Government adopts bill on free legal aid

The Serbian government adopted at Thursday's session the Bill on free legal aid, which aims to provide citizens with lower income with equal access to justice.

This law will provide free legal support to everyone, which, according to previous estimates, is about 80% of the total need for free legal aid.

The proposal of this law for the first time introduces systematic free legal aid into the legal framework of the Republic of Serbia, which will also enable the control of the quality of providing legal assistance.

The bill adopted assumes that providers of free legal aid receive remuneration for the services provided from the state budget of the Republic of Serbia, as well as through various donations and project financing.

It is also envisaged that free legal aid be provided by lawyers and legal aid services in local self-government units.

Citizens' associations were recognised for the first time as providers of free legal aid.

Today the government also adopted the Bill on amendments to the Law on execution of non-custodial sentences and measures, which will contribute to better effects of alternative forms of punishment of perpetrators of crimes, improve efficiency in the work of the Trust Service and, as a final result, ensure a better performance of professional work.