Vilnius, January 20, 2005—Lithuania's parliament today adopted a law establishing a professional, nationwide system of legal aid delivery in criminal and civil cases. The new law follows a long reform process, spearheaded by Lithuania's Ministry of Justice and Bar Association, and supported by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the Open Society Fund - Lithuania.
The law creates a coordinating council and legal aid service centers under the Ministry of Justice, to manage and oversee legal aid delivery around the country. The new system simplifies eligibility criteria to receive legal representation and also provides for one hour's free legal advice for all.
The law introduces a corps of fulltime legal aid lawyers in five cities across the country to practice alongside private lawyers, currently the sole providers of aid services. The system until now, whereby all aid lawyers are appointed ex officio by the Bar Association, lacked transparency and accountability and provided little incentive for lawyers to deliver real and effective defense in the interests of indigent defendants.