CANADIAN MODEL FOR CENTRALIZED DELIVERY OF LEGAL SERVICES AND ITS APPLICATION IN RUSSIA

This article presents a model for the delivery of legal services by Canada’s Department of Justice and demonstrates the advantage of a centralized delivery of legal services for the effectiveness of the government activity and for fulfilling the needs of the consumers. In 1966, all the lawyers who were public servants became employees of the Department of Justice. The integration made it possible: to enhance the quality and timeliness of the legal services; to ensure the independence and neutrality of the government lawyers (they are currently employed by the Minister of Justice and their career does not depend on the heads of the client departments); to offer wider career opportunities for the lawyers (to provide them with more interesting jobs, higher salaries, professional development); to abate the trend towards issuing opinions of an overly academic nature, as staff turnover ensures better knowledge of the real situation (normally a lawyer stays with one client department for about three years); to ensure consistency of all legal opinions by various government bodies; to optimize expenses. The way Canada organized its legislative process warrants further study. A dedicated Legislation Section was established within the Department of Justice. Analysis of the Canadian experience, as it applies to certain executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, allows one to make a conclusion about the applicability of the Canadian model for centralized delivery of legal services in Russia both at the federal and regional levels.

• Kabyshev

• Социальные (общественные) науки