Helsinki Foundation reveals alarming inadequacies in legal aid provision

According to a report by the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation (HFPC) on access to legal aid in Poland, nearly half of the accused in 2000 did not have an attorney and the situation is deteriorating every year. People are reluctant to file cases to court or to hire an attorney due to high costs. Around 60% of people who have a case in court did not hire legal repre sentation due to the high costs of legal advice.The report says that one third of people who lacked an attorney did not know that they may file for a government appointed one and those who did only leant that they had this right from sources other than court. The authors of the report emphasize that the situation is worsened by the lack of competition on the legal services market. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 6) A.Z.