21.12.2024 | 15:18
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NLAC

National Legal Aid Council

The main body administering the legal aid system is the National Legal Aid Council (NLAC or National Council) and its Territorial Offices. Ministry of Justice is the policy making body in the field. The Bar Association cooperates with the NLAC for ensuring the delivery of legal aid.

NLAC’s activity is regulated by the Regulation on National Legal Aid Council, approved by the Minister of Justice order nr. 18 of 24.01.2008, published in MO nr. 21-24/49 of 01.02.2008.

National Council’s Structure

National Council is a collegial body with the status of a legal person of public law, formed of 7 members and established with the purpose of administrating the process of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid.

Members of the National Council:

  • 2 members appointed by the Ministry of Justice,
  • 2 members appointed by the Bar Association,
  • 1 member appointed by the Ministry of Finance,
  • 1 member appointed by the Supreme Council of Magistrates,
  • 1 member chosen from the nongovernmental sector or academia.

As member of the National Council can be appointed a person that holds a degree in law or economy (in the case of the member delegated by the Ministry of Finances), has a 5-year working experience in the respective field and enjoys high respect from behalf of the society. The members of the National Council shall have a 4-year mandate, which can be renewed only once.

The membership of the National Council ends with the expiry of the mandate, upon request or in case of death. The membership of the National Council can be revoked by the nominating body which delegated the representative, in circumstances that exclude the possibility to execute his or her mandate or upon request of the Council adopted by a 2/3 majority from the number of the members, in case of failure to fulfill or inappropriate fulfillment of his or her functions. The new member of the National Council carries out the functions of the revoked member until the expiry of the mandate.

The Chairman of the National Council ends with the expiry of the mandate, upon request or in case of death. The membership of the National Council can be revoked by the nominating body which delegated the representative, in circumstances that exclude the possibility to execute his or her mandate or upon request of the Council adopted by a 2/3 majority from the number of the members, in case of failure to fulfill or inappropriate fulfillment of his or her functions. The new member of the National Council carries out the functions of the revoked member until the expiry of the mandate.

The technical and material assistance of the National Council are ensured from the state budget and other sources that are not prohibited by law.

The Secretary and necessary measures for implementing the National Council’s tasks are ensured by the administrative board, which includes the executive director of the NLAC, 1 adviser and 2 consultants.

The Executive Director shall be appointed by National Council for the duration of 5 years. Executive’s Director mandate can be prolonged only once. Selection mode and procedure of the contest is determined by the National Council.

Current members of the National Council

Current members of the National Council:

  • Victor ZAHARIA – chairman, representative of the nongovernmental sector and academia;
  • Mihai LUPU – appointed by the Bar Association;
  • Iulian PACIURCA - appointed by the Bar Association;
  • Victor MICU - appointed by the Supreme Council of Magistrates;
  • Natalia BORDIANU - appointed by the Ministry of Justice;
  • Tatiana TVERDUN - appointed by the Ministry of Justice;
  • Ludmila DIMITRISIN - appointed by the Ministry of Finance.

Structure of administrative board of National Council:

  • Lilian DARII - executive director;
  • Aurelia PALAMARCIUC - adviser;
  • Dina CONDREA - consultant;
  • Maria BAHMUTEANU - consultant;
  • Olga PATÎCA - consultant;
  • Galina CUZA - chief accountant.

National Council’s Competence

In the state guaranteed legal aid field National Council has following main functions:

  1. conducts the process of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid;
  2. assesses the costs, plans the expenditures related to the delivery of state guaranteed legal aid and submits proposals to the Ministry of Justice to be included in the state budget;
  3. manages the budgetary funds allocated for the purposes of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid;
  4. establishes the rules on organizing the contests for the selection of the coordinators of the territorial offices and organizes such contests;
  5. develops the methodology of calculating the income, determines the level that allows the delivery of qualified legal aid and proposes them to the Government for approval;
  6. approves the forms of the acts for obtaining and delivering of state guaranteed legal aid, provided by the present law;
  7. develops and approves the criteria for the selection of the lawyers for delivering of qualified state guaranteed legal aid, in coordination with the Bar Association;
  8. determines how the contests for the selection of the lawyers, who will deliver qualified state guaranteed legal aid will be held and organizes such contests;
  9. establishes the method and the conditions for the remuneration of persons that deliver state guaranteed legal aid, ensures their remuneration;
  10. establishes and revises periodically the standards of activities and professional training of lawyers, paralegals, as well as other categories of people, who deliver state guaranteed legal aid;
  11. develops, in coordination with the Bar Association, the criteria for assessing the quality of state guaranteed legal aid;
  12. monitors the process of delivering of qualified state guaranteed legal aid, organizes the process of evaluating the quality of state guaranteed legal aid delivered by authorized persons;
  13. collects and analyzes the information on state guaranteed legal aid delivered, with the view to improve the functioning of the system of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid;
  14. other functions in the state guaranteed legal aid field, according to the legislation in force.

