76216 RUSSIA – Strengthening Access to Justice: a JSDF Grant to Empower Vulnerable Groups Amit Mukherjee, Ljudmilla Poznanskaya, Anjum the ability of these vulnerable groups to access the justice Rosha, and Olga Schwartz system. Key Messages During the transition period, the Russian authorities made some efforts to provide free legal aid to the poor and  There is high unmet demand for legal aid services in vulnerable. However, legal aid centers were often Russia, particularly in rural and remote areas. underfunded and had inadequate capacity. Moreover, Nonstate actors can effectively and efficiently assist financial eligibility criteria to access legal aid, as well as the state in providing this much-needed legal restrictions on the types of cases in which such assistance assistance to the poor and vulnerable in these areas. could be granted, compounded the unavailability of any  A 2008 Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) kind of legal assistance, especially in rural areas and for grant was aimed at making the justice system in civil cases. Russia more accessible and accountable in two regions of the country, Leningrad Oblast and Perm In 2005, Russia established 10 state legal bureaus attached Krai. Among other results, the grant helped to the Ministry of Justice to provide legal aid for low- establish legal aid networks, juvenile rehabilitation income citizens. However, given the high demand for free programs, and public awareness campaigns. legal aid services, the capacity of these bureaus was found to be inadequate. It was also felt that public defenders, as  The activities and outcomes of the JSDF grant made employees of the state, may not be best placed to rigorously plain that local governments, partnering with and impartially defend citizens against the state. Moreover, appropriate nongovernmental organizations the legal bureaus did not effectively address the needs of (NGOs), can build on existing frameworks and juvenile offenders. At that time, civil society initiatives had capitalize on synergy, thus increasing the impact of limited capacity and resources to bridge the gap and address free legal aid and other assistance. the challenges faced by the poor and vulnerable.  Careful oversight helps to steer efforts in the right direction, and tailored interventions tend to have greater impact. A Challenging Environment Despite Russia’s strong economic growth, over 14 percent of its population, more than 20 million people, still live in poverty.1 One-parent families, the unemployed, pensioners, the disabled, and rural dwellers are especially disadvantaged and may be vulnerable to violations of their legal rights. The lack of awareness about legal rights, as well as the A legal aid center in Gatchina (Leningrad Oblast). difficulties in accessing professional legal advice, constrain 1 See World Bank, “Reinvigorating the Economy,� Russian Economic Report 28 (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012). ECA Knowledge Brief The JSDF Grant 3. Building Local Capacity for Rehabilitation of Juvenile Offenders (US$118,500): Methodologies were In 2008, the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) also developed to conduct socio-psychological evaluations provided a grant of US$1.98 million to help make the of juvenile offenders, and to establish means for their justice system in Russia more accessible and accountable to rehabilitation. Activities included training sessions and the poorest and most vulnerable groups in two regions of workshops for law enforcement agencies, courts, social the country, Leningrad Oblast and Perm Krai. The grant service professionals, and NGOs working with juvenile was strongly supported by the Embassy of Japan and offenders. Russian regional authorities, who were involved from conceptualization to completion. The grant piloted two 4. Evaluation and Grant Management models of legal aid in these two areas, and it launched a (US$192,000): The grant provided for the organization of collaborative initiative that enabled local executive and three workshops (on legal services for the poor, court judicial branch officials and nongovernmental organizations monitoring for fairness, and juvenile offenders) to review (NGOs) to work together to achieve common goals. the lessons learned and share the outcomes and good practices with other regions in Russia. Delivering Results The results delivered under the grant demonstrate policy impact as well as strong collaboration between state and nonstate actors. For most activities, the results exceeded targets. Free Legal Aid Provided: The JSDF grant established a A legal aid center in Kungur (Perm Krai). legal aid network in each region, with each network covering 10 remote rural districts within the region through The grant implementing agency was the Institute of Law a local legal aid center. Over 22 months, these 20 pilot local and Public Policy (ILPP), an autonomous and respected legal aid centers provided free assistance to 13,376 rural Moscow-based nonprofit organization. Subgrants were dwellers, of whom 513 were criminal defendants/victims. provided to two carefully selected regional NGOs: Citizens’ Watch (Leningrad Oblast) and Perm Regional Civic Chamber (Perm Krai). The components of the JSDF grant were: 1. Strengthening Access to Justice for the Poorest and Most Vulnerable (US$1,255,300): The grant provided for the establishment of legal aid networks in the Leningrad and Perm regions through which legal aid was provided to vulnerable groups. Activities included providing target groups with information about legal rights and about the kinds of legal aid services that were now available under the grant through the two local NGOs. ILPP Director Olga Sidorovich (at left) and project expert Dr. Vladimir Mazaev (at right) meeting with 2. Improving Treatment of Poor Litigants by representatives of Citizens’ Watch. Courts (US$307,000): A methodology was designed to monitor the fairness of court proceedings involving litigants Juvenile Rehabilitation: Participants developed juvenile from low-income groups, and volunteers were trained on rehabilitation and vocational support methodologies, trained the use of this methodology. Activities consisted of 222 professionals, held seven training seminars and two conducting case studies and interviews with justice system international conferences, and published and distributed 300 users, including litigants and practitioners, developing a copies each of the 12 manuals containing analytical material manual based on court monitoring activities, and holding and research prepared under the program. Direct consultations and dissemination seminars. beneficiaries included 448 juvenile offenders whose cases were tried by judges trained under the grant. ECA Knowledge Brief Public Awareness Campaigns: Activities financed by the international conference was also held, at which global grant included the development of information materials on practices in the provision of free legal aid were examined. both legal rights and the free legal aid services available, In the end, there were 28 publications under this JSDF grant and the wide dissemination of these materials to the target and a total of 10,000 copies distributed among interested groups in a number of ways, including through NGO professionals and target groups. websites, leaflets distributed in target neighborhoods, television broadcasts, and local newspapers. A Campaign