Following addresses from citizens and civil society organizations, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, has issued a Recommendation of Measures for Achieving Equality and Protection from Discrimination to all local self-government units in Serbia, urging them to organize or improve the system of free legal aid and to fully inform citizens about this constitutionally guaranteed right.

The adopted regulations clearly indicate that free legal aid is specifically intended to ensure that individuals in poorer financial situations are not placed at a disadvantage compared to other citizens when it comes to access to justice and rights. The recommendation points out that the right to free legal aid is not “charity,” but rather a prerequisite for the realization of justice. It represents an essential element of the right to a fair trial and access to justice, as it enables all individuals — particularly those in financially disadvantaged positions — to exercise and protect their rights, in accordance with the principle of equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination.

Data shows that in numerous municipalities, services for free legal aid have either not been established at all or exist only formally, without adequate capacity to meet the needs of citizens. For this reason, the recommendation calls on local self-governments that have not yet established free legal aid services to do so without delay, and to take measures to better inform citizens — both women and men — about how and where they can exercise this right.

Without accessible free legal aid, justice remains a privilege of those who can afford it, rather than a universal value, emphasizes the Commissioner. She points out that the failure to organize this service and the lack of support for citizens in financially vulnerable situations during critical moments — when faced with eviction, violence, discrimination, loss of employment, or personal documents — can lead to discrimination based on financial status and their complete exclusion from the social, economic, and legal system.

It is the obligation of local self-government units to ensure, in accordance with the law, that the exercise of the right to free legal aid is real and not merely declarative — that is, to ensure that this right is truly accessible to those for whom it was introduced in the first place, because this is a fundamental right to equality, the Commissioner concludes.