Special case means that according to Article 34 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), the defendant in a criminal case is blind, deaf or dumb, or the minor has not entrusted a defender, or the defendant may be sentenced to death without entrusting a defender, and should receive legal aid.
You can apply for legal aid under the following circumstances
(1) Ordinary
I. Request for State compensation
Two, request to give social insurance benefits or minimum living security.
Third, request pensions and relief funds.
4. Request to pay alimony, alimony and alimony.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) asks for payment of labor remuneration.
Six, advocate the civil rights and interests arising from the courageous behavior.
Seven, the criminal suspect did not hire a lawyer because of economic difficulties after the first inquiry by the investigation organ or since the date of taking compulsory measures;
Eight, the victims of public prosecution cases and their legal representatives or close relatives, since the date of the case transferred for review and prosecution, because of financial difficulties did not entrust an agent ad litem;
Nine, the private prosecutor and his legal representative of a private prosecution case, since the case was accepted by the people's court, because of financial difficulties did not entrust an agent ad litem;
10. In a case where a public prosecutor appears in court for public prosecution, if the defendant fails to entrust a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, and the people's court appoints a defender for the defendant, the legal aid institution shall provide legal aid;
1 1. If the defendant is blind, deaf, dumb or a minor and has not entrusted a defender, or if the defendant may be sentenced to death and has not entrusted a defender, when the people's court appoints a defender for the defendant, the legal aid institution shall provide legal aid without examining the defendant's financial situation.
(2) criminal.
1. The criminal suspect fails to hire a lawyer due to financial difficulties after the first interrogation by the investigation organ or the date when compulsory measures are taken.
Two, the victims of public prosecution cases and their legal representatives or close relatives, since the date of the case transferred for review and prosecution, due to financial difficulties, did not entrust an agent ad litem.
Three, the private prosecutor and his legal representative of a private prosecution case, since the case was accepted by the people's court, because of financial difficulties, did not entrust an agent ad litem.
Legal aid is a social welfare undertaking to help the poor and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the vulnerable groups in society, and it is also an important measure for China to implement the general plan of governing the country according to law and build a well-off society in an all-round way. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to legal aid. The outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan defines "establishing a legal aid system" as the social development goal of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, and the Sixteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly puts forward "actively developing legal aid" as an important content of building socialist political civilization. The promulgation and implementation of the Regulations on Legal Aid and the launch of the large-scale public welfare activity "Fair and just legal aid for China" marked a new expansion and breakthrough in the breadth and depth of legal aid work in China.
At present, in China, there are still a group of people or classes who are in an unfavorable social position due to the low state of nature, economy, society and culture. It is difficult to solve the pressure brought by social problems like normal people and get into trouble. This is the so-called vulnerable group. As an important part of the judicial system, legal aid provides legal help 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.
First, the important strategic significance of legal aid
Legal aid plays an extremely important role in protecting citizens' legitimate rights and interests, developing social welfare undertakings, realizing the principle of "all citizens are equal before the law", perfecting the social security system, perfecting the socialist legal system and safeguarding human rights. Its strategic significance is mainly reflected in the following points:
First of all, legal aid is a concrete manifestation of the implementation of Theory of Three Represents. Carrying out legal aid work is the concrete embodiment of implementing the requirement of "actively carrying out legal aid" of Theory of Three Represents and the 16th Party Congress. The essence of "Theory of Three Represents" is to build the party for the public and govern for the people. General Secretary Hu Jintao pointed out in his speech at the seminar on "Theory of Three Represents" theory that "realizing people's wishes, meeting people's needs and safeguarding people's interests are the fundamental starting point and destination of Theory of Three Represents". To implement Theory of Three Represents, we should care about people's lives, solve specific problems on behalf of the people's interests, especially care about the sufferings of the people in difficulty, seek benefits for the people in difficulty, and solve the problem that they can't afford lawyers and have difficulty in going to court. Carrying out legal aid shows that our party and government sincerely do practical things and solve difficult problems for the masses, care about the interests of the masses, care about their sufferings, and strive to solve problems, which is in line with public opinion and conforms to the people's hearts.
