Legal clinics and civil society organisations authorised to provide primary legal aid play a pivotal role in ensuring access to justice and effectively safeguarding human rights in accordance with European standards. In the efforts to advance access to equal justice in North Macedonia, around 20 law students attended the first cascade training for legal clinics on “Provision of free legal aid (FLA) in North Macedonia”. Supported by the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and in close co-operation with the Legal Clinic at the Faculty of Law in Shtip, the students strengthened their capacities with relevant knowledge and tools for providing free legal aid.
The importance of preparing law students to contribute to the overall legal aid system in North Macedonia and their essential role in the activity of legal clinics was emphasised during the opening remarks by Olga Koshevaliska, Dean of the Faculty of Law in Shtip, and Milica Shutova, Head of the Legal Clinic in Shtip. They highlighted the clinics' work, where students engage with real cases, showcasing the mutual benefits: providing valuable legal assistance to individuals facing real legal challenges and offering students a hands-on learning experience to enhance their practical legal skills.
A special panel was dedicated to legal aid for victims of crime and human trafficking organised in co-operation with the EU and Council of Europe action “Strengthening anti - trafficking action in North Macedonia. Irena Zdravkova, Council of Europe consultant, informed the participants about the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings of the Council of Europe and its monitoring body – the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. In addition, they learned about the recently established State Commission on Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes, and about the procedure to claim a state compensation for trafficking victims.
Throughout the training, participants strengthened their skills through practical exercises and case studies on various free legal aid topics. This approach ensured that the students could apply theoretical concepts to real-life scenarios effectively. They enhanced their knowledge about primary and secondary legal aid, as well as legal aid to victims of domestic and gender-based violence and cases where children are involved.
The trained trainers, Ivona Shushak Lozanovska (Head of the legal clinic in Bitola) and Andrijana Markovska (representative of an authorised CSO) demonstrated their newly acquired skills from the ToT program held in April 2024, working under the expert mentorship of two local consultants.
This training session is organised with the support of the action “Towards a consolidated and more efficient Free Legal Aid (FLA) system in North Macedonia” which is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.
