AMMAN — Although some
civil society institutions
helping underprivileged groups are targeted, their work is helping many in the
community.
اضافة اعلان
One of the beneficiaries of legal aid by civil
society organizations, who requested anonymity, said that the assistance she
received saved her from prison and a big fine. She said she used the money to
hire a lawyer.
“They are saviors of the poor and underprivileged,”
she told
Jordan News.
She said that targeting these organizations for
allegedly being “illegitimate” appears to be a strategy to force everyone to
hire lawyers directly, which would require huge sums of money, which many
Jordanians cannot afford.
Hadeel Abdel Aziz, executive director of the Justice
Center for Legal Aid, told
Jordan News that her office helps those who
cannot afford legal fees by using practicing lawyers who are members of the Bar
Association. She said the center pays them for assisting those in need.
She explained that Mazen Irsheidat, the former head
of the
Jordan Bar Association (JBA), sued her and the center in 2016. “He
claimed that the center was practicing law in Jordan without a license,” she
explained.
She maintained that Irsheidat considered the legal
aid centers as competitors to lawyers, and 41 male and female lawyers who
worked with the Justice Center were referred to the Disciplinary Council in
2019 for that reason.
“But the case was settled in favor of the justice
center,” she pointed out.
Irsheidat was not immediately available for comment.
Abdul Aziz affirmed the legitimacy and legality of
the center. “It is legally registered with the authorities and its goals are
clear: Providing legal aid to the poor through contracts with lawyers licensed
and registered in the syndicate, whose fees are paid for by the center,” she
said.
She concluded that everyone has the right to legal
assistance and that the Justice Center will keep providing legal services until
a national institution is established to do so.
Since 2014, the JBA has been required by law to
implement a legal aid system that would give access to legal assistance to all
Jordan. “But to this day, nothing was done,” she charged.
Yahya Abu Aboud,
JBA’s newly-elected president, told
Jordan News that the syndicate will
articulate its viewpoint on civil society institutions and legal aid in an
official statement after consultation with the Bar Council. He said a statement
may be issued after one week.
The Civil Society Organizations Coordination
Committee “Himam” praised the work of civil society organizations, specifically
for providing all people with access to justice and consolidating the rule of
law.
Himam said in a statement on its website that it
asked professional unions to embrace civil society institutions because they
are offering professional services. It said the “moment has come to move
together to serve the community, as this is a joint obligation and
responsibility”.
It also expressed gratitude to the
Justice Center and other civil society institutions for their efforts in providing legal aid
to the impoverished, marginalized groups, and victims, which assisted them in
accessing justice.
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