08.04.2007
The Kyiv Declaration on the Right to Legal Aid
Conference on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through
Provision of Legal Services
Best Practices from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe
Kyiv, Ukraine
27-30 March 2007
115 delegates from twenty-five countries, among them Government
representatives, legal aid practitioners, academics, and
representatives from human rights, legal advocacy, and legal and
justice sector reform organisations, met in Kyiv, Ukraine, between
27-30 March, 2007, to discuss and identify best practices in the
protection and promotion of human rights through the provision of
legal services. The Kyiv Declaration on the Right to Legal Aid, set
forth below, was adopted by consensus at the conclusion of the
conference, with a request that it be forwarded to national
governments, to legal aid bodies and organisations, public and
private, at national level, and to relevant national and multilateral
bodies engaged in developing or implementing policies and programmes
addressing legal aid, access to justice and rule of law.
Preamble
Recalling that governments have the primary responsibility to
recognise and give effect to international human rights standards;
Recognising that many governments fall short of these standards;
Bearing in mind that access to justice in criminal, civil,
administrative and other fields of law depends on the recognition of
and compliance with international human rights standards;
Noting that in many countries the government and law enforcement
agencies are feared and mistrusted;
Recognising that people in the legal systems of many states are denied
access to justice and are ignorant about their human and legal rights
and procedures;
Considering that a legal aid system is a public good that is the
common property of all members of society, that the promise of justice
for all can only be realised when its rules and operation are
understandable and accessible to all, and that the provision of legal
aid is a vital element in this regard;
Aware that the provision of legal aid will promote access to justice;
Noting that legal aid achieves societal benefits including the
elimination of unnecessary detention, speedy processing of cases, fair
and impartial trials and dispute resolution, the reduction of prison
populations, the lowering of appeal rates, decreased reliance on a
range of social services, the advancement of social and economic
rights, and greater social harmony;
Understanding that legal aid encompasses the provision to a person,
group or community, by or at the instigation of state or non-state
actors, of legal information, education, advice, assistance,
representation and advocacy and mechanisms for alternative dispute
resolution;
Mindful of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers;
Welcoming the practical measures to realise access to justice through
the provision of legal aid that have been taken in many countries;
Respecting governments' need to ration and allocate available
resources according to need, and that each country has its own
capabilities and needs when consideration is given to what kind of
legal aid systems to employ;
Noting the growing incidence of partnerships among governments,
nongovernmental organisations, civil society organisations, business
corporations and the international community in developing legal aid
programs;
Observing that in many countries there are not enough lawyers,
resources and mechanisms to provide the legal aid services required to
ensure access to justice;
Acknowledging that traditional and community-based alternatives to
formal legal processes have the potential to resolve disputes without
acrimony, to restore social cohesion within the community, and to
develop self-reliance within communities;
The Participants of the Conference on the Protection and Promotion of
Human Rights through Provision of Legal Services - Best Practices
from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, Kyiv, Ukraine 27-30 March 2007,
hereby declare the importance of:
1. Recognising and supporting the right to legal aid in the justice
system
Legal aid is a right and governments are obliged to implement
sustainable, quality controlled, legal aid programs that deliver legal
aid services without discrimination to all people in their
jurisdictions, subject only to a transparent and reviewable assessment
of need, and with special attention to women and vulnerable groups,
such as indigent people, children, young people, the elderly, persons
with disabilities, persons living with HIV/AIDS, the mentally and
seriously ill, asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons,
stateless persons, foreign nationals, prisoners, and other persons
deprived of their liberty.
2. Providing legal aid at all stages of the justice process
A legal aid program must include legal advice and assistance at all
stages of the criminal, civil and administrative process.
3. Sensitising all government officials
Governments are obliged to make public officials aware of the crucial
role that legal aid plays in both ensuring access to justice and
achieving desirable societal goals, and to educate and train them in
procedures necessary to ensure that the right to legal aid is provided
at all stages of criminal, civil and administrative proceedings.
4. Viewing legal aid as one means of ensuring a justice system that is
accessible and available to all
Governments are obliged to ensure that legal information is available
regarding administrative, civil and criminal matters and to this end
public servants are obliged to inform and explain substantive and
procedural aspects of legal matters to all members of the public.
5. Cooperating with other stakeholders and the public
Governments should establish cooperative arrangements with a wide
range of stakeholders - such as non-governmental organisations,
community-based organisations, religious and non-religious charitable
organisations, professional bodies and associations and academic
institutions - and ensure effective public participation in the
formulation of legal aid policies, programs and legislation.
6. Recognising the right to redress for violations of human rights
Legal aid should be available to all people without discrimination who
seek legal redress for violation of their human rights, including for
violations by any organ of state.
7. Recognising the role of non-formal means of conflict resolution
Governments and all stakeholders should recognise the significance of
traditional and community-based alternatives to formal legal
processes, and should provide support for such mechanisms provided
that they conform to human rights norms.
8. Diversifying legal aid delivery systems
Governments should consider a variety of service delivery options such
as government funded public defender offices, judicare programmes,
justice centres, law clinics, as well as partnerships with civil
society and faith-based organisations.
9. Diversifying legal aid service providers
Governments should consider appropriate alternatives to the use of
lawyers through the provision of complementary legal and related
services by non-lawyers such as lay advocates, law students,
paralegals, legal assistants, and other service providers.
10. Encouraging pro-bono provision of legal aid by lawyers
Support for and involvement in the provision of legal aid should be
recognised as an important duty of the legal profession which should,
through the organised bar and law schools, provide moral, ethical,
professional and logistical support to those providing legal aid,
especially through pro-bono legal aid services. Governments should
promote an enabling environment for private practitioners to provide
pro-bono services and ensure competitive rates of remuneration.
11. Guaranteeing sustainability of legal aid
Governments should make appropriate fiscal, budgetary and operational
arrangements for a sustainable legal aid program, including for the
provision of a broad range of legal aid services, establishment of
infrastructure, an independent, cost-effective, professional and
quality driven case management system, and with the ability to satisfy
the needs of the community in the long term.
12. Promoting legal literacy through legal education and advocacy
Governments should ensure that human rights education and legal
literacy programmes are conducted in educational institutions and in
non-formal sectors of society, particularly for vulnerable groups such
as children, young people, and the urban and rural poor. Governments
are encouraged to ensure that human rights and legal documents are
translated and made widely available. International and regional
bodies are encouraged to make available human rights documentation in
relevant languages.
13. Ensuring access to justice in programmes of assistance to justice
systems in developing and transitional countries
Governments and multilateral donors should ensure that programmes of
assistance to justice systems in developing and transitional countries
include the provision of legal aid information and other measures to
further access to justice, particularly among the poor and vulnerable,
in a sustainable way.
14. Guaranteeing a secure environment for the provision of legal aid
Governments should ensure that there is an enabling environment for
the provision of legal aid services, including protection for lawyers
and all other service providers from harassment, intimidation and
other threats to their safety and security.
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