Legal Aid Center for the people who suffered from military invasion National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine and State Higher Educational institution “Uzhhorod National University”

Military invasion by Russian federation hit all the spheres of Ukrainians life. The amount of  IDPs (Internally displaced person)  and those who need qualified legal aid is increasing.  The challenges  dictating  the realities of nowadays give us clear insight about importance to support working rhythm and provide qualified legal services.

That is why the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine and State Higher Educational institution “Uzhhorod National University” created Legal Aid Center for those people who suffered from military invasion with an aim to promote the implement of state policy in the field of legal support of people who suffered from military invasion and who are induced to look for safe shelter around  and beyond the territory of Ukraine.

The given Center has been generated  by law department of UzhNU voluntarily and free of charge, and its main function is directed to organizational and advisory support of victims who suffered from military invasion by Russian federation.

Thus the main tasks of the so-called Center are the following: to provide organizational and advisory support of victims who suffered from military invasion; to grant scientific and legal conclusions upon requests from legal entities who suffered from military aggression; to endow legal aid for internally displaced people and to help them in obtaining refugee status abroad; to prepare project proposals and current normative legal acts; to collaborate with international governmental and non-governmental establishments, public administration bodies with an aim to implement and restore violated human rights owing to military aggression; to collect and record facts of violating  human rights as a result of military aggression; to assist in creating favorable and effective conditions upon implement and retrieval of violated human rights, especially vulnerable part of society (such as elderly people, women and children, disabled people).

Advisory direction of work has been fulfilled by scientific and pedagogical collaborators of  Law department at UzhNU, practicing lawyers and  legal advisors of  the region. The Center accomplishes free legal advice for citizens, internally displaced people, volunteers and for those people who need legal aid. That is why the priority direction of  Center’s function is to  organize the proceedings of citizen’s appeals and the quality of given services. Key indicators of effective work accomplished by the Legal Aid Center  are the analysis of contest and number of the citizens appeals from the beginning of it’s labor (approximately 20-30 appeals per day); and  the statistics of positively resolved appeals – 75% from the totall amount.

The organization and conduction of mutual scientific and practical conferences, seminars , “round tables”, internship the purpose of which is to inform all  legal relation subjects about main changes in legislation in terms of martial law, experience exchange between participants is an integral part of the Center. Due to the Center  seminars and other events have been conducted to  provide rights and legal interests of people in martial law, experts  prepare suggestions concerning changes and improvement of legislation , practical recommendations concerning topical issues have been developed as follows: regulation of labor relations in conditions of war; algorithms of customs clearance of humanitarian cargo in martial law; problematic aspects of target use of humanitarian help and legal  consequences in case of misuse; main changes in tax legislation and its adaption in martial law; administration of justice in martial law; clarification of Ukrainian citizens status who were  forced to leave the territory of Ukraine; criminal liability for committed international crimes.

Specialists of different branches of law has been involved to conduct and participate in these events: those  who carry out independent professional activity (like lawyers, notaries, legal advisors), representatives of judicial and law-enforcement authorities, public authorities, local government , scientists and pedagogical collaborates of  leading scientific institutions and higher education establishments of Ukraine, including lecturers of State Higher Educational institution “Uzhhorod National University” and scientific establishment collaborators of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine.

The activity of the Legal Aid Center for the people who suffered from military invasion remains under constant leadership’s control. Leadership takes all the necessary measures for providing main tasks implementation conducted by the Center during the period of martial law; for overcoming the consequences caused by invasion to Ukraine; for improving methods of its work with an aim of providing qualitative services for those who suffered from military invasion and who needs legal aid.