Coming Soon:
Toolkit on Standards and Best Practices for Determining Eligibility for Legal Aid Services
The UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems make clear States’ responsibility to ensure equal access to justice for all by providing legal aid services to anyone detained or accused of a criminal offense who cannot afford a lawyer. Yet around the world, millions are arrested, prosecuted and convicted without access to any legal representation. Research has shown a that a primary reason for this is that in many countries, the requirements or conditions that individuals need to meet to qualify for access to legal aid services are creating barriers to access.
The ILF is preparing to release a new, practical toolkit focused on global models for determining eligibility for and assigning legal aid. It is hoped that this toolkit will help advance implementation of the right to legal aid by providing countries with model language that they can use in reforming their laws and policies, and case studies of geographically diverse good practices for implementing these laws and policies in practice.
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More About the Toolkit
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​The ILF, with the support of pro bono partners, conducted a comprehensive 25- country which found that a primary barrier to legal aid is the requirements or conditions that individuals need to meet to quality for services. These conditions include requiring such an extreme level of poverty that only the most destitute would qualify; onerous and degrading processes to prove economic need; and limiting legal aid eligibility to certain categories of people or crimes.
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The forthcoming toolkit stems from extensive research on eligibility criteria and its implementation in practice in five diverse countries. It will:
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Identify model laws, policies, and practices that align with international standards;
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Provide model legal language to guide legislative reform;
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Share case studies from geographically diverse countries that highlight successful approaches; and
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Offer a framework for assessing and improving legal aid systems around the world.​​