26.01.2023

A LEGAL AID CENTER WAS OPENED IN SILISTRA

"No person can be deprived of justice because he has no money, because he is sick, because he is under interdiction. But so that what is said does not remain only on paper, there must be places where those in need can meet those who can provide them with legal assistance." This was stated by the Minister of Justice Krum Zarkov at the opening of a new Regional Counseling Center in Silistra at the bar association in the city.

The premises are provided by the city municipality, as the possibility of local authorities providing rooms for regional counseling centers was regulated by the recent changes to the Legal Aid Act proposed by the Ministry of Justice.

The center is the 16th in a row in the country, the others are at the bar councils - Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna, Stara Zagora, Vidin, Sliven, Haskovo, Kardzhali, Pernik, Pazardzhik, Gabrovo, Pleven, Lovech, Blagoevgrad, Asenovgrad.

The Minister recalled that with the latest changes to the Law on Legal Aid, the circle of people who can use free legal aid financed by the state was expanded.

A total of 12 lawyers registered in the National Register of Legal Aid will provide primary legal aid to the citizens of the Silistren region. They will carry out legal consultations, assistance in filling out documents required by the court, the prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the administration. They will be able to be addressed by citizens from vulnerable social groups - people below the poverty line, children at risk, victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, people seeking international protection, placed under guardianship and those whose guardianship is requested, people with disability whose monthly income is not enough to afford a lawyer.

The regional center was opened by the chairman of the Bar Association in Silistra, Dimcho Kyosev, who thanked the chairman of the National Legal Aid Bureau, Natalia Ilieva, for the good cooperation.