Serbia Handbook for Legal Aid Providers Final

� sexually explicit pictures, screen savers or posters;
� unwanted invitations to go out on dates or requests for sex;
� intrusive questions about an employee’s private life or body;
� unnecessary familiarity;
� insults or taunts based on your sex;
� sexually explicit emails or SMS messages;
� behavior which would also be an offence under the criminal law, such as physical
assault, indecent exposure, sexual assault, stalking or obscene communications.
Sexual harassment is not sexual interaction, flirtation, attraction or friendship which is
invited, mutual, consensual or reciprocated. Sexual harassment is a legally recognised form
of sex discrimination.
Closing the Case-File
It is important to send your client a letter of advice at the conclusion of your case. Even if
you have already given the same advice to your client over the telephone or in person, a
formal letter provides clear proof that you have fulfilled your professional responsibility to
advise your client of their options.
An advice letter should contain the following elements:
1. A statement of what the case was about
2. A summary of what help the client was seeking
3. The actions that you undertook to assist the client
4. The relevant provisions of the law applying to the case
5. The outcome of your efforts
6. The options available to the client, including referral
7. An invitation for the client to contact you if they need further assistance or
clarification.
Once legal aid has been provided and the case has been closed the case-file needs to be
closed as well. The closing of the file needs to be recorded electronically in the database,
but also within the file itself. In addition the following steps must be followed;
- The client must be informed in writing that the file has been closed,
- any original documents belonging to the client must be returned,
- a case closing form must be completed and signed by the supervising attorney;
- the file should be sent for archiving, with scanned copies of relevant documents
included in the electronic file.
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