Chapter IV
237
special lists of municipal governments and in federal lists. They are paid by the Government at the
established rates per hour or per case;
5. To provide legal services to certain ethnic or professional groups, many cities and towns have legal aid
societies. These are funded primarily from charitable donations and voluntary contributions, however
the authorities may also finance them;
6. Since 1970, pro bono law firms have been operating. These firms do not participate in the cases of
individual clients, but file claims against the government or corporations related to the protection
of the rights and interests of certain groups (consumers, political activists, electors, taxpayers) or to
environment and public health protection (e.g., claims against polluting enterprises or against the
construction of atomic power stations); and
7. Medium- and large-sized law firms that provide free legal services to certain people
77
.
These organizational forms use three traditional models for the provision of legal aid to indigent clients: (1)
the system of appointed counsels; (2) the contractual system; and (3) the system of public defenders
78
.
South Africa was one of the first countries to set up a state-funded legal aid bureau. It was founded in 1937
in Johannesburg. In 1969, the Legal Aid Board, an independent body, was established in accordance with
the Legal Aid Act. The Board began to operate in 1971. Its main objective is to ensure access to legal aid for
indigent persons.
The South African system of legal aid uses the following models: (1) salaried public defenders (lawyers and
candidate attorneys); (2) state-compensated private practitioners appointed from a list who are paid for
certain types of work or per day in court; (3) primary legal aid provided by legal aid offices in courts; and (4)
law clinics, justice centers, private specialist law firms (based on a contract), and advice offices that employ
legal advisors. The South African history shows that the expenses for public defenders are 40% lower than
those for private practitioners.
In South Africa, the graduates of law universities have a compulsory two-year internship. Candidate-attorney
interns have the right to assist public defenders. Each public defender can have up to ten interns working in
regional offices of public defenders. In addition, interns can work for private law firms. Each candidate attorney
handles ten cases a month and provides free consultations to the public one day a week. In addition, contracts
can be made with law firms and legal clinics for the provision of certain types of legal aid.
In
Israel, the legal aid system was launched in 1972 in accordance with the Legal Aid Law. In 1995, in
pursuance of the newly adopted Public Defender Law
79
, the Public Defender Bureau, a division of the Ministry
of Justice, and a five-member Public Defender Council
80
were set up. Israel has a mixed model for the provision
77
Barschevsky, M. Y. Business Legal Community in the U.S. and Germany: A Training Aid. Moscow, Belyye Alvy, 1995, pp. 5, 31–32; Vlasikhin, V. A. Legal
Profession and Legal Education in the U.S. // Organization of Defense in Criminal Cases in the U.S. Moscow, 1999; Vlasikhin, V. A. Private Legal Practice
in the U.S. // Legal Advisor, 1997, #8, p. 79; Free Legal Aid to the U.S. Nationals // The Advokat Newspaper, 1998, #2, p. 10.
78
Apparova, T. V. Organization and Functions of the Legal Community in Foreign Countries. Legal Aid to Indigent Persons / Executive Editor Reshetnikov,
F. M. Moscow, 1991, p. 59.
79
Moshe Hacohem. Creation of the Legal Aid System Based on the Principle of Compliance with Human Rights in Israel // Pravovyye Initsiativy, February,
2004, p. 59.
80
Ibid, p. 58.
FREE LEGAL AID IN KAZAKHSTAN
238
of free legal aid, which combines the elements of the public defender model (where public defenders are
salaried officials) and the private practitioner model (where outside lawyers work under contracts with the
Public Defender Bureau and provide services to indigent persons charged with an offence).
The Israeli legal aid system includes two important components. The first one ensures the provision of legal
services in civil cases; the second in criminal cases by the Public Defender’s Office. Legal advice is also provided
by legal clinics of universities, which involve mainly students who receive academic marks for practicing legal
aid
81
.
In
the Netherlands, the creation of an optimal system of social services began in the 1950s and reached its
peak by 1970. As a result, a system of “social lawyers’ services” evolved, including 90 legal aid centers (since
1948), over 50 “law shops” staffed by volunteers (since 1969), and 20 legal aid counters (since 1974)
82
. In
1957, the first state-funded legal aid program was launched on the initiative of lawyers.
The Legal Aid Act, which took effect in January, 1994, imposed the responsibility for the organization of legal
aid on the Minister of Justice and the head of the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Aid Department. The administration
of legal aid was vested with five independent Councils for Legal Aid.
The legal aid system combines two models: legal aid provided by private attorneys and the lawyers employed
by Legal Aid Bureaus.
The Netherlands have 30 Legal Aid Bureaus which provide general legal information and advice on non-
complicated legal issues. The admission criteria for the lawyers in the bureaus are as follows: they should
have taken part in a certain number of cases, should have passed their training, and should have special
qualification to work as duty counsels.
In the majority of cases, the state-funded legal aid is not fully free: it is to be paid partly by the applicant
depending on the level of his or her income.
The Legal Aid Act provides for three types of aid:
•
free half-hour consultations for any citizen on any legal issue provided by in-house lawyers of the
Centers for Legal Aid and Advice;
•
extended consultations (more than 30 minutes but not more than three hours) if a legal issue can be
solved in a comparatively short time. A client must make payment and provide information on his or
her income, and the Council must check this information;
•
the certificate procedure used in case of long-term legal aid (three hours or more) provided by lawyers
from the Centers or by private attorneys paid by the Council.
Private attorneys receive a fixed fee depending on the average time spent on a certain type of cases. In-house
lawyers receive salaries.
81
Ibid, p. 60.
82
The Dutch Law Culture / Executive Editors Boitsova, V. V., and Boitsova, L. V. Moscow, Legat, 1998, pp. 115–117.
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