Handbook on ensuring quality of legal aid services in criminal justice processes

In December 2012 the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (henceforth “UN Principles and Guidelines”), in resolution 67/187. The UN Principles and Guidelines made it an obligation for Member States to put in place an accessible, effective, sustainable and credible legal aid system, and to ensure the quality of legal aid services, in particular those provided at no cost.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was requested to provide advisory services and technical assistance to Member States, upon request, in the area of criminal justice reform, including the development of integrated plans for provision of legal aid, as well as making the UN Principles and Guidelines available through the development of relevant tools.

In line with this recommendation, this Handbook is intended as a practical guide for policymakers and practitioners for planning and implementing measures to ensure, monitor and constantly improve the quality of legal aid services, and for building the capacity of United Nations staff in the field to assist national partners in addressing quality of legal aid services when delivering technical advice and assistance. It covers legal aid only in the context of criminal justice processes and does not pertain to legal aid delivered in civil or administrative cases.

The Handbook is designed to address some of the key issues that policymakers and practitioners face in ensuring quality of legal aid services in criminal justice processes, including by:

• Explaining the relevant provisions of the United Nations Principles and Guidelines and other international or regional standards;
• Outlining different approaches to quality assurance and describing relevant considera tions for designing programmes;
• Providing policymakers, civil servants and practitioners (lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police officers, detention officers, civil society actors and others) with tools for quality assurance and monitoring/evaluating;
• Sharing practical and innovative examples from different jurisdictions. As many countries are still developing their national legal aid systems, it is crucial that they include quality assurance considerations and measures from the outset. Therefore, examples are provided from countries across all regions that have made progress in establishing such measures and have shared their experiences.