Kharkiv authorities promise to support activity of the Office of Public Defense

According to the Concept for Reforming of the System of Free Legal Aid in Ukraine, approved by the Decree of the President of Ukraine, dated as of June 09, 2006, ref. # 509/2006, the Office of Public Defense (OPP), affiliated with the Charitable Organization “Pilot Project “Legal Aid”, has been operating in Kharkiv since August 1, 2006, under the financial support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

During the time of its operation, the Office of Public Defense has provided free legal assistance to more than 1,700 economically disadvantaged persons, including 250 minors.

The priority in activity of defense attorneys of the office is the following: the fastest possible involvement of an attorney to defend a person in a criminal case on early stages of a criminal process.

Thanks to the active defense by attorneys, bodies of pre-trial investigation and courts closed 86 criminal cases, relieved 99 persons of criminal responsibility, and courts did not satisfy 28 percent of appeals for application of a preventive measure in a form of taking into custody of persons, who are considered as defendants to a relative extent.

As Deputy Head of the Oblast State Administration Serhiy Storozhenko reported, the function of provision of legal assistance by the Kharkiv Office of Public Defense is very important for the society, especially during the time of crisis developments in the economy.

“We will further support this important public activity in every possible way”, emphasized the Deputy Head of the Oblast.

Source: The Official Web-site of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration