site.btaBulgarian Model of Legal Aid Presented to Romanian Experts

The Bulgarian model of legal aid was presented to magistrates, lawyers, and representatives of the Executive of Romania by Bulgarian caretaker Justice Minister Maria Pavlova on Friday, her ministry said in a press release. The presentation was made within a conference on good practices and challenges in the regulation, organization, and provision of legal aid, organized by the National Legal Aid Bureau.

Also attending the event were Deputy Justice Minister Spaska Kincheva, National Legal Aid Bureau head Nataliya Ilieva, Supreme Bar Council head Ivaylo Dermendzhiev, State Secretary at the Romanian Justice Ministry George Serban, Catalin Popescu, Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Prosecutor's Office with Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice, Emanuela Antonescu, member of the Permanent Committee of the National Association of Romanian Bars, George Moloman, Council member of the National Association of Romanian Bars, and Prof Dan Oancea, head of Romania's National Institute for Training and Qualification of Lawyers.

Ilieva said the forum was aimed at acquainting their Romanian colleagues with the functions of the National Legal Aid Bureau, which organizes and controls the provision of legal aid. She made a detailed presentation of the legal framework on legal aid in Bulgaria.

Presenting the Bulgarian legal aid model, caretaker Justice Minister said: "When we talk about equal access to justice, the focus is on disadvantaged people, those with low incomes and people from vulnerable groups, whose main defender should be the State. It is precisely the State that has the obligation to fund legal aid, as is the leading principle in the European Union." In her words, the State remains actively committed to the improvement of legal aid's efficiency. The latest legislative changes have broadened the circle of people entitled to legal aid, introduced legal aid in out-of-court proceedings, and eased the conditions for legal counsel and consultations, the Minister explained.

Dermendzhiev said that legal aid in Bulgaria has an exceptionally strong presence within the international legal community. "We are among the few countries in Europe where the law is relatively well regulated," he noted.

Prof Oancea explained that in Romania, legal aid is provided based on a memorandum between the bars, the magistracy, and the Justice Minister. The Bulgarian system offers solutions to some of the issues with legal aid in Romania.