The Puglia Region inaugurates the network of Proximity Offices, which we have already had the opportunity to talk about in recent days with regard to the city of Andria. This is an innovative model of justice designed to improve the accessibility and usability of legal services – especially for the most vulnerable segments of the population – made more difficult following the closure of some detached sections of the Courts.
The project, presented yesterday morning at the headquarters of the Puglia Region in via Gentile in Bari, aims to digitize all the voluntary jurisdiction files at the Apulian Courts, allowing some activities related to voluntary jurisdiction to be carried out directly at the Municipalities of belonging.
In order to allow the Municipalities to carry out the service, the Region has coordinated relations with the Ministry of Justice and with all the bodies involved, has provided the Municipalities with the necessary furnishings and IT equipment, has taken care of the specialist training of the personnel in charge (to date, training sessions have already been provided to 57 resources, for a total of over 900 hours used), has entrusted the digitization activity of over 27,000 Voluntary Jurisdiction files at the Apulian Courts, to make the information more accessible and simplify the procedures.
To date, the Municipalities, individually or in association, that have joined the initiative by responding to two notices of expression of interest published by the Regional Region, are 44 (of which 22 are Leaders). In the past few weeks, the Proximity Offices have already been opened in the Municipalities of Barletta, Minervino Murge and Noicattaro and the Municipalities of Ugento are also in the process of opening soon, AndriaGalatina, Molfetta and Guagnano; Subsequently, as the municipal staff completes the planned training course, all other 14 proximity offices will be activated by 2024, involving a total of 44 municipalities and a catchment area of over 700,000 residents in Puglia. The aforementioned opportunity for digitalization and relocation of the justice system, in the logic of proximity to the needs of citizens and professionals, is made possible thanks to specific memoranda of understanding and practice protocols signed between the Puglia Region, the Municipalities participating in the initiative and the Courts of Bari, Brindisi, Lecce, Foggia, Taranto and Trani.
“The project is synergic and complementary to the many initiatives that the Puglia Region is promoting as part of its PugliaDigitale#2030 Agenda – said the Councilor for Economic Development, Alessandro Delli Noci – in which digital and the possibility of providing services remotely is declined in the perspective of inclusion and shortening physical distances and in which technology simplifies the lives of citizens. Thanks to the Proximity Offices, citizens, professionals and operators will be able to access, without necessarily having to reach the Courts, numerous services, including guidance on legal protection institutions (such as support administration, guardianship and the appointment of curators), distribution and compilation of forms for judicial procedures, support in drafting legal documents (appeals, requests, etc.), updates on the status of Voluntary Jurisdiction procedures and electronic filing of documents. I would like to thank all the bodies involved, the Ministry of Justice, the Apulian Courts and the Municipalities that have made themselves available to meet and offer useful services to their citizens”.
“The proximity offices – stated Gabriella De Stradis, Director General for the coordination of cohesion policies – represent a virtuous example of a useful tool to shorten the distances between citizens and the justice system. In the near future, the offer of the offices may be further enriched within the new complex project of the Ministry of Justice, ‘A more inclusive justice’, which aims, within the PN Inclusione 21-27, to integrate the tools currently available with new initiatives aimed at subjects subjected to penal measures”.
The project is promoted by the Ministry of Justice with funds from the Complementary Operational Programme to the National Operational Programme “Governance and institutional capacity” 2014-2020 (axis 1, Thematic Objective 1.4).
Tuesday 2 July 2024
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