The vulnerable people in the District of Abidjan are going to receive free legal assistance every Wednesday for the next three years – thanks to an agreement between the Ivorian Ministry of Justice and the Order of Lawyers signed on 11 December 2012 as part of the reform of the justice system. It is being implemented in collaboration with the Ivorian Bar with support from the Rule of Law Division of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), the European Union and other partners.



The free legal assistance project is part of the accompanying activities of UNOCI's Rule of Law Division to the Ivorian Ministry of Justice in the implementation of its reform measures. Speaking at the launching ceremony of project, the representative of UNOCI's Rule of Law Division expressed the hope that "this activity, which is being carried out in collaboration with our development partners, such as the European Union and UNICEF, will bring justice closer to those who become involved with the courts".



The president of the Association of Young Lawyers of Côte d'Ivoire at the Abidjan Bar, Lawyer Theodore Bomisso, for his part, said that the project was a platform which will give people an opportunity to get to know how the legal system functions. «We invite the population to the palace every Wednesday between 1pm and 5pm," said Mr Bomisso.



It should be recalled that the free legal assistance project is aimed at vulnerable people in Abidjan, as well as detainees in the main prison in Abidjan known as Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction d'Abidjan (MACA).