With a view to promote systemic change through which poor and disadvantaged people and marginalized groups become able to use the law, the legal system, and legal services to protect their rights and interests, UNDP in partnership with the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) launched an initiative aimed to promote the development and improvement of a sustainable and effective system of primary legal aid at the local level. The cooperation is grounded in the shared understanding that effective implementation of Law of Ukraine "On free civil legal aid» adopted in 2011 is possible only through proactive collaboration between civil society and local authorities.

 

As part of this initiative, an open competition "Building sustainable system of primary legal aid" was announced on 16 September 2013. The objectives of the competition lie in 1) identifying and developing mechanisms of cooperation between civil society and local government to ensure more coordinated and effective action in developing a sustainable system of primary legal aid, and 2) piloting and testing optimal model for primary legal aid at the local level. The results of the joint competition generated a total of 35 applications submitted from different regions of Ukraine, where 6 CSOs have been pre-selected for the grant award. It is expected that the number of beneficiaries who will have received free legal services in six regions of Ukraine will reach no fewer than 7 000 people.