Free aid

Free assistance is not only a public system of free legal aid and civic advice. Similar assistance is also offered by other institutions, perhaps their offer will be more accessible to you or better suited to your needs.

Academic legal counselling centres are organisational units of law faculties where law students provide free legal advice. They offer assistance in criminal, civil, administrative and labour law. Some specialise in areas such as support for foreigners, start-ups, patients, people with disabilities. They provide assistance to clients whose financial situation does not allow them to take advantage of paid legal aid. You will also sometimes benefit from the support of academic legal advice centres in cases that are already at the court stage and where you are not entitled to use the public system. The counselling centres do not handle cases in which a solicitor or barrister is already acting.

The counselling centres are located in 15 towns with university law faculties. They are created by universities in order to provide legal assistance to the most vulnerable groups in society and to improve the education process of law students through contact with the practice of law in relation to clients and their real problems.

In the academic counselling centres, you will be advised by a student of at least the third year of law under the supervision of a legal adviser, barrister, judge, person who has passed the judicial examination or a doctorate in legal sciences. They guarantee advice that is reliable, confidential and free of charge.
In all counselling centres, the students will prepare a draft legal opinion for you within about two weeks of your appointment; the draft opinion is subject to the approval of your mentor. Some centres operate both onsite and remotely, and people incarcerated in prisons can receive advice by mail.  You can benefit from the support of academic legal advice centres even if the public system is not available to you.