site.btaFree Legal Advice Provided to Members of Vulnerable Groups

Members of vulnerable social groups have received 3,025 free legal consultations under a project of the Justice Ministry's National Office for Legal Assistance (NOLA). This emerged on Wednesday during a meeting between Deputy Justice Minister Borislav Ganchev and Zlatina Yovcheva, the newly elected President of the Bar Association of Stara Zagora, Southern Bulgaria, the Justice Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.

The consultations have been provided by mobile groups of lawyers and Roma mediators. In over 400 cases, the beneficiaries were people living below the poverty line, in remote areas and/or among the Roma community in Stara Zagora Region. Beneficiaries most often seek advice on parents' rights, child support, welfare benefits and utility services. A number of questions are related to domestic violence.

Deputy Justice Minister Ganchev said his ministry is working on a domestic violence bill together with a wide range of institutions and NGOs. He vowed to monitor the work on the Stara Zagora project and provide assistance. According to Yovcheva, the Roma teams are working very well with the Roma mediators, partly by holding thematic meetings with the community to discuss solutions to important issues.

Seven lawyers are working in Stara Zagora under the project "Improving access to justice for persons living below the poverty line with a special focus on women, children and the Roma community", which is funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. To meet the high interest in the service offered, NOLA approved five more lawyers to join the mobile teams next week.

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