On Wednesday, July 1, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk took part in the opening ceremony of the first Kyiv local center of free secondary legal aid.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk has informed that from today one hundred centers of free legal aid will operate across Ukraine. They will provide the legal services, particularly for low income citizens, orphans and their trustees, ATO participants, families of fallen soldiers and veterans.

The Prime Minister says that the Cabinet has allocated about UAH300 million on this project.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, till today these centers provided legal assistance just in criminal cases, and from now the relevant categories of people will be able to receive the legal services and lawyer service in civil and administrative cases as well.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the project: "People should have the right to defense, and this right should be guaranteed by the state. The state actually finances lawyers who will plead including with the authorities - the central or local authorities, state bodies."

Arseniy Yatsenyuk has stressed that such centers will help people "who need justice in the Ukrainian courts, in their struggle against lawlessness, for the rights and justice that today should be the basic idea of a new Ukrainian society."

"A person should know that these guarantees are not just words on paper, but they are accepted - through legal aid, when professional advocates and lawyers will help a low-income person who previously did not have actual access to justice, protect his/her rights either in court, or in any other public bodies."

Arseniy Yatsenyuk has appreciated the Government of Canada, which joined the program. Under a four-year project "Affordable and high quality legal assistance in Ukraine", the Canadian government allocated 9 million Canadian dollars "as additional help to make the free legal aid program operate."

The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Justice of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine Roman Vashchuk.

The PM has congratulated Roman Vashchuk on Canada Day, which is celebrated today.

Background information

There will be 3 to 7 centers providing free legal assistance in every region. More than 5,000 lawyers, selected in open competitions, will provide advice service and defend civil and administrative cases in courts, including against the state.

Centers will provide services of free legal aid to 8 million Ukrainians.