Why should this topic matter to us?

Ensuring quality and comprehensive legal aid services, along with effective protection of rights, is crucial for fostering a sense of inclusion in the legal system for all segments of society.

Our comment:

Given existing barriers and limited resources, ethnic minorities are more susceptible to being excluded from free legal support services, heightening their vulnerability further.

What should we be aware of?

Since 2007, Georgia's free legal aid service has provided consultations on any legal matter to anyone, alongside drafting legal documents and representing clients in court in some cases.

What's the situation in regions inhabited by ethnic minorities?

• Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli regions have bureaus in Akhaltsikhe and Rustavi, offering full legal support to several municipalities.
• While counseling centers are present in municipalities, their services are limited to legal advice only.
• It's noteworthy that counseling centers in Gardabani, Bolnisi, and Tetritskaro were established only in 2023, prior to which the local population had limited physical access to nearby free legal services.
• Meanwhile, the Marneuli counseling center has been non-operational for several months due to a lack of a consultant.

Legislative Barriers:

Physical/territorial access to the service is important but insufficient. While anyone can receive advice, issues arise regarding document preparation and court representation. For instance:

• Document drafting in civil and administrative cases is tied to social status, specifically insolvency. Representation further depends on the complexity and importance of the case.
• There are exceptions where representative appointments don't require meeting either of these prerequisites, though they fail to fully address the real legal needs of the population.
• Problems faced by the local population, according to information from the Rustavi Legal Aid Bureau and Akhalkalaki Counseling Centers, mainly pertain to bank debts, divorce and alimony matters, and land registration issues. Representation in such cases necessitates the individual being insolvent and the case being important and complex.

Besides legislative barriers, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli regions encounter challenges due to insufficient resources and infrastructure, such as overcrowded bureaus, limited number of lawyers, and transportation issues for both lawyers assigned from bureaus to different municipalities and the population seeking broader legal support from other centers.

This article is produced under project “Increasing Public Resilience in Ethnic Minority Regions through Access to Information and Analysis,” funded by a grant from the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) with the support of the UK Government. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of IWPR or the UK Government.”