The Importance of Free Legal Aid Service Quality Control and the Basic Difficulties Associated with it

Authors

  • Jaba Usenashvili

Keywords:

Quality control, efficiency, compulsory protection, secured at the expense of the state, mechanisms, free, public attorney, rule and criteria.

Abstract

Providing an effective system of free legal aid and constant care on improving the quality of the services provided by such a system is one of the most important challenges of government. How far, in terms of the documented results, has the Republic of Georgia progressed in this direction, compaired to a number of western and central European countries which have well-organized systems of free legal services at the national level, but does not have mechanisms focused on concrete and peractical challenges to the state-funded service control.
This article is dedicated to the importance of quality control to free legal aid systems. It explores several actual issues related to providing such quality control, about which there are significant differences of opinion both in practice and theory. In particular, it is still difficult to protect the confidentiality of communications between the legal aid lawyer and the client, while at the same time insuring the quality of the legal services, especially in cases where the problems with the quality of the services being provided requires removal of a particular attorney from the case, vis-à-vis the right of self-organization of the lawyer etc.

References

Constitution of Georgia, 24/08/1995.

Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, 09/10.2009.

Law of Georgia on Legal Aid, 19/06/2017.

Law of Georgia on Advocates, 20/06/2001.

Code of Conduct for Lawyers in the European Union, 28/10.1988.

GBA Code of Professional Ethics for Lawyers, 15/04/2006.

Human Rights of European Convention, 04/11/1950.

Criminal Code of French, 01/03/1994.

Criminal Code of Bulgaria, 02/04/1968.

Criminal Code of Finland, 19/12/1889.

Akubardia I., Art of Protection, Tbilisi, 2011, 12 (in Georgian).

Kublashvili K., Baisic Rights, Tbilisi, 2003, 26 (in Georgian).

Suknidze N., How to make justice accessible for everyone, Part I, Tbilisi, 2003, 12, 98-99 (in Georgian).

Shubladze G., Mgebrishvili B., Tsotskolauri P., Baisis of Management, Tbilisi, 2008, 111 (in Georgian).

Batlain F., Women and Justice for the Poor: A History of Legal Aid, 1863-1945 (Studies in Legal History), Cambridge University Press, 2015, 15.

Essenburg T.J., New Faces of American Poverty, A Reference Guide to the Great Recession, ABC-CLIO, 2014., 464-466.

Laliashvili T., Fulfilment of the professional functions of defence council, criminal defence strategy and personal instructions of the defendant, Anniversary Collection, dedicated to Guram Nachkebia, ed., Todua N., Tbilisi, 2016, 104-109 (in Georgian).

E., Namoradze Z, Effective Criminal Defence in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Georgia, Lithuania, Ukraine), Legal Aid Reformers’ Network, Soros Foundation, 2012, 33, 47.

Hacohen M., District Public Defender for Jerusalem, Israel’s Office of Public Defender: Lessons from the Past, Plans for the Future, 2002, 4.

Hermelinski W., Country Report: Poland, Access to Legal Aid for Indigent Criminal Defendants in Central and Eastern Europe, Parker School Journal of Est European Law Vol. 5, 1998, 1-2, 7.

McCormack N., Peer Review and Legal Publishing: What Law Librarians Need to Know about Open, Single-Blind, and Double-Blind Reviewing (February 7, 2009), Law Library Journal, Vol. 101, №59, 2009.

Weaver R.L., Abramson L.W., Burkoff J.M., Hancock C., Principle of Criminal Procedure, 4th ed., 2012, 40, 41-63.

Bard K., Terzieva V., Legal Services for Indigent Criminal Defendants in Central and Eastern Europe, Parker School Journal of East European Law Vol. 5, 1998, 17.

Bazelon D.L., The Defective Assistance of Counsel, Vol. 42, 1973, 1, 18-19.

Open Society Justice Initiative, Legal Aid in Europe: Minimum requirements under international law, 2015, 13.

Criminal Justice System Reform Strategy, approved by Criminal Justice Reform Interagency Coordinating Council at the 24th Meeting, 12th of April, 2017, 80-90 (in Georgian).

Decision №20 of the 3rd April of 2015 of Legal Aid Council (in Georgian).

Decision №39 of the 2nd of March, 2016 of the Legal Aid Council “About Approval of the Rules and Criteria for Quality Assessment of Legal Aid provided by LEPL Legal Aid Service” (in Georgian).

Tbilisi City Court Order №1/168-13, June 21, 2013 (in Georgian).

Tbilisi Apeal Court Order №3/3094-16, May 5, 2016 (in Georgian).

Tbilisi Apeal Court Order №3B/1045-16, January 26, 2017 (in Georgian).

Constitutional complaint №870, February, 2017 (in Georgian).

Constitutional Court Order №1/4/870, April 7, 2017 (in Georgian).

Goddi v. Italy, [1984] ECHR (Ser. A.), 35.

Kamil Öcalan v. Turkey, [2006] ECHR (Ser. A.). 41.

Artico v. Italy, [1980] ECHR (Ser. A.), 33-34, 36.

Imbrioscia v. Switzerland, [1993] ECHR (Ser. A.), 275.

Kamasinski v. Austria, [1989] ECHR (Ser. A.), 168.

Czekalla v. Portugal, [2002] ECHR (Ser. A.), 65.

Daud v. Portugal, [1998] ECHR (Ser. A.), 38.

Lagerblom v. Sweden, [2003] ECHR (Ser. A.), 56.

Ebanks v. the United Kingdom, [2010] ECHR (Ser. A.), 73.

Orlov v. Russia, [2011] ECHR (Ser. A.), 108.

Bendenoun v. France, [1994] ECHR (Ser. A.), 61.

Efisio Pisano v. Italy, [2001] ECHR (Ser. A.), 23-24.

Artico v. Italy, [1980] ECHR (Ser. A.), 33.

Imbrioscia v. Switzerland, [1993] ECHR (Ser. A.), 41.

Stanford v. the United Kingdom, [1994] ECHR (Ser. A.), 28.

Kamasinski v. Austria, [1989] ECHR (Ser. A.), 66.

United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648 (1984), 666-667.

Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685 (2002).

Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S., 175, 190 (2004).

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S., 668 (1984).

Published

2017-12-31

How to Cite

Usenashvili, J. (2017). The Importance of Free Legal Aid Service Quality Control and the Basic Difficulties Associated with it. Journal of Law, (2). Retrieved from https://jlaw.tsu.ge/index.php/JLaw/article/view/2389

Issue

Section

Articles