Organizational and legal principles of providing legal professional assistance in Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the organizational and legal issues of legal professional assistance in Ukraine. Protection of human rights and freedoms, their approval and provision is the main task of any democratic state. The Constitution of Ukraine guarantees the observance of basic human rights, including the right to receive qualified legal assistance. In certain cases provided for by law, this is the provision of free legal aid. Free legal aid, as one of the manifestations of a social state that cares for its citizens, was maintained by the state to one degree or another throughout the existence of statehood. It has been found that the specifics of ensuring a person's right to professional legal assistance in Ukraine depend on: 1) the type of assistance a person needs, according to the economic (material) criterion (paid or free); 2) categories of persons who have the right to free secondary legal aid (indigent, participants in hostilities, detained in accordance with the provisions of criminal procedural legislation, etc.); 3) type of proceedings depending on the field of law (professional legal assistance in criminal, civil, administrative, economic proceedings). The special features of professional legal assistance are highlighted: 1) it is a type of professional activity performed by a lawyer; 2) provides legal content in actions (services), in particular, provision of legal information and consultations; drawing up legal documents; representation of another person in court; ensuring the protection of a person against criminal charges, etc.; which may have the meaning of a legal fact that creates, changes or terminates a specific legal relationship; 3) may be provided on a paid or free basis; 4) has a risky nature, if it is provided on a paid basis (on a contractual basis), since the provision of professional legal assistance does not guarantee obtaining a positive result in the case in favor of the client; 5) complies with the principles of rule of law, legality, independence, preventiveness, inadmissibility of conflict of interests, confidentiality, quality, etc. The grounds on the basis of which the provision of free secondary legal aid is terminated by the decision of the Center for the provision of free secondary legal aid have been determined.