The Supreme Court Provided Support to the Faculty of Law: Clinic for Free Legal Assistance of Students to Citizens
In anticipation of Montenegrin Judiciary Day - October 29, professors and students of the Faculty of Law and representatives of the Clinic for Free Legal Aid at the University of Montenegro met with the Acting President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Vučković. The meeting was organized as part of the "Open Doors" project.
The goal of the free legal aid project is to strengthen citizens trust in the work of judicial institutions through improving communication with the intention of establishing a proactive dialogue, so that citizens better understand the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
That this year, the ENEMLOS project will end, but not the cooperation between the Faculty of Law and the Supreme Court, pointed out the professor of the Faculty of Law, Biljana Đuričin.
"The Supreme Court provided a lot of help during this project because the judges participated in the trainings of students, and in 2021, the Clinic for free legal assistance provided to citizens by students started operating," Đuričin said.
She announced that a campaign by the Faculty of Law, the Supreme Court, the Chamber of Advocates and Notaries as well as other legal institutions will soon begin, which will promote this type of legal assistance to citizens who cannot afford the services of a lawyer.
"Given that a lot of work is being done on amendments to the Law on Free Legal Aid, it would be valuable to include students in that process," Đuričin believes, announcing that the plan is to open a Center for Legal Clinics at the University of Montenegro. Acting President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Vučković, said that in Montenegro, citizens still have a strong resistance to admit that they are victims of any form of violence and that they can use free legal aid on that occasion," she announced. Vučković points out that it is necessary to design campaigns that will help victims of violence and vulnerable categories to break those attitudes, and that this is possible was shown by the recent campaign "Tell the story to the end" which was implemented by the Supreme Court in cooperation with the office of the Council of Europe and the Ministry for human and minority rights. Vučković stressed that the Supreme Court, through its representative in the working group, is monitoring the work on amendments to the Law on Free Legal Aid, and that there is a broad consensus to expand the list of victims of criminal offenses entitled to free legal aid, including victims of torture, inhuman or humiliating treatment or punishment, as well as minors who are victims of crimes against sexual freedom.Nikola Dožić, Assistant Professor, points out that the students are extremely motivated to provide free legal assistance to the most vulnerable categories of citizens, primarily for the purpose of acquiring practical knowledge and skills, while the points and grades they get from that engagement are secondary. "I am sure that the campaign will give exceptional results very quickly, judging by the experiences of Croatia and Poland, as well as the region and the world", said Dožić and explained that the space for the Clinic has been secured at the Faculty of Law, which allows citizens easy access, and that at the same time, it does not disturb the teaching process. The clinic for free legal aid is staffed by third-year university students and students who are pursuing masters studies. The interlocutors agree that this activity will make it easier for them to find employment, given that it allows them to apply theoretical knowledge in practice. The students said that they are looking for trust and a chance, which they consider very important support, if you take into account the fact that students who are on masters studies have never entered a courtroom. That is why for them, the interaction between theoretical and practical work is very important for them.