Legal aid in Germany

Abstract

The subject. The article is devoted to problems of institute of legal aid in German civil procedure law. The purpose of the article is to confirm or disprove hypothesis that financial support is the main but not exclusive form of legal aid in Germany. The methodology of the study includes analysis and synthesis of German civil procedure legislation, description of decisions of German Federal Court of Justice and interpretation of legal studies concerning legal aid issues. The main results and scope of their application. The right to state support for equal access to judicial protection, regardless of property status, has constitutional grounds. The fundamental aspect of the principle of the rule of law is the prohibition of unauthorized enforcement of legal claims, and, therefore, the need to go to the court. Thus, ensuring equal access to judicial protection for all, including the needy persons, is a duty of a state governed by the rule of law. An important guarantee in this case is legal aid. In Germany, this aid, enshrined in civil procedure law, is a special reflection of the General social and legal institution of social assistance. The author reveals the structure of the main costs associated with the conduct of the process and covered by the legal aid, as well as conditions for the provision of such assistance in Germany – personal preconditions and prerequisites regarding the prospects for the conduct of the process. The provision of legal aid does not exclude the risk of a poor party that arise in connection with the loss process and the reimbursement court costs to the prevailing party. In addition, the provision of legal aid does not exempt from the obligation of its subsequent reimbursement to the Federal land budget from free revenues. The compilation and maintenance of statistics on the cost of certain types of proceedings by the Federal States of Germany, which account for the lion's share of the costs of maintaining the judicial system, seems justified from a fiscal point of view. However, it does not mean that the judicial system as a whole should be subordinated to the logic of economic profitability of services for dispute resolution. Conclusions. The provision of legal aid in Germany requires the identification of a set of conditions-relating to both the person and the prospects of the case. However, financial assistance in the conduct of proceedings is not the only way to ensure legal aid, another is, for example, the simplification of judicial procedure. It is at the discretion of the state to choose the means of legal aid to ensure effective protection of rights, however it may not be possible without qualified legal assistance.