Joint Programme for Strengthening National Capacities was created by the UN Working Group on Domestic Violence ( UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, UNIFEM and WHO) focusing on identifying priorities of work and exploring area where more coordinated efforts could be exerted in order to improve the effectiveness, hence achieve better results both in terms of attention to the victims of DV and its future prevention.

In this respect a Coordinative Body was established by the national key actors regarding protection of domestic violence with aim to give concerning notes for the Joint Programme. MWRC as a member of this body has active role in the consultative meetings with the UN Working Group on DV.

Since our organization already offers free legal aid , on this consultative meeting several remarks were given for the draft law on free legal aid which is about to be adopted. The general conclusion on this meeting by all the participants was pointing the support and the benefit of adopting such law, which will offer equal access to all citizen to the institutions of the system. The role of the NGO sector was pointed within the draft law on free legal aid as well.

The remarks given from the Macedonian Women's Rights Centre are given bellow:

In article 3 from the text of the working version of the draft law whereby several terms are being defined, we are giving remarks on paragraph 1 article 2 where a definition is given on the term property, where it is stated that amount of cash in national currency or foreign currency can be included as property as well. The remark goes to that what method will be used for defining the amount itself.

We are pointing out to article 4 of the working version of the draft law on free legal aid where it is stated the free legal aid in compliance with this law is being carried out by the Ministry of Justice, The authorized associations of citizens , lawyers and mediators. The main remark is that if the mediators can offer free legal aid, concerning their role in the procedure of mediation, taking into consideration that the mediator should find a way of resolving a certain dispute, which means having neutral position regarding the both parties to the dispute. If a mediator would give free legal aid, their neutral position is loosen .

Further on, in the part regulating the issue of exercising the right on free legal aid, a remark is given on article 16 whereby it is stated that previous legal aid is being given by authorized officials within the sectors of the Ministry of Justice. On the open session held for the draft law on free legal aid, it was stated that it was requested from the Ministry of Justice to give public information how many law graduates with passed jurisdictional exam are employed in the sectors of the Ministry of Justice.

The answer was that there are 80 or 90 law graduates, without giving information how many of them have or haven't passed the jurisdictional exam. This is related to the conditions which must be fulfilled by an association of citizens whereby can be registered as authorized for offering free legal aid, stated in article 17 - where it is foreseen , above other things, that the association should have at least one law graduate with passed jurisdictional exam as an employee.

Taking into consideration that the sectors of the Ministry as well as the associations of citizens, in compliance with the working text of the draft law on free legal aid, are offering the free legal aid, and if it is requested from the association to have at least one law graduate, therefore, the sector within the Ministry of Justice should have one as well. The remark in this respect is that the associations of citizens do not have permanent financial sources , so if they employ law graduate with passed jurisdictional exam, will also have costs which might not cover. For this reason it was suggested the term employee to be changed with the term engaged, so the association would not have that obligation to employ person with such qualification.