There should be a set of common standards for provision of legal aid, the President said at the meeting, noting the need for qualified legal aid provided both as a paid service and for free.
Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov reported on a draft law contemplating two types of free legal aid. The first type covers professional legal aid, including representation of an individual’s interests in court, and the establishment of state legal aid centres, which are operating on an experimental basis in some regions. The second type of aid would give the public access to a broad range of free initial legal consultation services.
Taking part in the meeting were Chairman of the Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin, Presidential Aide and Head of the Presidential State Legal Directorate Larisa Brychyova, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Civil, Criminal, Arbitration and Procedural Law Pavel Krasheninnikov, and Presidential Adviser Veniamin Yakovlev.