Koncepcja nieodpłatnej pomocy prawnej a obowiązki radców prawnych wynikające z ustawy o nieodpłatnej pomocy prawnej oraz edukacji prawnej
The concept of free legal aid and legal advisers’ duties arising from the Act on Free Legal Aid and Legal Education

Summary/Abstract: The enactment on June 25, 2015, of the Act on Free Legal Aid and Legal Education (Dz.U. [Journal of Laws] of 2015, item 1255) constitutes a de facto crowning achievement of efforts spanning over the last ten years toward eliminating the loophole from the Polish legal order that the lack of regulations enabling natural persons of modest means to receive access to free pre-litigation legal aid financed by the state has undoubtedly created. The legislators’ intentions with regard to the statute discussed are elucidated within the standards set under international and European Union laws concerning the realization of the right to a fair trial. The legitimacy of implementing this provision, which enables access to free-of-charge, professional counsel at the pre-litigation stage, in principle does not beg any reservations. Full acceptance of the solutions adopted by the legislators does, however, give rise to many concerns – in particular from the perspective of legal advisers who fulfill tasks regarding legal protection. The enacted pieces of legislation will have a clear impact on the professional sphere of legal advisers. The impact will not only find expression in the scope of legal advisers’ duties, but also influence the entire legal services market. By creating certain specific rules for rendering free-of-charge legal aid by lawyers who are not legal advisers (advocates or tax advisors), legislators do not guarantee the quality of the legal aid these entities render by releasing them from liability for actions taken, and thus do not provide the actual fulfillment of the aims adopted under the statute. The intention behind this article is to point to the basic solutions under the statute that bring about new and heretofore unknown obligations of legal advisers.

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