On Tuesday, January 27, the government will consider the amendments to the law prepared by the Ministry of Justice (MJ), which provide for legal assistance to low-income citizens at the stage of preparing a complaint to the Satversme Court.
The Ministry of Justice notes that since January 1, 2019, when the provisions on state legal aid in the Constitutional Court (CC) process came into force, this opportunity has been used very limitedly — in six years it has been provided only in nine cases, while during the same period 1,321 applications were submitted for consideration by the CC panels.
Although not all applicants are entitled to state legal aid, the disproportion in the figures indicates that the existing regulation is not capable of effectively ensuring the protection of socially vulnerable individuals, for whom legal assistance is crucial for preparing a quality application.
The current regulation regarding state legal aid in constitutional proceedings allows for such assistance only after a refusal to initiate a case, resulting in the availability of legal aid being very limited and not meeting the actual needs, especially of socially vulnerable individuals who require support already at the application preparation stage, according to TM.
Amendments to the Law on State Legal Aid must be adopted by the Saeima.
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