The Coordination Centre for legal Aid Provision was established in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 01.06.2012, № 374/2012 “On amendment and cessation of force of some Decrees of the President of Ukraine”.
The Regulation on the Coordination Centre was approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 06.06.2012 № 504 “On the Establishment of the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision and the Liquidation of the Centre for the Legal Reform and Drafting of Laws under the Ministry of Justice”.
In accordance with this Regulation, the purpose of the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision is to develop an effective free legal aid system in Ukraine, ensuring its accessibility and quality.
The main tasks of the Coordination Centre are:
1) organizational, expert-analytical, informational and material and technical support of the implementation of the powers of the Ministry of Justice in the field of free legal aid provision;
2) analysis of the administration of law practice in the field of free legal aid provision;
3) introduction of proposals to the Minister of Justice regarding the development and realisation of the state policy in the aforementioned area.
The Coordination Centre in accordance with the tasks assigned to it:
- collects, summarizes, analyses and disseminates legal, scientific and other information on the matters of legal aid provision;
ensures the continuous professional development of the lawyers involved in the free secondary legal aid provision in accordance with the legislation on free legal aid, employees of executive and local self-government bodies, as well as of the specialized agencies providing primary legal aid and of the staff of the centres for free secondary legal aid provision. Moreover, itorganises and conducts workshops, conferences, trainings, exhibitions, other activities, including international ones; - provides methodological and consulting support on the issues of free legal aid provision to executive and local self-government bodies, as well as to the specialized institutions established by them, and to the public reception offices for free primary legal aid provision, provides explanations on the application of legislation in the relevant field;
- contributes to the improvement of existing standards and to the implementation of new standards and procedures in the field of free legal aid provision in the light of world practice;
- ensures the implementation of modern information technologies in the field of free legal aid provision; ensures the conduction of scientific research and applied developments, in particular, preparation of Ukrainian and foreign legislation reviews on the issues of legal aid provision and practice of its application, dictionaries, reference books, collections, scientific and practical comments, methodological recommendations and manuals;
- ensures the establishment of printed media, publication and distribution of books, other printed materials, including chargeable, the production and placement of social advertising, the production, replication and distribution of video and audio products;
- ensures, on instructions of the Minister of Justice or his First Deputy, the preparation and implementation of state target and other programmes, including projects and international technical assistance programmes;
- ensures, in accordance with a decision of the Ministry of Justice, the establishment of centres for free secondary legal aid provision as its territorial departments;
- interacts with foreign and international organisations, as well as their representations in Ukraine on matters within its competence;
- interacts with public organisations for the purpose of collection, analysis, summarisation, consideration and exploitation of the best practices of free legal aid provision;
- ensures, within its authority and in accordance with international treaties, the consent to be bound by which was provided by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, monitoring of the activities of executive bodies on the implementation of the obligations assumed by Ukraine regarding free legal aid provision;
- performs other functions in accordance with the legislation.