Legal Aid in Developing Countries
The IJM fulfills its mission in four stages: rescuing victims, returning home, restraining criminals and representing victims in court. In areas where the justice system is completely broken, IJM`s free legal aid makes the difference between a life of slavery and a life of freedom. Providing free legal aid to families living in extreme poverty would help them overcome these circumstances. Legal aid usually includes human rights education, advice in court proceedings and even representation in court. Legal aid is a key component of access to justice. It is also at the heart of the gender equality imperative and the overarching goal of the 2030 Agenda: leaving no one behind. Access to legal aid means access to justice for the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged. It is free and protects those who do not have the means to defend their rights in the criminal justice system: inmates, inmates or inmates; persons suspected, accused or accused of a criminal offence; and victims and witnesses. Legal aid helps these people navigate the justice system, which can be complicated and overwhelming. It has an impact on families and communities by helping to reduce the length of time suspects are detained, the number of wrongful convictions, the frequency of bribery and mismanagement of the justice system, as well as recidivism and victimization rates.
In times of crisis, access to legal aid is crucial to protect people`s rights, facilitate their access to basic services and ensure that States` implementation of emergency measures complies with international human rights standards. Studies in the United States have shown that free legal services are effective ways to improve the living conditions of low-income households. For example, a sharp decline in family violence, a crime related to low-income populations, was linked to the increased availability of civil justice services. As noted above, a private lawyer may appear before Chambers and the Appellate Body as a member of a party`s delegation. Private law firms are also often involved in the preparation of written submissions from parties to a panel or appellate body. This is important for developing country Members, as it can enable them to participate in dispute settlement proceedings, even if they lack staff with specific expertise in WTO dispute settlement.1 However, the use of private law firms is costly, particularly because specialized and experienced WTO lawyers are mostly based in the capitals of developed countries (for example). example, Washington, Brussels, Geneva, Paris and London). NGOs such as the International Justice Mission (IJM) try to intervene where developing country governments fail. IJM is a group of hundreds of human rights lawyers and law enforcement experts who have provided free legal assistance to 21 million people living in poverty facing extreme forms of violence.
In the Philippines, four-year collaboration with IJM has reduced child exploitation in commercial sex trafficking by 79%. The Advisory Centre operates primarily as a law firm specializing in WTO law. It provides legal services and training to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, as well as to all least-developed countries that are WTO members or candidate countries. Legal services can be divided into two categories. First, the Advisory Centre provides mutual legal assistance in WTO dispute settlement proceedings. This means that WTO Members must continue to participate throughout the dispute settlement process (e.g. by drafting documents for the DPO, making submissions to panels and the Appellate Body, and acting on behalf of these Members before panels and the Appellate Body). Since July 2001, the Advisory Centre has regularly represented developing country Members in WTO disputes. For these services, «clients» pay (reduced) rates of varying amounts, depending on the level of economic development and whether or not they are members of the advice centre. The WTO Secretariat assists all Members in settling disputes at their request, but provides additional legal advice and assistance to developing country Members. To this end, the Secretariat is required to provide a qualified legal expert from WTO technical cooperation services to any developing country Member that so requests (Article 27(2) of the ODA).
Nearly a million poor people who seek help with civil law problems are turned away for lack of resources. The justice gap represents the difference between the level of civil legal aid available and the level needed to meet the legal needs of low-income individuals and families. According to LSC`s 2017 report, Documenting the Justice Gap in America, of the approximately 1.7 million civil law issues for which low-income Americans seek LSC-funded legal aid, 1.0 million to 1.2 million (62% to 72%) received inadequate or no legal assistance. This means that out of 100 issues for customers served by LSC programs, between 62 and 72 of the issues are unable to get the help they need. Access to justice plays an important role in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, whose goal 16.3 of goal 16 is to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all. This is particularly important when a person`s fundamental rights to life and liberty are threatened. The first principle of the 1990 Basic Principles on the Role of Counsel states that «everyone has the right to be assisted by a lawyer of his or her choice to protect, assert and defend his or her rights at all stages of criminal proceedings». The Basic Principles also give government and the legal profession the responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to legal aid, regardless of their means or background, in order to protect the right to equality before the law. The Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, a department of the WTO Secretariat, currently employs one full-time staff member and two permanent part-time independent advisers. These experts shall assist the developing country Member in a manner that respects the continuing impartiality of the Secretariat (Article 27(2) of the DSU). Government studies consistently show that a higher percentage (80%) of the civilian needs of the eligible population are not met.
A recent study by the Boston Bar Association found that in Massachusetts, civil legal aid programs reject 64% of eligible cases. Nearly 33,000 low-income Massachusetts residents have been denied attorney assistance in vital eviction cases; Seizure; and family law, such as child abuse and domestic violence.