Second, legal aid is a powerful guarantee to realize the rule of law. Governing the country according to law is the basic strategy of the people of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and China to govern the country, which has been confirmed by the reports of the 15th and 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Constitution. Governing the country according to law means that the broad masses of the people, under the leadership of the Party and in accordance with the Constitution and laws, manage state affairs, economic and cultural undertakings and social affairs through various channels and forms, ensure that all state work is carried out according to law, and gradually realize the institutionalization and legalization of socialist democracy, so that this system and law will not be changed because of changes in leaders' views and emphasis. Under socialist conditions, people's sovereignty means that people are the masters of their own country, society and themselves. This is the basic principle of Marxist historical materialism. Only when people's rights are guaranteed can the party's legal ruling status be confirmed and the rule of law be implemented. Legal aid acts take the Constitution and laws as weapons, supervise the actions of the party and the government, provide direct or indirect help for legislation, law enforcement, justice and legal education, enhance the legal awareness of the broad masses of the people, safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, and ensure the smooth realization of governing the country according to law.
Third, legal aid helps to consolidate the party's ruling foundation and position. The Decision of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee clearly pointed out that the core of strengthening the construction of the party's ruling ability is to maintain the flesh-and-blood ties between the party and the people, which is the essential understanding of our party's ruling law. Our party comes from the people and is rooted in the people. Serving the people wholeheartedly is a remarkable symbol that distinguishes our party from any other political party. Our party was born, developed, expanded and matured in close contact and common struggle with the people. The party can't live without the people, and always maintaining flesh-and-blood ties with the people is the source of our party's eternal vitality. Only by maintaining the flesh-and-blood ties between the party and the people can our party always build the party for the public and govern for the people, draw inexhaustible wisdom and strength from the people, win their trust and support, and continuously consolidate its ruling position.
Vulnerable groups are part of the people, and as far as the present situation in China is concerned, vulnerable groups have become a large-scale, complex and widely distributed group. It is mainly composed of widowed, disabled, laid-off, unemployed, rural land-lost, unemployed and other personnel. They are in a weak position in terms of rights protection, economic income, personal ability, etc. One common feature of * * * is poverty. Today, when building a well-off society in an all-round way, it is of great significance to pay attention to vulnerable groups. As the ruling party, China Producers Party has the responsibility to care for and help the disadvantaged groups and solve their difficulties. To ensure a stable ruling position, we must solve the difficulties of the disadvantaged groups from the perspective of ruling.
The clients of legal aid are mainly vulnerable groups. It is a kind of interest expression mechanism, which enables the party to hear the voices of vulnerable groups and keep the flow up and down. Vulnerable groups generally have psychological reactions such as unfairness and loss of interests. Therefore, based on the principles of alleviating social psychological conflicts, coordinating the interests of different groups and promoting social integration, we should establish and improve a smooth interest expression mechanism, and open up channels for communication with the people, so that the people, especially the disadvantaged groups, can directly talk and communicate with relevant government departments on their suggestions, demands and criticisms. On social issues, reform and opening up, and distribution of benefits. So that their interests can be effectively expressed, their voices can appear in the ears of decision makers, so that their interests can be fully considered in decision-making. Through a sound interest expression mechanism, people's psychology and behavior will be adjusted to an appropriate level, and people's unsafe psychology will be gradually reduced and eliminated, and the difficulties and pressures of vulnerable groups will be alleviated and channeled, so as to promote social development and public mentality and effectively improve the social stability coefficient.
