National Legal Support Centre

Head of Centre:
Ing. Milos Kohout

leader of National Legal Support Centre:
JUDr. Pavel Ptacnik

Adress:
Krakovska 21
Praha 1
PSC 110 00

Phone: + 420 221 462 136
Fax: + 420 221 462 145

e-mail: pravni@braillnet.cz

Our legal system treats visual impairment on a comparatively favourably level. Blind and partially-sighted people often want to learn about their rights in detail to be able to take full advantage of them.
National Centre of Legal Support of the Czech Blind United has been set up with the aim to contribute to the improvement of legal awareness of visually-impaired citizens and to provide them with the necessary assistance and legal protection.

The Centre provides the following services:
Legal Counselling - staffed by professional lawyers specializing in the field of social law: Services are provided in the form of legal advice, compiling of applications, complaints, appeals and other legal documents that are to be submitted to the administration and/or other institutions dealing with social issues related to the visually-impaired.
The Centre can render services either through personal consultations (appointments should be fixed in advance by phone or letter) or through written or phone-transmitted communications. All visually-impaired people resident on the territory of the Czech Republic are eligible. The service is free.

Opening hours and locations:

MONDAY	9:00-12:00	13:00-15:30
TUESDAY	9:00-12:00	13:00-15:30

LLD Ivana MARESOVA 110 00 Praha 1, Krakovska 21,
phone: (02) 21 46 21 36

THURSDAY

11:00-18:00

LLD BUKVAROVA, LLD MARESOVA, LLD PTACNIK,
110 00 Praha 1, Krakovska 21,
Phone: (+420) 21 46 21 36, fax (02) 21 46 21 45

basic as well as follow-up training of volunteer social welfare counsellors working in local communities;
development and publication of reference materials related to social law and blindness (formats: large print, audio, electronics);
active involvement in relevant legislative processes, defending the interests of the disabled in general and the blind in particular;
development of a network of community-based social welfare counsellors for the blind.

The counsellors dispense legal advice to blind and visually-impaired citizens locally - in regional and district chapters of Czech Blind United. The counsellors are as a rule recruited from among visually- or physically-impaired persons. To become a legal counsellor, one has to be properly trained and certified. Legal advice in social matters is available in regional and/or district centres of Czech Blind United and Association of the Disabled. The volunteer counsellors are trained to provide basic information on social matters, to help formulate applications, complaints, appeals, etc., to assist in client dealings with the authorities, and to liaise with the Prague Centre. At present, we have some 60 volunteer collaborators in many towns and cities around the country. An updated directory of the volunteers is issued every six months.