Legal aid is state-funded legal representation, advice and assistance, usually carried out by a solicitor or a barrister

It is available since 1949 Today it is administered by Legal Aid

Agency

the Legal Services Commission (LSC): The Community Legal Service for civil cases and The Criminal Defence Service for criminal cases was established in 1999

It used to run the legal aid scheme in England and Wales overseen by the Ministry of Justice

Replaced by

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 abolished LSC

The Legal Aid Agency established on 1 April 2013

The government provides funding for legal aid to help people:

- Protect their basic rights and get a fair hearing – the rule of law

- Access the court process to sort out disputes

- Solve problems that contribute to social exclusion

People of limited means: persons who are receiving income support or income based jobseeker’s allowance

Every applicant has to provide a statement about their income and capital

Capital should not exceed £8,000 If a client provides false information, public

funding is taken away

Solicitors or advice agencies that hold a contract with the Legal Aid Agency

In the earlier systems, any solicitor could provide legal assistance and then claim fees from the State

The LSC provides help through 5,400 solicitors’ offices and not-for-profit advice agencies and funds 5,578 Duty Solicitors to provide advice at police stations and Magistrates’ Courts

In a democratic society all citizens have a right to access justice and get a fair trial

The LSC helps people understand their legal obligations and if necessary enforce their legal rights

Translate the following statement: Many people are reluctant to take a matter

to law; they fear they may be involved in heavy costs and end up worse off then before.

Do you agree with that statement?

Legal aid was born on July 30, 1949 Legal Advice and Assistance Act was passed in

1972 – the services of a solicitor became obtainable for work not necessarily involving litigation

Legal Aid Act 1988 brought various changes of legal aid, including the introduction of means and merit test

Access to Justice Act 1999 established the Legal Services Commission

Means test – to see if the applicant is sufficiently finacially disadvantaged to be eligible for legal aid

Merit test – the case is evaluated in order to establish whether it it is relevant enough to receive public funding

Changed legal aid by introducing new criteria and selection mechanisms

It established the main authority for the organisation and provision of legal aid – the Legal Services Commission

Legal services are being transformed by:- Working only with providers whose

commitment and quality is trusted- Contracted firms undergo regular audits- Changing the way providers are paid- Cutting administration costs

Shorter cases as solicitors and advisors are able to make their own decisions

Less form filling More information early on the case A stronger relation with the solicitor or

advisor

Legal help – giving advice, writing letters or preparing a written case for the court

Help at court – a solicitor can appear in court on a client’s behalf without formally acting for them in the whole proceedings

Family mediation – help with disputes relating to children, money and property out of court

Legal representation – representing a client in court

Funding is available for expensive cases, cases involving human rights issues, housing, family disputes, immigration etc.

It is not available for wills, defamation, claims of personal injury, boundary disputes, company law etc.

Legal aid – pravna pomoć People of limited means – ljudi ograničenih

sredstava Fair trial – pošteno suđenje Means test – provjera imovinske sposobnosti Merit test – provjera opravdanosti zahtjeva Litigation – parničenje Jobseeker’s allowance – naknada za nezaposlene Family mediation – obiteljsko posredovanje Defamation - kleveta

Free Legal Aid Act was passed by the Croatian Parliament on May 16, 2009

This Act regulates the meaning of, types and range of free legal aid, the beneficiaries of legal aid, the competence, procedure and conditions for realizing legal aid, the providers of legal aid, legal aid for reasons of fairness, transborder realization of legal aid, financing legal aid, and supervision of the implementation of the Act.

Legal aid is received in the form of primary or secondary legal aid.

Approval of any form of legal aid includes exemption from payment of taxes and the costs of the proceedings.

general legal information legal advice legal assistance in drawing up documents before

administrative bodies and legal entities vested with public authority

representation in administrative matters legal aid in peaceful out-of-court settlement of disputes representation before the European Court of Human Rights

and international organizations, if this is in accordance with international agreements and regulations on the work of those bodies

representation before courts legal aid in peaceful settlement of disputes

before a court drawing up documents in court proceedings

The notion of legal aid Article 2 Legal aid, for the purposes of this Act, is a form of

facilitating access to court and other bodies which adjudicate on the rights and obligations of Croatian citizens and foreigners, where the costs are paid in their entirety or in part by the Republic of Croatia, taking into account their financial position and the fact that they would not be able to exercise that right without risk to their livelihood and the maintenance of the members of their household.

To facilitate sth – olakšati Access to court – pristup sudovima To adjudicate – odlučiti, donijeti odluku To take into account – uzeti u obzir To exercise the right – ostvariti pravo Maintenance - uzdržavanje

Članak 2. Pravna pomoć, u smislu ovoga Zakona je način

olakšavanja ostvarenja prava hrvatskih državljana i stranaca te pristupa sudovima i javnopravnim tijelima u Republici Hrvatskoj koja o pravima i obvezama odlučuju, na način da troškove u cijelosti ili djelomično snosi Republika Hrvatska, uzimajući u obzir njihov materijalni položaj i okolnost da ne bi mogli ostvariti prava bez ugrožavanja svojeg uzdržavanja i uzdržavanja članova svojeg kućanstva.

Legal aid is a system by which those below a certain _______ can receive free or subsidized legal representation or advice. In _______ cases, it is paid for mainly from public funds. In _______ cases, costs will usually be met from the costs awarded by the court. It was _________ in Britain in 1949, and is now covered in Scotland by the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act (1986), and in England and Wales by the Legal Aid Act (1988). The high ________ of legal advice is placing strain on the scheme.

Legal aid is a system by which those below a certain income can receive free or subsidized legal representation or advice. In criminal cases, it is paid for mainly from public funds. In civil cases, costs will usually be met from the costs awarded by the court. It was introduced in Britain in 1949, and is now covered in Scotland by the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act (1986), and in England and Wales by the Legal Aid Act (1988). The high cost of legal advice is placing strain on the scheme.

Complete the definition:

Legal aid is __________ legal representation, advice and ______________, usually carried out by a _______________ or _____________.

LSC stands for ____________________________. LSC was established by ________________ Act in

________.

Legal aid is state-funded legal representation, advice and ASSISTANCE, usually carried out by a SOLICITOR or a BARRISTER

LSC – Legal Services Commission

LSC was established by ACCESS TO JUSTICE Act in 1999