Legal aid refers to a legal protection system in which legal aid agencies established by the government organize legal aid lawyers to provide free legal services to people with financial difficulties or special cases.
Free legal aid means that recipients do not need to pay legal fees. It is actually a subsidy paid by the government to lawyers to handle cases.
1. Chinese citizens who meet the following conditions can apply for legal aid:
1. There are sufficient reasons to prove that you need help to protect your legitimate rights and interests;
2 .Inability or complete inability to pay legal service fees due to financial difficulties (citizens’ financial difficulty standards are implemented by each locality with reference to the regulations of local government departments).
3. Blind, deaf, mute and minors who are criminal defendants or suspects and have not retained a defense lawyer should obtain legal aid.
4. Other disabled persons and the elderly who are criminal defendants or suspects and are unable to hire a defense lawyer due to financial difficulties can obtain legal aid. Criminal defendants who may be sentenced to death and have not retained a defense lawyer should obtain legal aid.
5. In criminal cases, if a foreign defendant does not retain a defender and the people's court appoints a lawyer to defend him, he can obtain legal aid.
Second, conditions for applying for legal aid
(1) Requesting state compensation in accordance with the law;
(2) Requesting social insurance benefits or minimum living security benefits ;
(3) Requesting for pensions and relief funds;
(4) Requesting for payment of alimony, support and support;
(5) ) Request for payment of labor remuneration;
(6) Claim the civil rights and interests arising from acts of bravery;
(7) The criminal suspect has been questioned by the investigation agency for the first time or has been subject to compulsory measures. Since the date when the case was transferred for review and prosecution, the victim has not hired a lawyer due to financial difficulties;
(8) The victim of a public prosecution case and his legal representative or close relatives have not retained a lawyer due to financial difficulties since the date the case was transferred for review and prosecution. person;
(9) Since the private prosecution case was accepted by the People’s Court, the private prosecutor and his legal representative have not entrusted a litigation agent due to financial difficulties;
(10) The public prosecutor appears in court In a public prosecution case, if the defendant fails to retain a defender due to financial difficulties or other reasons, and the people's court appoints a defender for the defendant, the legal aid agency shall provide legal aid;
(11) The defendant is blind or deaf If a defendant is a criminal, mute or a minor and has not appointed a defender, or if the defendant may be sentenced to death but has not appointed 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.
The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may make supplementary provisions on legal aid matters other than those stipulated in Items 1 to 6. The standards for citizens' financial difficulties shall be formulated by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government based on the needs of economic development and legal aid in their respective administrative regions. If the financial hardship standard of the applicant's place of residence is inconsistent with the legal aid agency that accepts the application, the financial hardship standard of the legal aid agency that accepts the application shall prevail.
From the above we can know that free legal aid is tailor-made for those who really need help. Why do you say that? Is it because if you want to apply for legal aid, you still need to be a citizen who meets some specific conditions, and the matters applying for aid must meet some specific conditions.