Lessons Learned Manual was also developed and distributed to the target groups and key stakeholders. The demand for legal aid services is high, particularly in rural areas. The experiences of the JSDF grant confirm Judicial Monitoring: A criteria and methodology were that there is a high unmet demand for primary legal aid developed for monitoring the fairness of court proceedings, services among vulnerable groups in Russia and in the and 308 volunteers were trained in court monitoring. nonurban areas. Certain NGOs adopted the monitoring methodology as a part of civil society involvement in increasing the Nonstate actors can assist the state in providing legal accountability of courts. The grant activities included assistance. This JSDF grant piloted two contrasting models monitoring 1,600 hearings, conducting over 800 interviews of legal aid provision: through legal practitioners who were with justice system users (litigants and practitioners), and members of the Bar Association, as in Leningrad Oblast, examining 80 case studies. Focus groups were held and 46 and through mediators who were not professional Bar justices of the peace were surveyed. This was followed by Association members, as in Perm Krai. Both models of the preparation of a manual based on the results of the court legal aid demonstrated their viability. These results attest to monitoring activities, recommendations for improvement, the desirability of involving carefully selected nonstate and two seminars to promote discussion. The actors in the provision of primary legal aid alongside those recommendations were taken into account by regional representing the state. courts in their supervision of the lower courts. Partnering with appropriate NGOs builds on existing frameworks and capitalizes on synergy, thus increasing impact. Reputable NGOs – the ILPP, Citizens’ Watch, and the Perm Regional Civic Chamber – were relied on to reach target groups. These organizations have an excellent track record and were carefully selected for their promotion of the JSDF grant objectives. The ILPP is a leading national organization with strong policy advocacy capacity for legal reform. Both Citizens’ Watch and the Perm Regional Civic Chamber have experience and are well-suited to engage in legal aid advocacy, monitoring, and legal/judicial reform. A conference on legal aid held at the Ministry for Regional Development in 2009. Pictured are retired Constitutional Court Justice Tamara Morshchakova (center right) and Olga Sidorovich (center), both of the ILPP. Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building: There were 25 knowledge-sharing and training seminars on legal aid conducted under the grant, with wide participation from A representative of Citizens’ Watch meeting with a client. legal aid offices and clinics, justice sector professionals, welfare service professionals, and the media. An ECA Knowledge Brief The reach of these organizations and the participatory System (Law No. 324-FZ of 2011) was based partly on the approach used to harness the synergy that exists in their experience from this effort. Under this law, minimum goals helped the JSDF grant activities reach the intended qualitative standards for the provision of legal aid have been beneficiaries. raised, and categories of cases eligible for free legal assistance have been expanded. Feedback from the Collaboration between stakeholders contributes to implementation of the grant also helped convince Russian efficiency, impact, and possibly, sustainability. One of the authorities that nonstate actors could effectively participate outcomes of the project’s implementation was the close and in the provision of free legal aid alongside the state. collaborative relationship between key stakeholders, such as local executives, judges, social workers, and NGOs, that Today, under the new law, nonstate actors may now deliver was forged and that has bolstered efforts to create better legal aid services. Thus, human rights and nonprofit access to the justice system for the poor and vulnerable organizations, university legal clinics, and other groups. It is hoped that these relationships will also fortify nongovernmental actors now form part of the system of the sustainability of reform efforts in the longer term. legal aid in the Russian Federation. The new law also permits each region a degree of flexibility in implementing Careful oversight helps to steer in the right direction. the state-level policies on free legal aid. Regions can, in The composition of the Grant Management Council was designing their legal aid framework, use the two models carefully designed to include piloted under the JSDF grant as viable examples. “On the one hand, government officials and our project is experts, and the Council was This JSDF grant has yielded some promising results. satisfying the highly effective in providing However, the sustainability of the legal aid networks public demand for strategic oversight and established under the grant depends on ongoing support (free legal) guidance on implementation from the local authorities in each region. The assistance and on and in enhancing the credibility implementation of the new law will also need to be the other hand, it is of the grant activities. monitored to assess how effectively it bridges the policy helping the state and implementation gaps that it seeks to address. find the best means The implementing agency Nevertheless, all of the changes brought about as a result of of providing this plays a defining role. As the the grant-supported activities, including the law on legal implementing agency, the ILPP aid, improve the access of the poor and vulnerable to assistance.� played a key role in both needed legal assistance while easing the state’s resource and coordination and information capacity constraints in providing such aid. -Dr. Vladimir sharing on the ground, which Mazaev, Legal enabled the grant activities to About the Authors Expert be carried out in a targeted fashion and reach the intended Amit Mukherjee is a Lead Public Sector Specialist in the beneficiaries. The ILPP’s professionalism helped boost the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Sector Unit overall impact of the entire effort. of the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region of the World Bank, and chairs the ECA Justice Practice Group. Tailored interventions tend to have greater impact. The Ljudmilla Poznanskaya is a Senior Projects Officer in the grant activities were designed and tailored to address both Private and Financial Sector Development Unit of the the specific policy gaps and the particular needs of the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. target groups in each of the two regions. This focused Anjum Rosha is a consultant with the Business Regulation approach led to both high-quality implementation and high Unit of the International Finance Corporation. impact. Olga Schwartz is a consultant with the Poverty Reduction Influencing Change and Economic Management Sector Unit of the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. The grant from the JSDF has helped shape Russia’s legal aid policy – indeed, the Federal Law on the Legal Aid “ECA Knowledge Brief� is a regular series of notes highlighting recent analyses, good practices, and lessons learned from the development work program of the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region http://www.worldbank.org/eca