Advocate in the system of free legal aid: organizational and legal basis of interaction

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the organizational and legal foundations of the interaction of advocates and the system of free legal aid. It has been established that the provision of free secondary legal aid to a certain category of persons is a constitutional guarantee and a positive obligation of the state, which is implemented thanks to the system of free legal aid and to a large extent the involvement of lawyers in it, who are one of the subjects authorized to provide various types legal services. The views of scientists and practitioners on the issue of the monopoly of providing professional legal assistance by lawyers are analyzed. The author supported the arguments in her favor.
 Particular attention is paid to the statistical indicators of the provision of free secondary legal assistance by advocates, which demonstrate the importance of the latter's work in the system of free legal assistance and their demand. It was determined that the organizational aspects of the cooperation of advocates with the system of free legal aid are, firstly, the selection of lawyers, secondly, the distribution of cases, thirdly, the payment of fees, and fourthly, the control over the quality of their work.
 The features of the competitive selection of lawyers for the system of free legal aid are analyzed. The thesis that they are formalized can be refuted by clear criteria according to which advocates can provide free legal aid, because without them it is impossible to hold a competition. At the same time, the selection of advocates for the system of free legal aid should be as transparent as possible. Another problem is the distribution of cases between advocates, which can be solved by improving the information and analytical system of free legal aid, which will provide for an automated procedure for the distribution of cases. The following two organizational aspects of the interaction of advocates and the system of free legal aid are called remuneration of lawyers and control over the quality of their work. Attention is focused on the debt problem that arose before advocates during the martial law period and the importance of its solution.