Abstract
Free-of-charge legal assistance remains one of the key areas of state activity. However, the system created is not optimal and its formal, organisational and financial framework needs to be modified. This concerns not only an increase in the amounts of funding, but also the quality of services provided. Not only is the choice of the legal and organisational model of providing legal assistance doubtful, but also the subjective and objective scope of the statutory regulations (including in the context of interpretation of tax regulations) raise some objections. As a postulate for the law as it should stand de lege ferenda), it is proposed to make appropriate legislative changes, aimed not only at clarifying the content of the provisions, or removing the legislative inconsistencies found, but also at thoroughly considering a remodelling of the legal assistance system in Poland. The above conclusions were formulated against the backdrop of the organisational and financial legal solutions adopted in other countries. To this end, the author used the formal-dogmatic and comparative legal methods, and also resorted to the historical method as an auxiliary method, in order to show the evolution of the institution under analysis.
Highlights
Legal aid is an area of activity of the state, which enjoys a constant broad social demand
As a result of legislative work, an Act was adopted on 5 August 2015, under which, as of 1 January 2016, eligible persons may benefit from an organised system of legal aid
Due to the scope of this study, the inclusion of systemic issues regulated in the Polish Legal Aid Act is limited to its first pillar, i.e. provision of legal aid
Summary
Legal aid is an area of activity of the state, which enjoys a constant broad social demand. As a result of legislative work, an Act was adopted on 5 August 2015, under which, as of 1 January 2016, eligible persons may benefit from an organised system of legal aid.2 It should be pointed out as a side note that in comparison with other European (and even non-European) countries, Poland is quite late in structuring the system of legal aid. Agata Winiarska (Warsaw: Instytut Spraw Publicznych, 2009), 13–39 and Łukasz Bojarski, “Dostęp do nieodpłatnej pomocy prawnej – propozycje zmian,” in Obywatel i prawo III, ed. Due to the scope of this study, the inclusion of systemic issues regulated in the Polish Legal Aid Act (both in organisational and financial terms) is limited to its first pillar, i.e. provision of legal aid Selected aspects of this area of state activity (taking into account the comparative perspective) are shown in the context of the tax-law consequences of actions taken by professional legal representatives (attorneys-at-law and advocates). The financing background has been taken into account, which undoubtedly translates into the shape of the model adopted for the provision of legal aid and the quality of services provided
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