Free legal aid

Procedure and conditions for obtaining free legal aid

Primary legal aid

The procedure for obtaining primary legal aid is initiated by directly contacting the provider of primary legal aid (authorized associations, legal clinics or administrative bodies of counties or the City of Zagreb).

Primary legal aid can be provided under the following conditions:

if the applicant himself does not have sufficient knowledge and ability to exercise his right

if the applicant is not provided with legal aid based on special regulations

if the submitted request is not clearly unfounded

if the financial circumstances of the applicant are such that the payment of professional legal aid could jeopardize the maintenance of the applicant and household members.

Secondary legal aid

The procedure for approving secondary legal aid is initiated by submitting a request to the competent administrative body of the county or the City of Zagreb.

The application for the approval of secondary legal aid is submitted on the prescribed form, an integral part of which is the consent of the applicant and household members on permission to view all data on total income and assets. The request is submitted in writing directly or by registered mail to the competent administrative body of the county or the City of Zagreb according to the place of residence or stay of the applicant.

When it comes to Croatian citizens who do not reside in the Republic of Croatia and foreigners, the competent administrative body is the administrative body in the area whose territorial competence is the seat of the court before which the applicant initiates the proceedings.

The application form can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Justice and Administration or in person at the competent administrative bodies of the counties or the City of Zagreb.

Secondary legal assistance provided by lawyers can be granted:

if it is a more complex procedure

if the applicant does not have the capacity to represent himself

if the financial circumstances of the applicant are such that the payment of the necessary professional legal assistance could jeopardize the maintenance of the applicant and household members, in accordance with special assumptions related to the applicant's financial situation

if it is not a pending litigation

if in the last six months from the date of submission of the application, the applicant's application was not rejected due to the intentional provision of incorrect information

if the applicant is not provided with legal aid based on special regulations.

Depending on the type of procedure, secondary legal assistance provided by lawyers may be approved in the following procedures:

in relation to real rights, except for land registry procedures

from labor relations

from family relationships, except in divorce proceedings in which the spouses do not have minor common or adopted children or children over whom they exercise parental care after reaching adulthood

enforcement procedures and insurance procedures when it comes to forced realization or securing of a claim arising from a procedure for which legal aid can be granted according to the provisions of the Law on Free Legal Aid

peaceful resolution of the dispute

exceptionally, in all other administrative and civil court proceedings when such a need arises from the concrete life circumstances of the applicant and household members, and in accordance with the fundamental purpose of the Law on Free Legal Aid.

Secondary legal aid will be granted:

if the total monthly income of the applicant and household members does not exceed the amount of the budget base per household member ( HRK 3,326.00)

if the total value of property owned by the applicant and household members does not exceed the amount of 60 budget bases (199,560.00 kn).

Secondary legal aid will be granted if the specified conditions relating to property status are not met, if the applicant cannot dispose of the total income and property for objective reasons, and if the part of the total income and property that the applicant can dispose of does not exceed the prescribed amounts for the approval of secondary legal aid help.

Objective reasons are considered in particular the existence of extraordinary treatment costs for the applicant or household members that are not covered by health insurance, the costs of orthopedic aids, rehabilitation and other services that are not covered by health insurance for people with disabilities, the costs of education for children with developmental disabilities, other costs incurred as the consequence of force majeure (fire, earthquake, flood, etc.) and the ownership of property that cannot be monetized or whose monetization is difficult to implement.

When approving secondary legal aid, the property status of the applicant is determined for twelve months prior to the beginning of the month in which the application is submitted.

Exemption from the payment of the costs of court proceedings may be granted in those types of proceedings in which secondary legal assistance provided by lawyers may be granted, if the material circumstances of the applicant are such that the advance payment of the costs of the proceedings could jeopardize the maintenance of the applicant