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Applications for Legal Aid

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Photo: Government Offices of Sweden

The Central Authority is the intermediary organ for applications for legal aid under Council Directive 2002/8/EC of 27 January 2003 to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes by establishing minimum common rules relating to legal aid and the 1980 Hague Convention on international access to justice. The Regulation is applicable in all EU Member States with the exception of Denmark. Instead, between Denmark and some Member States, the Strasbourg agreement is applicable. Persons resident in the territory of a state party to the Conventions or the Regulation who wish to apply for legal aid in matters of a civil, commercial or administrative nature in the territory of another state party to the Convention, the Agreement or the Regulation, may submit an application to this effect in their own state. Please observe that neither of these agreements apply to requests related to criminal cases.

When legal aid of this type is requested for a legal matter in another country, the application is sent to the Central Authority to be forwarded to the Central Authority of the other state. When such legal aid is requested for a legal matter in Sweden, the application is sent to the Swedish Central Authority which forwards it to the National Legal Aid Authority in Sundsvall or, if a case is in progress at a court, directly to the court.

Information about legal aid in Sweden is available at the National Courts Administration's website.

The form for transmission of requests, which can be found under external links in the column to the right, is applicable both under the Regulation and the Strasbourg agreement.

Laws, Conventions and Agreements

Laws, Conventions and Agreements

The Swedish provisions concerning legal aid are found in:

- Act of legal aid (1996:1619), only in Swedish

- The ordinance concerning legal aid (1997:404), only in Swedish

Provisions regarding legal aid can be found in the following instruments:

- Council Directive 2002/EC of 27 January 2003 to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes by establishing minimum common rules relating to legal aid for such disputes.

- 1977 Strasbourg agreement on the transmission of applications for legal aid

- 1980 Hague Conventions on international access to justice (The Hague, October 25, 1980.) (prop. 1985/86:161, JuU 1986/87:2, rskr 1986/87:18)

Contact

Central Authority
Ministry of Justice
Phone (switchboard) +46 8 405 10 00
Fax +46(0)8-405 46 76
Visiting address Jakobsgatan 24
Address 103 33 Stockholm
email to Central Authority
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