Legal Aid

Sally Langrish1 obtained an LL B (Honours) at University College London in 1989, and became Barrister at Law (Middle Temple) in 1991.

She has been Assistant Legal Adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, since 1995.

Since 2000, she has been First Secretary at the Justice and Home Affairs Section (Civil Law) of the United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union.

Previous publication

The Treaty of Amsterdam: Selected highlights', European Law Review, Vol.23, No 1, February 1998.

Directive 2002/8/EC on civil legal aid was adopted to fulfil a political remit from the conclusions of the 1999 Tampere European Council. In order to facilitate access to justice in civil and commercial cases, the European Council invited the Council of Ministers to establish minimum standards ensuring an adequate level of legal aid in cross-border cases throughout the Union 2.

The directive was adopted under Articles 61 (c) and 67 of the EC Treaty. These articles, in conjunction with Article 65 of the Treaty, enable the adoption of 'measures in the field of judicial cooperation in civil matters having cross-border implications ... in so far as necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market'. Under Article 65 (c), the measures permitted include those 'eliminating obstacles to the good functioning of civil proceedings, if necessary by promoting the compatibility of the rules on civil procedure applicable in the Member States'. In accordance with the procedural requirements of Article 67 (as it applied before the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice on 1 February 2003 3), the Council acted on the basis of a proposal from the Commission of 18 January 2002 4. The European Parliament was consulted and delivered its opinion on 25 September 2002 5. The directive was adopted unanimously by the Member States on 27 January 2003.

The directive contains 23 articles set out in 5 chapters. Chapter I deals with scope and definitions; Chapter II sets out the right to legal aid; Chapter III determines the conditions and extent of legal aid; Chapter IV establishes the procedure for making a legal aid application under the directive; and Chapter V contains final provisions.

Chapter I: Scope and Definitions

Article 1(1) sets out the central aim of the directive which is 'to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes by establishing minimum common rules relating to legal aid in such disputes'. This, of course, echoes the mandate from the Tampere conclusions. Article 1(2) limits the application of the directive to 'cross-border disputes'. These are defined in Article 2 of the directive. Article 2(1) and (3) defines a cross-border dispute as one where the party applying for legal aid is, at the time when he submits an application under the directive, domiciled or habitually resident in a different Member State from the Member State where the court hearing the dispute or enforcing a judicial decision is located 6. In simp...

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