Fourth, legal aid is conducive to building a harmonious socialist society. The "Decision" clearly stated: "We should adapt to the profound changes in our society, put the construction of a harmonious society in an important position, focus on stimulating social vitality, promote social fairness and justice, enhance the legal awareness and integrity awareness of the whole society, and safeguard social stability and unity." Fairness and justice is an important symbol of a harmonious society. With the establishment of the socialist market economic system, the original interest pattern has changed, from the same interests of all people to the coexistence of different groups' interests under the premise of the same fundamental interests of the people, and a diversified interest pattern has been formed. In this context, we must make full use of legal means to coordinate and deal with contradictions and conflicts among various interest relations, safeguard legitimate rights and interests, crack down on illegal acts, advocate social justice and create social fairness.
Second, the current problems in legal aid work
It is a citizen's right to get legal aid, and it is the government's responsibility to implement legal aid. Although China's legal aid work has made some achievements at present, there are still many problems and deficiencies, which require us to further study the crux of the problem and explore solutions.
First, funds are seriously insufficient.
According to the statistics of the Legal Aid Center of the Ministry of Justice, there are more than 700,000 cases requiring legal aid every year in China, and less than a quarter of them actually receive assistance. The main reason for this situation is the serious shortage of legal aid funds. According to statistics, in 2003, the national financial allocation for legal aid was only 654.38+0.52 billion yuan, and the per capita legal aid funding was only 10 cents, far below the average level of developing countries. For example, legal aid institutions in 20 counties and cities in Fujian Province have not received any special funds. Due to the shortage of funds, legal aid institutions in some places can only raise the "threshold" for recipients, making it impossible for many people who meet the aid conditions to obtain substantive legal aid. When handling legal aid cases, lawyers can't even give necessary transportation and accommodation subsidies, but also pay various investigation fees, which directly increases the burden on lawyers and affects their enthusiasm for handling cases. Some full-time lawyers in aid agencies quit their jobs and went to law firms, not to mention attracting high-quality legal talents to handle legal aid cases.
Second, the number of personnel is far from enough.
The legal aid system needs a large number of lawyers to participate, but now the number of lawyers is far from enough. At present, there are only 6.5438+200,000 lawyers in China, while there are 6.5438+300,000 practicing lawyers in California. The growth rate of the number of lawyers in the United States is more than five times faster than that of the population. The proportion of lawyers in China's population is 0.95%, which is lower than that of developing countries such as Thailand and Pakistan. In addition, lawyers mainly practice in large and medium-sized cities, which is inversely proportional to the demand for assistance, further aggravating the contradiction between supply and demand. For example, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province has 1 13 lawyers. Even if they all perform their duties, according to the highest regulations, the city can only handle 339 legal aid cases a year. However, by estimating the number of people who need assistance most, such as the disabled and low-income households, the demand for legal aid cases reaches more than 10000, that is, the vast majority of cases.
Third, the coverage of legal aid is not large enough.
The leading idea of legal aid work should be clear, that is, to maximize the excavation and utilization of all resources, so that as many people in difficulty as possible can get legal aid. The satisfaction of the needs of people who need legal aid is subject to the economic and social development of the country, especially to the level of economic development in various places. The Regulations only stipulate the basic scope of legal aid for matters involving civil and administrative litigation, and at the same time authorize the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government to make supplementary provisions on matters other than those stipulated in the Regulations. In addition, the regulations also authorize the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government to formulate standards for economic hardship. In other words, the scope of legal aid implemented at the provincial level shall not be less than that stipulated in the regulations. In some places with good economic conditions and rich aid resources, on the basis of the regulations, the scope of legal aid can be expanded, the standards for financial difficulties can be scientifically formulated, and the threshold can be lowered as much as possible, so that more citizens can become legal aid targets and all citizens in need who meet the prescribed conditions can receive legal aid. However, at present, this standard is still high, which makes it difficult for many citizens to get a "passport".
Fourth, the prospect of legal aid work in county-level places is very worrying.
