On Wednesday March 16th, the government adopted the draft law ensuring access to free legal assistance for poor people. Within the confines of the cross-departmental consultations, which also included the representatives of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, a draft law was drawn up on access to free legal assistance, ensured by the State for private persons, and will now be delivered to the Sejm.
The project provides for the formation of a network of offices that would deliver free legal assistance, including i.e. providing information, preparing lawsuit letters and petitions, and representing individuals during proceedings before courts and administrative organs. People with low income (according to the Act on social assistance), as well as people, who cannot handle their own affairs as a result of homelessness, unemployment, long-lasting or series illness or domestic violence, could benefit from such assistance. It is estimated that annually around 200 thousand people will benefit from the offices’ assistance. The assistance would also include people seeking to receive refugee status.
Within the confines of the programme “Access to legal assistance”, carried out during the period between 2001 and 2003, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights performed research and prepared proposals of changes aimed at improving the access to legal assistance in Poland. One of them was the act on access to legal assistance.
More information about the programme and the conclusions is available on the website http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/en/.
