(A) the contradiction between limited legal aid resources and a large number of legal aid needs is more prominent. China is in the primary stage of socialism. On the one hand, there are many people who need legal aid. Especially with the implementation of the legal aid system and the deepening of law popularization, the legal awareness of the broad masses of the people, especially social special groups, has been continuously enhanced, and the demand for legal aid has been increasing. Especially after the expansion of the scope of assistance cases, the number of cases requiring assistance has risen sharply. Take industrial injury and labor contract disputes as examples. Luo Zhuang Arbitration Commission handled 293 cases in 20 10, and handled 188 cases this year. According to the regulations of higher-level documents, all migrant workers belong to legal aid cases, with about 150 cases per year; On the other hand, due to the lack of financial subsidies for handling cases in the region, the resources available for legal aid are limited, and limited by human and financial conditions, the legal aid center can only do what it can, and the legal aid cases it accepts are limited to criminal designated defense cases and cases in which parties with special financial difficulties seek legal aid, and we are unable to take care of many other matters in which legal aid can be obtained according to law.
(2) The legal aid team is short of staff and full-time lawyers. The legal aid workstation is established on the basis of the grassroots judicial office, and the personnel are concurrently held by the judicial office personnel. At present, there are only 1 staff in grass-roots judicial offices in our district, who are responsible for the work of judicial offices and legal aid workstations, which undoubtedly increases their workload and affects their work efficiency. Secondly, there is a lack of full-time lawyers. At present, Luo Zhuang Legal Aid Center has only one full-time legal aid lawyer.
(3) The quality of legal aid cases is not high. Due to the limitation of funds, in 2006, the subsidy method for handling litigation cases in this district was formulated, and each litigation case was subsidized to 500 yuan. 20 12 formulated the subsidy measures for non-litigation mediation cases. Every subsidy is given to 50 yuan, and sometimes even the transportation fee paid by the lawyer is hard to offset, which leads to the lawyer's low enthusiasm in handling cases. Some contractors go through the motions in handling legal aid cases, and their preparation is not careful and meticulous, which directly affects the quality of cases; Some legal aid contractors hand over most aid cases to young lawyers and trainee lawyers, lacking the necessary guidance of senior lawyers, and the quality of handling cases is not high.
(d) Economic difficulties prove the lack of a sound system. 1. Although Article 9 of the Regulations on Legal Aid in Shandong Province stipulates that the standard of citizens' financial difficulties shall be based on the minimum living standard set by the local people's government, there is no uniform standard for citizens to prove that they have reached the standard of financial difficulties. In practice, citizens need to provide proof of financial difficulties confirmed by the township or street government. It is difficult for applicants to issue certificates in township streets. First, the streets may not cooperate; Second, the street may not understand the situation and is unwilling to issue it. 2, for the applicant to provide proof of economic hardship is true, with the human and financial resources of the legal aid center, it is almost impossible to verify with the relevant organs and units.
(5) The connection mechanism between civil assistance and court judicial assistance and the coordination mechanism between public security departments and legal departments in criminal legal aid are not perfect. 1. Article 18 of the Regulations on Legal Aid in Shandong Province stipulates that assistance should be given and help should be given, but there is no specific system for the connection between the two. 2. Article 12 of the Legal Aid Regulations stipulates the coordination between criminal legal aid and the court, but there is no clear and effective coordination mechanism with public security and procuratorial work at present.
Countermeasures and suggestions
(a) to further increase the publicity of legal aid work, not only to the people, but also to leading cadres, so that they truly realize that legal aid work is an indispensable cause of governing the country according to law and an inevitable requirement for practicing Scientific Outlook on Development. Really put the cause of legal aid into the important agenda of the party Committee and government, and ensure the healthy development of legal aid from the aspects of staffing and funding guarantee.
(2) Improve the quality of handling cases. Establish a system of senior lawyers giving priority to handling cases, establish a list of senior lawyers according to their professional advantages, and give priority to assigning senior lawyers of relevant professions to undertake cases according to the classification of cases. Due to the small number of lawyers in counties and districts and narrow professional scope, the appointment of lawyers in some professional cases can break the geographical restrictions.
(3) Improve the guarantee mechanism of legal aid funds. 1, establish the minimum subsidy guarantee standard. Legal aid is not only the responsibility of the government, but also a social undertaking. The source of funds for legal aid is mainly borne by the government. When included in the fiscal budget at the same level, the minimum funding guarantee standard for legal aid should be formulated according to the local population situation. 2. Actively develop a diversified fund guarantee mechanism. Article 2 of the Regulations on Legal Aid in Shandong Province clearly stipulates that the society is encouraged to donate to legal aid work, but it is not clear how and by whom to accept donations. Legal aid funds can be set up in cities and counties (districts) according to the model of charitable funds and glorious funds, and social donations can be raised according to law. You can also set up a special fund for legal aid in charitable funds, accept social donations through charitable foundations, and make it clear that donations from the political and legal system are included in the special fund for legal aid.
(four) the establishment of economic difficulties to prove and verify the system. Article 9 of the Regulations on Legal Aid in Shandong Province only stipulates that the minimum living standard stipulated by the local people's government shall be implemented as the standard of citizens' financial difficulties. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate a unified system of proof and verification of economic difficulties in the whole province or the whole city. Our practice is to let the village residence, the township street judicial office and the civil affairs office participate in issuing the certificate of economic difficulties, and the judicial office will verify it with the applicant's unit or village residence on its behalf. This is not only for understanding the situation, but also for the convenience of the applicant.
Explore the establishment of a system in which people in need apply for legal aid without examining their financial difficulties. It is necessary to contact the civil affairs department, establish a database of people with difficulties, and include people with urban and rural minimum living allowances. Anyone who applies for legal aid in the database is exempt from means test. This is convenient for the masses, and applicants do not have to go to towns to prove their financial difficulties.
(5) The connection between civil assistance and judicial assistance by the court shall be jointly formulated by the judicial administrative organ and the court, and specific provisions shall be made on the procedure of transferring judicial assistance to legal aid, the procedure of transferring legal aid to judicial assistance, the style of official letters, and the responsible departments. When judicial aid is transferred to legal aid, our practice is that the court issues a notice to the aid center to appoint an agent. After receiving the notice, the assistance center directly signs an agreement with the applicant and arranges lawyers to represent the lawsuit. The Political and Legal Committee should establish a coordination mechanism between the public security department and the legal department in criminal legal aid as soon as possible. Criminal Legal Aid The practice of our court and the court is that the court sends a notice to the aid center to appoint a defender, and after receiving the notice, the aid center assigns a lawyer to provide legal aid to the defendant.