc)
• LA client`s satisfactory surveys
• Peer review
• Drafting concrete best practice standards, check-lists
• Strengthening right to choose LA lawyer
• Providing client with all needed info and simplifying

procedures

Results of expert survey

4,3 4,1 4 4 4 4 3,9 3,8 3,7 3,6 3,6 3,6 3,5 3,4 2,9 2,5 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5 5

FAST PROVISION OF LEGAL AID IN DETENTION PROVIDE FIRST LINE LEGAL AID SPECIALISATION AND CONTINUING TRAINING TRAINING LAWYERS HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE A CASE SIMPLIFY PROCEDURES ENSURE INFORMATION ABOUT CLIENT'S RIGHTS REQUIREMENT OF DOCUMENTATION ONLINE TRAINING MOKYMAI, SKIRTI TEISINĖS PAGALBOS PRAKTIKAMS PEER REVIEW EXAMINATION OF COMPLAINTS ENSURING THE POSSIBILITY TO COMPLAIN REGULATION OF QUOTAS CLIENT'S SATISFACTION SURVEY SATISFACTION SURVEY

Tools and Criteria for Measuring Legal Aid Quality

See: http://teise.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Qualaid- Guidelines-for-EU-Member-States.pdf

General overview

• Methodological tool dedicated to specific aspects
• f legal quality assessment
• Discusses:
• Principles and Preconditions of Legal Aid Quality

Evaluation

• Legal Aid Quality Evaluation Forms and Tools

Key finding: when selecting tools for quality assessment legal and cultural context of the state is

• important. E.g. principle of lawyer’s independence;

confidentiality is particularly strong in some states

Principles and Preconditions of Legal Aid Quality Evaluation

• Lawyer’s independence and autonomy principle
• Protection of confidentiality of lawyer-client

relationship

• Public interest and efficiency of use of State

resources

• Cooperation and mutual trust principle
• Quality standards as a precondition for assessing
• Lawyer’s activity documentation

Legal Aid Quality Evaluation Forms and Tools

LA system evaluation tools

• Objective quality

indicators

• Analysis of general data
• Analysis of success rate in

cases, etc.

• Subjective quality

indicators

• Client surveys
• Surveys of professionals

(judges, prosecutors)

Individual evaluation of LA providers

• Peer review
• Observation
• Analysis of

documents

• Analysis of

complaints

• etc