ELCS was commissioned by Open Society Afghanistan to undertake assessment of the Legal Aid System in Afghanistan. This involved assessment of the entire legal aid system portfolio including, policy environment, governance structure, role of different stakeholders, financing modality, quality and timelines of legal aid services. ELCS team also reviewed and assessed legal aid modalities from other countries including some countries in the region of South Asia.
In addition, as part of this assignment and in order to ensure views are obtained from different stakeholder groups, ELCS organized a stakeholder mapping and analysis exercise. Subsequent to the completion of the exercise, ELCS organized five consultation sessions involving legal experts from the government, academic institutions, international organizations and civil society organizations. ELCS team compiled views collected from different stakeholders during the consultation sessions regarding different aspects of the legal aid system.
The findings were summarized in an assessment report, outlining key aspects of the legal aid system, summary of best practices from the international settings and recommendations to bring needed reform to the legal aid system in Afghanistan. ELCS team worked with OSA to organize a national dissemination workshop to present and validate the findings of the assessment.
