STRENGTHENING THE LEGAL AID SERVICE IN TURKEY

Since September 2016, the Law Institute of Lithuania (LIL), together with partners from Lithuania, Spain and France, has been implementing “Strengthening the Legal Aid Service in Turkey”, an EU Twinning project with the goal of establishing a transparent and accessible legal aid system for all citizens in Turkey.

In implementing the project, experts from Lithuania, Spain and France are analysing the shortcomings and strengths of the current legal aid system in Turkey. They are also offering suggestions on how to improve legal regulation of the system and upgrade the financial administration of the legal aid system, and preparing a strategic plan for improving the Turkish legal aid system. Special attention in this project, based on the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, is being given to extending and guaranteeing the right to legal aid.

The LIL has been successfully implementing the EU Twinning Programme since 2015, contributing to the international commitments and foreign policy priorities coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania in the fields of justice as well as development cooperation and support for democracy. The LIL focuses on and participates in international projects aimed at developing and transferring advanced social and scientific innovations to other countries, thereby promoting their political and economic integration into the EU and domestic legal system reforms.

The project is being implemented by a consortium of Lithuania, Spain and France. Lithuania, which occupies the position of junior partner in the project, is being represented by the State-Guaranteed Legal Aid Service, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, the National Courts Administration, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania and the Law Institute of Lithuania. Activities are being managed by the Central Project Management Agency.

The project is funded by the European Commission, which has allocated nearly EUR 1.4 million.

Duration of the project: 2016-06–2018-06.