Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre - Technical and functional requirements of the project-

Technical and functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Internal conditions: –the project's established objectives –the mandate's limits –the project's financing value –internal expertise and staff competence –the organization's “trade mark” image –the ethical principles –the organization's operational definitions and influence from other projects

Technical and functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities External conditions: –the legislation regulating legal/juridical activities –the degree of cooperation between public authorities and NGOs –the beneficiaries' level of education –the beneficiaries' degree of activism

Technical and functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Minimal requirements for planning assistance and legal advice activities: –deciding operational definitions of corruption –services are provided on a free of charge basis –involvement in solving the case does not mean representation in court –the content of the case is limited to the one described by the beneficiary –analysis criteria are exclusively ruled by the legality principle and not by the opportunity principle

Technical and functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Minimal requirements for planning assistance and legal advice activities: –the support the Center provides rests on a series of rules set and accepted by the parties –the results of legal advice activities and of case analysis must generate input for the advocacy activity –deciding conditions for conflicts of interests prevention –deciding limits to avoid malpractice situations.

Technical requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Limits on/of the mandate: –legal advice activity must take place outside any judicial procedure, not involve the organization in suit litigation and defence in court of the assisted beneficiaries –assistance and legal advice must be offered only for cases of corruption, as set by the operational definitions –legal advice activity may not be offered in cases where a final and irrevocable court decision exists, there remaining no other legal means for attack the Center will not conduct own inquests or investigations upon request from the assisted citizens but only advise them on how to obtain the evidence needed –it does not provide legal advice to magistrates, lawyers and other categories of legal professions

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Preliminary stages of implementation Assessment of resources (financial, human, logistical)

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Preliminary stages of implementation Determining the mandate –the objectives: answers the needs that generated the project –the target group: ensures the eligibility of the proposed program and covers a well-defined segment of beneficiaries –the project activities: decisively influences the concept of internal procedures –the project budget: determins the project costs through the above mentioned influences

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Preliminary stages of implementation Determining the mandate ATTENTION – it is absolutely necessary to observe the following minimum standard of the mandate for the ALAC program: –the Center assists and councels the victims and witnesses of the acts of corruption –the Center informs on the means to notify and complaint to each public authority having direct or indirect competence to fight corruption.

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Preliminary stages of implementation Publishing the guide for legal advisors and assistents –Operational definitions; –Legal definitions; –The list of all institutions having direct or indirect competences to fight corruption (including attributions, competences, contact persons, how to notify them); –All means to notify the authorities, from administrative petitions to legal complaints; –A presentation of the laws regarding the offences of corruption, the conflict of interests, the incompatibilities, as well as special laws regarding the protection against corruption;

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Preliminary stages of implementation Publishing the guide for legal advisors and assistents –A presentation of the laws regarding the protection of witnesses during judiciary procedures and the protection of whistleblowers; –The mechanisms of disciplinary responsability of civil servants, officials and magistrates (disciplinary conditions, disciplinary inquiry commissions, opening and unfolding of the procedure); –Other non-governmental organizations specialized in fighting corruption, protecting the human rights and granting judiciary assistance (their areas of expertize clearly mentioned); –A collection of the most important laws.

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Setup stage of implementation Determining the course of a case, from input to output Citizen Project staff Adviser Authorities Forward Feedback Media “How to” Education/Information Advocacy

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Setup stage of implementation Determining the course of a case, from input to output Public policyAdvocacy level Corruption casesAuthorities level ALAC casesLegal advisors level Total callsVolunteers level

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Setup stage of implementation Departments setup and determination of competences Working procedures and bureaucracy  Client record card  Phone calls recording  Meetings with clients  Electronic data base  Archive

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Setup stage of implementation Case solutions or quashing - how to determine ? a. Ideal situation: –the partner public authority solves the case without additional procedures –the partner public authority solves the case following lengthy procedures, which imply other administrative or judiciary authorities –a court rules in favour of the client –the case is solved due to the advocacy activity, even though neither the partner authority, nor the authority where the act of corruption was committed do not sanction this act

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Setup stage of implementation Case solutions or quashing - how to determine ? b. Middle situation: –the client gives up the case and the steps suggested by the legal advisor; the case is therefore quashed –a court rules in favour of the beneficiary, independently of the action or non-action of the partner authority –the case is not covered by the Center’s mandate and is directed to other institutions, being therefore quashed

Functional requirements for assistance and legal advice activities Setup stage of implementation Case solutions or quashing - how to determine ? c. worst case scenario: –the case cannot be solved because the authorities do not want to solve it; consequently, the media take over the case –the Center was misused –the Center is sued for slander or for damaging the image, because of a poor management of the case

Technical and Functional requirements for the education and information activity The information and education are achieved by two means: 1.Directly, during the meetings with the legal assistents and advisors 2.Indirectly, through the media, web site, library and leaders of opinion.

Technical and Functional requirements for the advocacy activity The advocacy activity implies two level which must be achieved: advocacy for concrete cases forwarding and supporting anticorruption public policies (action plans and legislative measures) It is crucial for the advocacy activity to be triggered by the output from the legal advice activity, and not by that of other projects or programs of the Organisation.

Technical and Functional requirements for the advocacy activity The desirable instruments, from ALAC’s point of view: –the partnership with the public authorities; –coalitions with other NGOs; –TI-Secretariat in Berlin; –parliamentary leverages; –professional associations; –mass-media. Considering the nature of the ALAC project, by no means should legally recognized groups of interests, specialised lobbying agencies or PR companies be used.