Improving Access to Legal Services
UN agencies have established a legal support website in Tashkent, in order to help the city’s residents obtain the legal advice and support they require. While a number of legal clinics are currently operating in the city, staffed by law students with the support of the UNDP and their academic institutions, they lack the resources and techniques needed to address the needs of their clients. The website, created by UNDP and UNV and run by pro-bono legal clinicians, is designed to better process the individuals seeking legal aid while offering basic information designed to limit the number of clients requiring appointments.
The need for this website became apparent while the UNDP and UNV were working with the legal clinics within the Good Governance program. It was determined that while the clinics offered important services to their communities, their limited resources made it difficult for them to address their client’s needs. A primary concern was that the clinics relied on out-dated paperwork systems, which meant that prioritising clients was a difficult task. UNDP consequently decided to develop a method that could be used to streamline the client registration process. UNV Programme Officer Marc Liberati said the obvious solution to this problem was the creation of a website, to be run by the legal clinics in support of their clients.
“We thought the website would be great, as it would not only enhance the clinic’s impact but would also make it more efficient, more open, more transparent and more available to people who need services,” he said. “If people have access to the website then they will know about the clinics, they can talk about them and can tell their neighbours. The website can also help the people running the clinics, because by using this website the people who need legal services can automatically register online and use a standard information form to register their complaints. All of this information can be contained within a computerised database, a system that will benefit both the clients and the staff of the legal clinics.” It is recognised that there are individuals who may not have access to the internet, but the online service still represent a significant step in the right direction.
On a basic level, the legal website provides a registration system for the legal clinics. Clients are able to sign up on the website and join an electronic ‘queue’. The legal staff at the clinics are then able to review the incoming registrations, contact clients whose problems can be addressed, and then arrange appointments as necessary. The website also serves as a legal resource for visitors, offering basic information which can allow them to solve their own problems. The website also explains what the legal clinics can and cannot do, thereby maximising the number of registrations that can actually be addressed. All these features allow the legal clinics to run as smoothly and effectively as possible. While the website was originally set up by UNDP, it is now entirely run and maintained by the legal clinics.
While the website and legal clinics are designed to directly benefit individuals who require legal advice, they can also provide law students with a unique form of professional experience. It is an all-to-common perception among future lawyers that the profession is all about large paychecks at the end of the day, but it is that law students will develop a greater sense of social responsibility by running legal clinics and the website. “Working for the service will be a good opportunity for students, an exposure that will hopefully lead to a life-long commitment,” Mr Liberati said “We hope that they will remember the experience during their future careers, and that they will think about giving back to their communities. Students should see that the law is ultimately about one core idea; to ensure justice while protecting the weakest members of society.”
The website represents a budget project supported by Programme Officers Empower Mechanism (POEM) Funding. While the website itself is an effective investment costing less than $1,000 US, it also provides an opportunity for the UNDP and UNV to investigate other potential uses of technology in promoting awareness of justice procedures. One particularly promising idea could be the use of SMS, which has been proven to be able to spread information at an unprecedented speed.
The legal website established by the UNDP represents one way that the organisation is supporting community services in Uzbekistan.