1. Legal aid, as an important part of the judicial system, provides legal assistance to people who lack the ability and financial difficulties, so that they can stand before the law on an equal footing and enjoy equal legal protection. Legal aid system is the inevitable product of the development of human legal civilization and legal culture to a certain stage, and the result of the progress of national economic and social civilization and the enhancement of the concept of rule of law. It is an inevitable choice to help the people solve the difficult litigation problem through legal means under the background of building a socialist country ruled by law in China, and it is an important guarantee to promote judicial justice. Characteristics of aid editing and broadcasting China legal aid has the following characteristics:
1. Legal aid is the responsibility of the state and the behavior of the government, which is organized and implemented by the legal aid agency established by the government. It embodies the obligations of the state and the government to citizens.
2. Legal aid is a legal and institutionalized behavior and an important part of the national social security system.
3 recipients are persons with financial difficulties, the disabled, the weak or special objects designated by the people's court.
2. Legal aid refers to a legal guarantee system in which legal aid agencies established by the government or lawyers from non-governmental organizations provide legal services for people with financial difficulties or special cases, especially in rural areas. A special case refers to a case in which the criminal suspect or defendant is a mental patient who is blind, deaf, dumb or has not completely lost the ability to identify or control his own behavior, and has not entrusted a defender in accordance with the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC). People's courts, people's procuratorates and public security organs shall notify legal aid institutions to appoint lawyers to defend them. If a criminal suspect or defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death without entrusting a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.
Three. Services provided by legal aid
The services provided by legal aid are basically similar to those provided by professional law firms, including:
(1) consulting service: provide professional answers to legal questions raised by citizens by telephone, e-mail or face-to-face communication.
(2) Agency: mainly drafting legal documents and providing document preparation for the initiation of litigation or non-litigation procedures. Because professional legal documents have a certain format, it is relatively difficult for the parties who lack legal knowledge to make them.
(3) Non-litigation legal aid: representing the parties in conciliation, mediation and arbitration.
(4) Litigation legal aid: Acting as an agent for the parties in civil and administrative litigation, as the defender of the defendant (criminal suspect) or the agent of the victim or private prosecutor in public prosecution cases. Of course, due to personnel restrictions and other issues, the services provided by a legal aid unit are often limited, and it is generally impossible to accept all cases. For example, general litigation legal aid will be targeted, such as protecting the rights of migrant workers and minors. At this point, the parties concerned should properly understand the legal aid units in their own cities, or request the city legal aid center to arrange for them to prevent empty running.
legal ground
Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), if a criminal suspect or defendant fails to entrust a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, he or his near relatives may apply to a legal aid institution. To meet the conditions of legal aid, legal aid institutions shall appoint lawyers to defend them.
If the criminal suspect or defendant is a mental patient who is blind, deaf, dumb or has not completely lost the ability to identify or control his own behavior, and has not entrusted a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.
If a criminal suspect or defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death without entrusting a defender, the people's court, the people's procuratorate and the public security organ shall notify the legal aid institution to appoint a lawyer to defend him.