Universities Create Network for Free Legal Aid to Earthquake Victims

A network of five Venezuelan universities has joined forces to offer crucial legal aid to those impacted by the earthquakes that struck on June 24. Spearheaded by the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB), the newly formed Red de Clínicas Jurídicas Ampliadas (RED CJ+) will provide free legal services to individuals and communities grappling with the aftermath of the seismic events.

The alliance, which also includes the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), Universidad Metropolitana (Unimet), Universidad Monteávila (UMA), and Universidad Santa María (USM), is designed to streamline the process of addressing legal challenges. The network will coordinate the intake and management of cases, offering support from initial case review through to administrative and judicial proceedings.

RED CJ+ aims to ensure that assistance is "standardized, efficient, and coordinated for the intake, triage, and distribution of legal cases." Services will cover a range of urgent needs, such as establishing guardianship for children orphaned by the disaster, processing death certificates for victims, and addressing domestic violence incidents that may have emerged in the wake of the emergency. Each participating university will contribute through its existing legal clinics, providing advice, case evaluation, document preparation, and support for non-contentious administrative and judicial processes.

The collaborative effort is initially set for a two-year term, with automatic renewal contingent on the ongoing emergency and the presence of unresolved cases. The network will formally conclude its operations once the participating institutions declare the emergency over and confirm that all pending cases have been resolved.

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standardized, efficient and coordinated for the intake, triage, and distribution of legal cases