Legal aid is available for
Court proceedings
Normally, a party to court proceedings needs professional assistance, e.g. a civil plaintiff for bringing an action and a criminal defendant for representation by a defence counsel. However, if the matter is by nature such that the applicant can deal with it himself or herself, no legal aid will be given for the court proceedings.
Such matters include:
- simple petitionary matters, such as uncontested divorces
- criminal matters where only a fine is anticipated, and other clear matters, such as drunken driving
- matters pertaining to taxes or public charges
- matters where the claim is based on residency in a given municipality.
Public Legal Aid Offices do, however, provide advice also in these simple matters.
The client has a choice of a Public Legal Aid Attorney or a private attorney for his or her court proceedings.
However, legal aid is usually not granted if the applicant has legal expenses insurance that covers the matter at hand.
Defence counsel in a criminal case
In certain cases, the defendant is entitled to have a defence counsel to assist him or her in the criminal investigation and criminal proceedings, regardless of his or her financial situation.
A defence counsel can be appointed for a person suspected of an aggravated offence or for a person under arrest or on remand upon the person’s request. For a person under 18 years of age and for a person not capable of defending himself or herself, the court may appoint a defence counsel on its own initiative.
A public legal aid attorney, an attorney-at-law or another lawyer licensed to act as an attorney may be appointed as defence counsel. Usually, the person that the defendant suggests for the task is appointed as defence counsel.
The fee of the defence counsel is paid by the state. If the defendant is convicted of the offence, they shall reimburse the state for the defence counsel’s fee. If, however, the means of the defendant are such that he or she would be entitled to legal aid, the obligation to reimburse the state will be determined accordingly.
Attorney or support person for a victim of crime
If a person becomes a victim of domestic violence or a sexual offence, the court may appoint an attorney or a support person for the victim for purposes of the pre-trial investigation and the trial. If the victim wishes to make claims in the trial, the court will appoint an attorney. If the victim has no claims, a support person may be appointed.
The attorney or the support person may be appointed regardless of the means of the victim, and their fees and expenses are paid by the State. The appointment as an attorney for the injured party in a criminal case will be given to a Public Legal Aid Attorney, an Advocate or other lawyer licensed to assist clients in trials for legal assistance. Normally, the person nominated by the injured party is appointed as his or her attorney.
In other matters, the victim of crime may be eligible for legal aid.
Compensation to crime victims
If you have been a victim of a crime, you may be eligible for compensation from the state for your personal injuries and suffering. In some situations, you may be entitled to compensation for property and financial damage caused by the crime. More information on compensation for crime victims and instructions on how to apply for it, visit the State Treasury website.
Other matters
In addition to court proceedings, legal aid covers also other legal services. Such services include legal advice, settlement negotiations with an opposing party, inventories of decedent’s estates, assistance in asset distributions and estate distributions, drafting of documents and filing of appeals and complaints.
These other legal services are provided as legal aid only by Public Legal Aid Attorneys, not by private attorneys.
In matters pending abroad, legal aid covers the provision of legal advice.
Legal aid abroad
In general legal aid is limited to cases considered in Finland. In cases considered abroad, Finnish legal aid covers the provision of general legal advice and the decision to grant legal aid is made by the legal aid office.
For weighty reasons, the Ministry of Justice may grant more extensive legal aid than legal advice for a case to be considered abroad. Expenses for a case considered abroad are paid only when there are special humane reasons to do so. Matters where this may be necessary include child abduction cases and criminal cases where a Finnish resident has become the victim of a sex offence abroad. For more information you can contact the International Judicial Assistance Unit at the Ministry of Justice.