At present, the places that have established legal aid institutions and carried out legal aid work are mainly concentrated in large and medium-sized cities. Although the establishment of county-level institutions has been basically completed, due to lack of funds or no funds at all, the legal aid work is very limited. This problem is concentrated in some provinces with relatively backward economic development, while the poor population in China is mainly distributed at the county level, especially in the vast rural areas. Therefore, how to effectively carry out the county-level local legal aid work and meet the legal aid needs of special groups such as the county-level local poor people to the greatest extent has become a difficult point for the in-depth development of legal aid work.
Fifth, the current legal aid is mainly limited to the field of litigation, that is, helping people to go to court.
Generally speaking, they only pay attention to protecting the rights and interests of the economically poor, but pay insufficient attention to public interest litigation such as consumer rights protection and environmental protection, or even do not take legal aid at all.
Three, take practical measures to deepen the work of legal aid.
The legal aid system is a social welfare undertaking and the common responsibility of the party and the government. We should take the rule of law, equality and justice as the basic value orientation, constantly solve the difficulties and problems in legal aid work, boldly explore and innovate, take measures, pay close attention to implementation, and promote the continuous development and deepening of legal aid work.
First, it is necessary to establish rules and regulations, standardize procedures, and consolidate the cornerstone of legal aid. On the basis of summing up the legal aid work, fix those good methods and good working procedures in the form of rules and regulations to standardize and guide the practice of legal aid work.
Second, it is necessary to clarify tasks, implement responsibilities, and give full play to the functions of legal aid institutions. In the organization and implementation of legal aid work, it is necessary to adjust measures to local conditions and reasonably organize personnel, lawyers, grassroots legal service workers and other legitimate volunteers to participate in handling cases. At the same time, while meeting the needs of social legal aid, we continue to accumulate experience and promote the professional development of legal aid cases. According to the characteristics of legal service workers, the contents and methods of their legal aid obligations should be stipulated, and they should be organized and guided to carry out legal aid for civil legal affairs that is suitable for their work fields and professional abilities.
The third is to build a network, straighten out the relationship and expand the coverage of legal aid. People's governments at all levels and judicial administrative organs shall, in accordance with the principles and spirit stipulated in the Regulations, take practical measures to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all sectors of society to participate in legal aid, encourage and support all sectors of society to actively participate in legal aid with their own resources, strengthen the work force of legal aid, continuously expand the coverage of legal aid, and more broadly meet the legal aid needs of poor people. Actively explore the organizational forms and ways for trade unions, the Communist Youth League, women's federations, disabled persons' federations and other social groups to participate in legal aid, and guide them to standardize their work.
Fourth, while striving for government funds at all levels, we should strengthen publicity and strive for the greatest understanding and support from society. The Regulations on Legal Aid promulgated by the State Council is an important basis for us to carry out legal aid work. Relevant government departments should conscientiously implement it and regard legal aid as the government's duty.
To sum up, it is not difficult to see that it is of great significance to carry out legal aid work for solving social contradictions, promoting judicial justice and fairness, and maintaining social balance and stability, especially in the process of building a harmonious socialist society, legal aid will play an irreplaceable role.
Article 6 of the Regulations on Legal Aid clearly stipulates the quality of legal aid provided by lawyers. "Lawyers shall perform their legal aid obligations in accordance with the Lawyers Law and these Regulations, provide legal services that meet the standards for recipients, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of recipients according to law, and accept the supervision of lawyers associations and judicial administrative departments." Article 28 of the Regulations stipulates that "those who refuse to accept or terminate legal aid cases without justifiable reasons shall be given a warning and ordered to make corrections; If the circumstances are serious, he shall be punished by stopping practicing 1 month or more and 3 months or less. However, this does not mean that legal aid cannot be stopped halfway. Article 23 of the Regulations stipulates that under any of the following circumstances, the legal aid institution shall terminate legal aid after examination and verification: (1) the recipient's economic income changes and no longer meets the conditions for legal aid; (2) The trial of the case has been concluded or revoked; (3) The donee entrusts a lawyer or other agent by himself; (four) the recipient requests the termination of legal aid.