ALAC

Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre was established by Transparency International Kyrgyzstan in the framework of ALAC Project in January 2008. Since its opening the Centre has been based on experienced methodologies, implemented by Transparency International in Eastern Europe and CIS countries. Similar Centres function in more than a dozen countries all over the world.
The Centre has been provoked by the necessity to improve the level of civil knowledge on the challenges, which citizens face in counteracting everyday corruption, as well as raising their awareness on the approaches and mechanisms for combating corruption at legislative and institutional levels.
The aim of the Centre is to give an opportunity to citizens to take an active part in combating corruption by providing them with free-of-charge legal advice and consultation  in support of their efforts for pursuing corruption crimes, committed by public institutions or their officials.

ALAC believes that:

  • Persons who report corruption cases must be given the necessary legal respect and protection;
  • The fight against corruption will be more effective if citizens are involved;
  • All forms of corruption,  from the smallest to the largest, should be considered with grave attention and equal concern;
  • Engaging directly with citizens to provide a deeper understanding of how corruption works in practice.

 

AIMS of the ALAC Kyrgyzstan:

The ALAC has the following aims and objectives:

  • To provide legal advice and assistance to victims and witnesses of corruption;
  • To empower  citizens to make and pursue corruption and related complaints;
  • To set up a database on corruption in the country based on complaints received from the public to be used for advocacy for broader structural and institutional reforms with the view of minimizing corruption in Kyrgyzstan;
  • To refer complaints to appropriate public institutions to handle corruption cases;
  • To build synergies with civil society organizations with similar objectives to broaden the frontiers of a just, fair and caring society in Kyrgyzstan that is free of corruption;
  • To educate the public on corruption and related issues;
  • To change behaviour at the citizen level so that they can reject corruption and take concrete measures to combat it;
  • To change behaviour at the institutional level so that administrative procedures and/or laws are changed.

 

The activity of the Centre is also aimed at increasing the capacity of public institutions in working with citizens when receiving complaints of corruption. In this context the efforts of the team of the Centre are a part of the efforts for raising public trust in state institutions and the introduction of systematic improvements (legislative, administrative and institutional) in the fight against corruption.

ALAC deals with different types of reported instances of corrupt behaviour, from small scale to large scale in service delivery. Cases may come from across sectors such as health, education, business and governance.

Services Offered by the ALAC:

  • Information assistance: in cases of corruption absence facts, the Centre offers information to what bodies and authorities the client has to apply, in what way and what is necessary and etc.;
  • Legal Assistance: Citizens are helped articulate, develop, file and pursue their complaints with the assistance of legal professionals employed by the centre;
  • Legal Consultation: Based on the cases presented to the centre, consultation is carried out to raise awareness about the sectors and institutions which are the subject of most complaints (e.g., press releases showing statistical breakdowns of complaints received) and in highlighting attention to specific institutional and legal vulnerabilities and providing recommendations and etc.

 

Procedure for Complaining:

  • ALAC first receives complaints from the public through the telephone, mail, e-mail or walk-ins;
  • Requests documents /makes appointment with legal advisor (where the ALAC can assist);
  • Provides legal or extra legal advice to complainants;
  • The legal advisor assists to draft and refer complaints to the appropriate authority for redress;
  • Follows up on complaints lodged with institutions to track outcomes;
  • Uses data on complaints to advocate for greater structural and institutional changes.
  • Advocacy work based on the cases presented to the centers. This helps to raise awareness of the sectors and institutions which are the subject of most complaints, for example through media statements (e.g., press releases showing statistical breakdowns of complaints received), to highlight attention to specific institutional and legal vulnerabilities and to provide recommendations for improvement;

 ALAC provides all these services FOR FREE

The main purpose of the project is to mobilize the citizens in the anticorruption intentions through the institutional cooperation. Through this purpose citizens are introduced and they use their rights, which is influencing positive for strengthening of the capacities on the state institutions.


The reasons for the establishment of ALAC includes the following:

  • The cases which come to ALAC are well-documented and articulated, facilitating the work of government anti corruption agencies to effectively handle them
  • There is a growing awareness that for reforms to be sustainable and for citizens to be aware of their rights, it requires a strong and dynamic partnership between communities and civil-society, and not merely reliance on strengthening laws and institutions

 
ALAC helps shape arguments on controversial topics since they are driven by the collaboration with general public

WORK SCHEDULE of the centre:

  • 9.00-18.00, Monday - Friday
  • Confidentiality and anonymity at client request
  • Individual counselling
  • Consultations in Kyrgyz and Russian languages.

Telephones in Bishkek city: +996 312 47 09 49
Fax: + 996 312 65 06 84