Legal Aid

PILnet works to make systems of justice more effective, accessible and fair, in part by improving state-subsidized legal aid systems. In this effort, PILnet collaborates with key stakeholders – national and local governments and bar associations – to design context-appropriate legal aid systems and allocate resources for the provision of legal aid and legal information. PILnet also engages NGO partners in legal aid reform processes and fosters the complementarity of state, private sector and NGO efforts in this realm.

PILnet relies on a diverse set of methodologies and participatory processes to gather, analyze and disseminate data to assess current deficiencies in access to justice, highlight problems and needs and inform priorities, including undertaking comparative research studies and convening workshops and conferences. PILnet has worked particularly intensively on legal aid reform in Russia, in addition to projects in Bulgaria, Poland, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.