Georgia’s Legal Aid Service opens renovated premises in Tbilisi, launches new webpage

Georgian state officials, EU and UNDP heads attended the opening ceremony of the new headquarters. Photo from the Parliament of Georgia press office.
Agenda.ge, 31 Jan 2018 - 16:35, Tbilisi,Georgia

The Legal Aid Service of Georgia, which assists over 30,000 people annually, has opened renovated administrative premises in Tbilisi and launched a new website to provide better services to legal aid beneficiaries and lawyers.

The Legal Aid Service is a state-funded legal aid provider and is accountable to the Parliament of Georgia.

The opening of the Legal Aid Service administrative office in Tbilisi and its new website completed the renovation cycle which included 12 Legal Aid Service bureaus and 7 consultation centres all over Georgia.

Most of this work has been accomplished with support from the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), under the wider EU-funded programme EU4Justice.

The Legal Aid Service assists over 30,000 people every year and is the largest legal aid provider in Georgia. With the renewed facilities in place, it is now fully equipped to offer high quality service to its beneficiaries and effective support to lawyers”, Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgian Parliament Speaker, said.

Meliton Benidze, Legal Aid Service director, stated that state-funded legal support to the vulnerable is an integral part of the right to justice and fair trial. He also noted increased opportunities created by the new infrastructure.

Our new administrative premises ensure effective support for lawyers, such as training, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic development. The new website provides user-friendly information to all legal aid beneficiaries, including language minority groups and people with disabilities,” he said.

Speaking at the opening of the Legal Aid Service headquarters, Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, reiterated EU’s continued support to reforming and developing the system of justice in Georgia.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Kobakhidze, Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia; and Niels Scott, Head of UNDP in Georgia, attended the opening of the Legal Aid Service headquarters late yesterday.