Haiti - Justice : New law on the legal assistance of the most deprived
In order to improve the access of the poorest to justice in Haiti, a new law on legal assistance (83 articles, voted on September 10th), aimed at making justice accessible, improve the understanding of the law, prevent conflict and promote the settlement of disputes was published in the special issue #20 of the official journal Le Moniteur and came into effect.
It is the National Council of Legal Assistance (CNAL), a public body headquartered in Port-au-Prince that will ensure its application through its legal assistance offices (BAL) deconcentrated in the 10 departments of the country.
Remember that legal assistance is available and free to anyone regardless of nationality, gender, age and other considerations, as stipulated in Article 12: "Legal assistance is granted, on request, to all persons in precarious economic or financial situation according to the provisions of the internal regulations of the BAL." This new law also aims, through awareness raising, to inform people about their rights and to refer them to bodies or agencies responsible for the implementation of these rights.
Several agencies, including the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC), the Special Assistance Program Justice Sector Strengthening Program (JSSP) / Haiti, the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID - Haiti) and the United Nations Mission in Support of Justice (Minujush) provided technical and financial support for the development of this law on legal assistance.
