Since November , over citizens have received pro-bono legal aid services at the Pro-Bono Legal Clinic in the capital of Armenia. Inside the School of Advocates in Yerevan, a queue of people is waiting. The general mood is one of calm, but apprehension is also in the air.
Legal aid in Armenia, as in many places, can be highly costly. For large families, single households with children, the elderly and the unemployed, affording just one sitting of legal advice — never mind the full range of services provided by lawyers — is usually a challenge.
Which explains the line of people on the second floor of the School of Advocates — where the Pro-Bono Legal Clinic is to be found. Today, several lawyers are sitting at tables attentively listening to people presenting their documents and their cases.
When discreetly asked about the service provided here, one man waiting in line gladly offers his opinion. Seated in front of two lawyers, a family is weighing up its options with regard to extraditing a relative who is currently serving a prison term in another country.
It sounds like a very complex case. Another person is trying to make sense out of the legal guarantee that she had lightheadedly given to a relative, now faced with financial penalties. An elderly person is experiencing problems with his real estate because some family members are challenging the ownership rights. The Pro-Bono Legal Clinic, well known here in Yerevan and far beyond, provides a glimmer of hope for people throughout the country. Since November , over citizens have received pro-bono legal aid services in the capital, while about citizens living in remote towns and villages have also received assistance — thanks in part to service delivery made available through the World Bank operated IDF Grant Project on the Strengthening of Training Capacity of the School of Advocates.
