Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30 Session 7, 3 Dec 2013

1. Revision of the last session 2. Legal Aid 3. Vocabulary work

The Legal Profession in England

1. Who are solicitors? Who do they work with? 2. Where do solicitors usually work? 3. What sort of work do they generally do? 4. Do they appear in court? 5. How do you become a solicitor?

1. Who are barristers? Who are their clients? 2. What is the right of audience? 3. How are barristers referred to in court? 4. What type of business organisation do barristers normally have? 5. How do you become a barrister?

1. Solicitors are employed in private practice, either alone or in a partnership firm. Others are employed in the public service, industry or commerce. 2. They are consulted by lay clients on a wide variety of matters, both civil and criminal – e.g. the making of wills, the administration of property, family matters, the formation of companies, the drawing up of documents, conveyancing and criminal offences. 3. Solicitors have the right of audience only in the inferior courts. 4. Solicitors are not liable for defamation for statements made in court during the course of the trial. 5. However, a solicitor can be sued for damages for negligence in the conduct of his profession, e.g. if he has carelessly lost documents entrusted to him.

1. Niži odvjetnici se zapošljavaju u privatnim odvjetničkim tvrtkama, ili sami ili s partnerima. Tako đ er se zapošljavaju u državnoj službi, industriji i trgovini. 2. Njihov usluge traže stranke laici vezano uz mnoge različite probleme, kako iz gra đ anskog, tako i iz kaznenog prava – npr. sastavljanje oporuka, upravljanje imovinom, obiteljske stvari, osnivanje poduzeća, sastavljanje dokumenata, prijenos prava vlasništva i kaznena djela. 3. Niži odvjetnici imaju pravo zastupanja samo na nižim sudovima. 4. Niži odvjetnici ne mogu odgovarati pred sudom za klevetu za izjave izrečene na sudu tijekom su đ enja. 5. Me đ utim, od nižih je odvjetnika moguće tražiti odštetu za nemar u obavljanju svog posla, npr. ako nepažnjom izgube dokumente koje su im povjereni.

Unit 8

Answer the questions with your partner: 1. Equality before the law is a requirement laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights. Is that really so in practice? Why (not)? 2. If you had a problem which might be resolved by a court, what would you do? What do you think most people would do?

 EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW - implications: ◦ Everyone knows the law ◦ Everyone will be able to afford the same quality representation  Two main needs: 1.obtaining good quality LEGAL ADVICE 2.being represented in a court of law (LEGAL REPRESENTATION)

 European Convention on Human rights  European Convention on Human rights – imported into English law in 2000  Principles in criminal procedure – everyone is entitled to: ◦ a fair and public hearing ◦ have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence ◦ defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require  In civil procedures: ◦ The aim is to ensure the litigant to be on an equal footing with their opponent (litigant – stranka u parničnom postupku)

 Legal Aid Act 1988 – brings together various systematic schemes of legal aid  Candidates for legal aid were put through a means test, and the case itself through a merit test (means – sredstva; merit – zasluga)

 MEANS TEST – aimed at establishing whether the candidate is sufficiently financially disadvantaged to be eligible for legal aid  MERIT TEST – the case is evaluated in order to establish whether it was relevant enough to receive public funding financially disadvantaged, adj. – poor eligible (for sth), adj. – meeting the criteria for sth

 This system did not function very well - a lot of money was being spent and a very low percentage of the disadvantaged was actually getting free legal aid  As a consequence alternative voluntary services developed to deal with the ‘unmet legal need’  The legal aid system radically reformed by the Access to Justice Act 1999

 Introduces new criteria and selection mechanisms  Establishes the main authority for the organisation and provision of free legal aid: Legal Services Commission the Legal Services Commission (LSC)

CONTRACTING  In the earlier systems, any solicitor could provide legal assistance and then claim fees from the State  Within the new system, only those legal professionals who meet certain quality criteria and then conclude a contract with the LSC can provide free legal aid.  Contracted firms undergo regular quality audits, but are also provided training in areas of the law where free legal aid is regularly sought (homelessness, repossession of property, human rights, immigration and asylum, etc.)

 Funding for legal advice and representation available for: very expensive cases, judicial review (revizija sudskog postupka, revizija sudske odluke), claims against public authorities (tužbe protiv upravnih tijela), clinical negligence (liječnički nemar), housing, family, mental health, immigration and asylum  means test may apply

 Funding for legal advice and representation NOT available for: personal injury claims, boundary disputes (sporovi oko me đ e), wills, defamation (kleveta), company law, etc.

 CDS provides legal advice and representation to people under police investigation or facing criminal charges  Run by the LSC in partnership with criminal defense lawyers and representatives  Makes contracts and employs attorneys directly to provide legal advice and assistance (Public Defenders)  Defendants have the right to choose another legal representative, other than the public defender

 Cases in which the defendant is represented through CDS undergo a merit test, whose aim is to establish that the case is more than trivial  Defendants undergo a means test

spouses’s assets may be required to contribute towards the cost of the proceedings  Depending on the results of the test, in which a spouses’s assets and possible criminal assests are also considered, the defendant may be required to contribute towards the cost of the proceedings assets acquired through crime  This is to prevent, among other things, defendants with assets acquired through crime from having access to free legal aid spouse, n. - supružnik assets, n. – imovina, sredstva

 “No Win No Fee”  Defined as “an agreement with a person providing advocacy or litigation services which provides for his fee and expenses, or any part of them, to be payable only in specified circumstances”, i.e. only if the lawyer wins the client’s case  Available only for civil cases, prohibited in criminal proceedings and virtually all family proceedings.

equality before the law legal advice legal representation means test merit test (to be) eligible (for) assets Legal Services Commission contracting Conditional Fee Agreement ("no win no fee")

Thank you for your attention!