法律援助制度的几个问题

中国法律援助经历了从 1 994年初起发展到今天的过程。法律援助的概念有广、狭二义之分 ;其性质是法律之助 ,即援助公民个人或者人民法院不向受援人收费或者少收、缓收从而在法律方面提供帮助以维护其合法权益的行为。法律援助的特别包括 :具有国家、社会承担援助的公助性 ;受援人享受法律援助的无偿性和优惠性 ;律师、公证员等提供帮助的法律专业性。法律援助的理论基础有四 :权利保障之要求 ;实现控、辩双方力度平衡之条件 ;司法公正之所需和扶贫助弱法制化发展之必然

Several Issues in the System of Legal Aid

The development of the legal aid in China has undergone a process from 1994, the initial period,to nowadays.The notion of legal aid can be used both in a broad and a narrow sense. The nature of legal aid is the aid of law, i.e. the acts to aid individual citizens or the acts that people's courts do not charge, charge less or defer to charge the persons receiving legal aid, in order to provide aid in the aspect of law to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. Legal aid has the following characteristics: the aid undertaken by state or society is public; the legal aid enjoyed by the people receiving legal aid is gratuitous and preferential; the aid given by lawyers and notaries is legally professional. The four theoretical foundations of legal aid are as follows: request of right guarantee, condition to realize the strength balance of prosecuting party and defending party; need of judicial justice, and inevitability of aiding the poor and the weak and developing the legal system.