European project to enhance judicial aid

The European Union is funding a two-year project to give underprivileged individuals judicial aid and to encourage stakeholders to adopt a sustainable approach towards this goal.

The $1 million grant will be used on three levels. Yara Issa, Project Coordinator, said: “There is a committee for judicial aid in the Beirut Bar but there isn’t one in the Bar of the North. The project aims to activate the committee that exists and create one in the North.”

The second level will have legislative aspects, with the Sagesse University lobbying with judges and parliamentary committees to find sustainable sources to fund judicial aid for the underprivileged.

The EU will send experts to train lawyers at the Bar associations.

Sagesse University will work with the Italy-based European Research Institute and three local NGOs to help migrant workers, juveniles, and refugees acquire legal counseling. Around 750 lawyers will be trained to offer counseling to the three NGOs.