 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