Baku - UN Migration Agency, International Organization for Migration is implementing the Rule of Law Project with the financial support from the US State Department. The project is supporting the efforts for increasing the access of population to professional legal services. With the same purpose the Project initiated the operation of Legal Aid Centers in four regional hubs of Azerbaijan.

The initiative was supported by the Ministry of Justice, Bar Association of the Republic of Azerbaijan and ASAN Service. As a result of close cooperation among the agencies the Legal aid Centers were opened in Barda, Gabala, Imishli and Masalli ASAN Service centers since February 2019. By the end of April the Centers recieved 466 people in 909 cases approaching the centers with various types of legal problems. 46% of the applicants were females and 34 % of cases were the issues under the court jurisdiction. The legal cases analysis in the first three months show that the 24 % of assisted cases are related with bank loans, 16 % were property related matters, 15 % family issues, 10 % labor and social protection. In addition to these legal cases the other applications covered various areas such as inheritance, migration law, tax law, communal services, citizenship and registration, and the criminal and administrative cases.

The applicants demonstrate great satisfaction from the services which were carried free of charge. As of the Project’s objectives the amount spent for administrative and court proceedings were also reimbursed to the applicants. The services continue to be implemented successfully.