The main continuous action of the project, which has been spanning incessantly from 1 April 2021, is the research coordinated by the chief expert Dr. Tomasz Sieniow, focused on monitoring public policy on ensuring access to legal aid for migrants in asylum and return procedures.
A separate part of the ongoing monitoring is the analysis of the implementation of European Union law by Poland, including the examination of whether Poland has correctly implemented the Procedural Directive 2013/32/EU and the Return Directive 2008/115 / EU in terms of guaranteed free legal aid (hereinafter: FLA) for foreigners and legal substitution.
During the period from 01.04.2021 – 31.12.2021 (9 months) we managed to achieve the following results:
1) launching a comprehensive assessment of the FLA system’s functioning, the main actors of which are NGOs and state bodies (Office For Foreigners, Refugee Council, Border Guard);
2) beginning of the preparation of a report summarizing 5 years of functioning of the FLA system, directed to refugees, and 10 years of attempts to implement FLA directed to foreigners in return procedures;
3) organization of one practical workshop for NGO lawyers involved in providing legal assistance to foreigners;
4) organization of 2 working meetings of NGOs involved in the provision of FLA (the Association for Legal Intervention, The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Center, the Rule of Law Institute Foundation) with the participation of UNHCR;
5) preparation and sending of 3 requests for access to the public information on the processes of creating and applying the law and state policy in the field of FLA;
6) admitting of 2 interns, acquiring the experience required to be included on the Office for Foreigners’ list of lawyers employed by NGOs.
From the beginning of the project implementation until December 31, 2021, several mentions of the project appeared on the network. 13 posts, that reached a total of more than 7,500 recipients, were published on the Facebook profile of the Foundation. On the other hand, the Foundation’s website (www.panstwoprawa.org), was visited by an average of 3 500 visitors per month during this period.
The project is funded by the Active Citizens – National Fund program, financed by the EEA Grants
