The role of free legal aid in the mechanism of access to justice

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the analysis of Ukraine’s international obligations in the sphere of access to justice and, in particular,to legal aid.The case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the civil and criminal aspects relating to the criteria for the effectivenessof legal aid is reviewed, as well as the cases where such assistance should be provided free of charge by the state. Article 6 § 1 doesnot imply that the State must provide free legal aid for every dispute relating to a «civil right». There is a clear distinction betweenArticle 6 § 3 (c) – which guarantees the right to free legal aid in criminal proceedings subject to certain conditions – and Article 6 § 1,which makes no reference to legal aid. However, the Convention is intended to safeguard rights which are practical and effective, inparticular the right of access to a court.The national legislation governing the procedure for providing free legal aid is analyzed. The categories of persons eligible tofree secondary legal aid and the categories of cases in which such aid is provided are considered. As of today, there are 17 categoriesof persons eligible to free secondary legal aid. The Law lacks a single criterion for determining a person’s social vulnerability andprovides for a wide range of life circumstances that create the prerequisites for a person to obtain free secondary legal aid under thefollowing criteria: property, age, social status and case category.The institutional and regulatory development of the national legal aid system is described. Key directions for the development ofthe national legal aid system are outlined: improving the quality of the provision of free secondary legal aid and protecting the systemfrom political influence.The role and place of non-governmental organizations providing free legal aid in creating real access to justice was alsoexamined. As an example, the The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union promotes the development of humane society based onrespect to human life, dignity and harmonious relations between a person, state and nature through creation of a platform forcooperation between the members of the Union and other members of the human rights movement.It is stated that the interaction of the state legal aid system and non-governmental human rights organizations creates real accessto justice, and specifically to the European Court of Human Rights.