On January 1, 2006, the Legal Aid Act (LAA) came into force. According to it, free legal aid can be provided in labor, marital, property disputes (such as property, rent), disputes over the payment of alimony, and others.
Types of cases and procedures for which legal aid is provided:
- criminal cases;
- civil cases, including subsequent enforcement proceedings initiated within one year of the entry into force of the court decision, if there is no change in the circumstances that existed during the consideration of the application for legal aid;
- administrative cases;
- extrajudicial procedures - representation in administrative-criminal proceedings, in proceedings for issuing an individual administrative act, in proceedings for challenging an individual administrative act under administrative procedure, in proceedings before arbitration and in mediation proceedings;
- international disputes in civil and commercial cases of citizens of European Union Member States or legally residing in a European Union Member State, and in cases where the dispute is resolved by a competent authority in another European Union Member State.
Types of legal assistance:
Consultation and/or preparation of documents with a view to reaching an agreement before initiating legal proceedings or for filing a case, for initiating or conducting proceedings for issuing an individual administrative act and/or its administrative challenge, including consultation on the National Legal Aid Hotline and consultation at the Regional Consultation Center of the relevant Bar Council
- procedural representation;
- representation in out-of-court procedures including arbitration and mediation;
- representation in detention under Art. 72, para. 1 of the Ministry of Interior Act, under Art. 16a of the Customs Act and under Art. 124b, para. 1 of the State Agency for National Security Act;
- Litigation representation in international disputes in civil and commercial matters.