The Federation Council of the Russian Federation: Dmitry Magonya spoke at the round table titled “The realization of constitutional guarantees for obtaining free qualified legal aid: practical aspects”
On 22 June 2017, the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction of the Federal Council of the Russian Federation hosted a round table titled “The realization of constitutional guarantees for obtaining free qualified legal aid: practical aspects.”
The round table discussed problems and solutions for imperfections in legal regulations, issues of interaction between various state authorities, as well as the level of accessibility of legal services and the need to improve their quality.
Alexander Bashkin, a member of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction of the Federal Council, moderated the event.
Yury Lyubimov, the state secretary and deputy minister of justice of the Russian Federation, Andrey Vladimirovich Suchkov, the executive vice president of the Federal Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, Veniamin Fedorovich Yakovlev, an adviser to the president of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Blinova, an auditor of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, presidents of regional Lawyers’ Chambers, and others were speakers at the event.
Dmitry Magonya, the managing partner of ART DE LEX and a member of Council of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers, delivered a presentation on free legal assistance. He stated that, “despite the fact that more than 30 percent of our citizens have the right to free legal aid, the actual availability of this service remains low. First, the awareness of citizens about their right to have free legal aid is limited. The state needs to take direct action, including social advertising, to increase public awareness. In addition, there are administrative barriers to entering the system. To confirm one’s status, a large number of documents are required, which hinders the effectiveness of the system and even discredits it.” He continued: “Thus, the actual availability of free legal aid suggests that increases in both the categories of citizens eligible to receive free aid and the amount of free legal aid provided are desirable. Such increases can take place without the risk of overloading the system. For example, the state can strengthen support for disabled people of Group III (those not eligible for free legal assistance) and large families.”
When commenting on the round table discussion, Dmitry Magonya noted that “the Federal Chamber of Advocates of the Russian Federation is active in various professional platforms to improve all aspects of legal services. In recent years, Russian advocates have stepped up their efforts to improve the quality of legal aid and to cooperate with other institutions of civil society. Participation in today’s event is a vivid example of that commitment!”
A photo-report from the event appears below
