Free legal help scheme piloted (11.3.2013) скачать в хорошем качестве

Free legal help scheme piloted (11.3.2013)

A two-year pilot scheme to provide free legal advice on civil procedural matters will be launched on March 18. Speaking to the media today, Principal Assistant Secretary for Home Affairs Aubrey Fung said the scheme aims to assist litigants in person -- those without professional legal representation -- who cannot afford private legal services and who lack knowledge of their rights and responsibilities, and to promote the culture of providing pro bono legal advice by the legal profession. Ms Fung noted that in 2011, 36% of litigants at the High Court and 51% at the District Court did not have legal representation. She said litigants in person who have started or are parties to legal proceedings in the District Court, the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal of the High Court, and the Court of Final Appeal are eligible for the pilot scheme, adding that litigants should not have been granted legal aid and must satisfy the pilot scheme's income eligibility limit. Under the scheme, the income eligibility limit is set at a monthly income of $50,000 or an annual income of $600,000. The income of an applicant's spouse will be counted towards the limit, unless the spouse is the opposite party or the applicant and the spouse are living separately. According to the 2011 Population Census, 83.46% of all households in Hong Kong will be eligible, as will 91.9%, 86.11% and 86.84% of one-person, two-person and three-person households. ( http://j.mp/ZDzLNN )