3.9.6. Specific aspects of providing legal aid for displaced persons from Ukraine 

In 2023, legal support for beneficiaries of temporary protection remained one of the core activities of organisations and lawyers in Europe. This was particularly the case in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to where displaced Ukrainian nationals continued to flee.

European lawyers discussed matters related to legal aid provision for displaced persons from Ukraine during the joint seminar held by the Council of Europe’s Project "HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) for Ukraine, including during wartime”,772  the European Commission and UNHCR, in cooperation with the Slovak Bar Association.773  
 
With the extension of temporary protection to displaced person from Ukraine beyond 4 March 2023, civil society organisations and law clinics continued efforts to provide legal assistance and information in Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia and Poland.774 For example, the Danish Refugee Council in Poland launched a cross-border digital legal aid platform in cooperation with Danish Refugee Council in Ukraine to address an increased need for legal aid provision for displaced persons and organised a training session for Polish lawyers.775  

The Foundation for Access to Rights implemented the project “Establishing an accessible network for legal assistance to displaced persons from Ukraine in Bulgaria and prevention and counteraction of human trafficking”. The aim was to share knowledge and effectively address needs related to the provision of legal aid.776  

In Czechia, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the provision of legal assistance in matters of international protection, as enshrined in national legislation under Article 35(5) of the Civil Code, must be interpreted as including aspects related to the application of temporary protection.