VOLUNTARY ASSISTANCE SCHEME

The Bar Council of Ireland runs a voluntary assistance scheme which they describe as fellow:

Under our ‘Voluntary Assistance’ scheme, barristers provide services directly to non-government organisations working with members of the community who cannot afford legal services.

A homicide will be for many families the first time they will have contact with barristers and will attend a trial. Families will know very little about the criminal trial process and will have unanswered questions, fear of the unknown which will make the trial an even more traumatic experience.

A pre-trial meeting with the prosecution barristers may give them some of the answers they are looking for but this will take place at best a month before the trial and could be on the starting day of the trial, when emotions are so high that it may be of very little benefit to the family.

In 2007, AdVIC and the Bar Council met to explore how information about the criminal trial process could be communicated to families who find out that an individual has been charged for the homicide and that a trial will fellow in a year time at best.

The following has been in operation since 2007:

Free consultation:

The Bar Council Voluntary Assistance Scheme will provide a suitably qualified Barrister to hold a consultation at an early stage in the trial process with the next of kin of a victim of homicide. This consultation will provide information in relation to the criminal trial process and the steps that will occur prior to a trial.

 Families are encouraged to come to this consultation with all their queries and questions written down

Free Legal advice:

A family, or individual, needing legal advice must contact AdVIC, as we are required to be the link through which all contact is made.  It is necessary for AdVIC to obtain as much detail as possible at the outset, so that it can be presented to The Bar Council.
 
The Bar Council will then match a barrister or solicitor to the query and the assistance may be provided by letter, phone or consultation

If next of kin is resident outside of Dublin, the Bar Council will endeavour to find a suitable qualified barrister in that part of the country.

For more information, and to avail of this free service, families should contact AdVIC who will process the request for consultation.