Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.
A number of delivery models for legal aid have emerged, including duty lawyers, community legal clinics and the payment of lawyers to deal with cases for individuals who are entitled to legal aid.
A pre-paid legal service is an individual or group low-cost insurance provider for specific, limited legal services (usually basic, but sometimes specialized) from participating law firms and attorneys at costs considerably less than independently hiring these providers. PPL services may be provided on an "open" basis, with a subscriber selecting specialists relatively freely from a pool of participating providers, or in a "closed" system, in which most or all services are provided to a subscriber by one central law firm.
The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. A trial in these countries that is deemed unfair will typically be restarted, or its verdict voided.Various rights associated with a fair trial are explicitly proclaimed in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, as well as numerous other constitutions and declarations throughout the world. There is no binding international law that defines what is or is not a fair trial, for example the right to a jury trial and other important procedures vary from nation to nation.
Right to counsel is currently generally regarded as a constituent of the right to a fair trial, allowing for the defendant to be assisted by counsel (i.e. lawyers), and if he cannot afford his own lawyer, requiring that the government should appoint one for him/her, or pay his/her legal expenses. However, this has not historically always been the case in all countries.Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws...
A number of delivery models for legal aid have emerged, including duty lawyers, community legal clinics and the payment of lawyers to deal with cases for individuals who are entitled to legal aid.
A pre-paid legal service is an individual or group low-cost insurance provider for specific, limited legal services (usually basic, but sometimes specialized) from participating law firms and attorneys at costs considerably less than independently hiring these providers. PPL services may be provided on an "open" basis, with a subscriber selecting specialists relatively freely from a pool of participating providers, or in a "closed" system, in which most or all services are provided to a subscriber by one central law firm.
The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. A trial in these countries that is deemed unfair will typically be restarted, or its verdict voided.Various rights associated with a fair trial are explicitly proclaimed in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, as well as numerous other constitutions and declarations throughout the world. There is no binding international law that defines what is or is not a fair trial, for example the right to a jury trial and other important procedures vary from nation to nation.
Right to counsel is currently generally regarded as a constituent of the right to a fair trial, allowing for the defendant to be assisted by counsel (i.e. lawyers), and if he cannot afford his own lawyer, requiring that the government should appoint one for him/her, or pay his/her legal expenses. However, this has not historically always been the case in all countries.Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws...
