NovA, the Dutch Bar, alongside the Mediators Federation of the Netherlands (MfN) and the Council for Legal Aid (RvR) outlined their vision for a new legal aid system.
The three organisations are working together for a people-oriented, effective and efficient system. The new system would be one in which the citizen and his or her (legal) request for help are central and in which quality of service is paramount. It would ensure that the citizen who is dependent on funded legal aid has a low-threshold access to justice and is supported with early conflict resolution and adequate legal protection.
This would consist of a learning system, in which the RvR monitors the experiences of citizens and service providers, among other things, and the NOvA and the MfN monitor the quality through peer reviews. The RvR’s Knowledge Center provides insight into the results of the monitoring and the broad results of the peer review, after which the chain partners indicate how they will proceed. In this way it becomes clear which improvements are needed and social advocacy and mediation are strengthened.
A learning and sustainable system requires collegial coordination and coordination between the chain partners. A Collaboration in Primary Care pilot has demonstrated that chain-wide collaboration pays off. The establishment and implementation of the Ratz (Regulation Advice Addition Self-reliance ) is also an example of cooperation through which the citizen is helped more and better. Thanks to the Ratz, citizens who have fallen between two stools due to alleged self-reliance can now receive the legal aid they need.