National Council’s tasks:

  1. implementation of the policy in the field of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid;
  2. insurance of the initial and continuous training, including through the National Institute of Justice, of the persons involved in the system of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid;
  3. compilation of the practice of implementation and development of the recommendations for the purpose of ensuring the uniform enforcement of the present law;
  4. record keeping of persons, who deliver state guaranteed legal aid;
  5. insurance of the functioning of the territorial offices;
  6. drafting annual reports on the activities in the system of delivering of state guaranteed legal aid and their submission to the Ministry of Justice, the Government and the Parliament;
  7. submission by the Ministry of Justice of the quarterly report on the use of the financial means allocated for the delivery of state guaranteed legal aid;
  8. cooperation with foreign organizations, international and non-governmental organizations, which are involved in the field of state guaranteed legal aid;
  9. insurance of the implementation of the pilot-models for delivering of state guaranteed legal aid.

National Council’s activity:

National Council holds sessions, working meetings and monitoring visits of the territorial offices or legal aid providers, as well as other forms of activity.

National Council’s sessions are ordinary and extraordinary. The National Council is summoned in ordinary sessions once a trimester. The agenda of the ordinary session is approved by the Chairman. The materials and agenda for the ordinary session are sent by the secretary with at least 5 days prior to the session. The members of the National Council can propose amendments to the session’s agenda, which are discussed at the beginning of the session. The decision for amending the agenda is taking by the majority of the present members. extraordinary sessions can be hold at the request of the Chairman of the National Council, of at least 1/3 of its members and of the Minister of Justice. In this case the members will be informed about the agenda with 3 days in advance. In exceptional cases the term of 3 days may not be respected.
The sessions of the National Council are headed by the Chairman. If the Chairman is absent, the session is headed by a member delegated by the Chairman or, if needed, by a member selected at the session. The works of each session of the National Council are recorded in session’s protocol, which is drafted within 5 days from the session and is signed by the members present at the sessions and the secretary.

The sessions of the National Council are deliberative, if the majority of members are present. The decisions of the National Council are adopted with the majority vote of its members, are signed by the Chairman and the Secretary of the session, and are published on the webpage of the National Council. The members that have a different opinion can annex a separate opinion to the decision. The National Council’s decisions are mandatory for the Territorial Offices, the paralegals, lawyers that provide legal aid and other legal aid providers.

Territorial Offices of the National Council:

The territorial offices of the National Council (hereinafter referred to as the territorial offices) are institutions with a status of legal persons of public law and work in the cities (municipalities) where the courts of appeal are located: Chisinau, Balti, Cahul, Comrat, Bender (Causeni). The territorial offices ensure the delivery of state guaranteed legal aid, in the cities (municipalities) where the courts of appeal are.

The Territorial Offices carry out the following functions:

  1. organize delivering of state guaranteed legal aid; conclude contracts with lawyers included in the lists of persons, delivering state guaranteed legal aid;
  2. examine the requests and documents submitted by persons, who request state guaranteed legal aid and adopt decisions regarding the delivery of such aid;
  3. delegate lawyers, who will deliver qualified legal aid, including emergency legal aid; conclude cooperation agreements with paralegals and non-governmental organizations that deliver state guaranteed legal aid;
  4. collect statistical data on the needs in state guaranteed legal aid and on the level of their coverage in the territory;
  5. exercise other functions in accordance with the legal aid law.

The activity of ensuring the delivery of qualified legal aid is carried out directly by the coordinator of the territorial office, selected and delegated by the National Council on the basis of a contest organized in the established way.

Territorial Offices’ activity is regulated by the Regulation of the Territorial Offices of the National Legal Aid Council, approved by the NLAC Decision nr. 15 of 30.07.2008, published in MO nr. 160-161/463 of 22.08.2008.