Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009Show full title

Article 45 Content of legal aid

Legal aid granted under this Chapter shall mean the assistance necessary to enable parties to know and assert their rights and to ensure that their applications, lodged through the Central Authorities or directly with the competent authorities, are fully and effectively dealt with. It shall cover as necessary the following:

(a)

pre-litigation advice with a view to reaching a settlement prior to bringing judicial proceedings;

(b)

legal assistance in bringing a case before an authority or a court and representation in court;

(c)

exemption from or assistance with the costs of proceedings and the fees to persons mandated to perform acts during the proceedings;

(d)

in Member States in which an unsuccessful party is liable for the costs of the opposing party, if the recipient of legal aid loses the case, the costs incurred by the opposing party, if such costs would have been covered had the recipient been habitually resident in the Member State of the court seised;

(e)

interpretation;

(f)

translation of the documents required by the court or by the competent authority and presented by the recipient of legal aid which are necessary for the resolution of the case;

(g)

travel costs to be borne by the recipient of legal aid where the physical presence of the persons concerned with the presentation of the recipient’s case is required in court by the law or by the court of the Member State concerned and the court decides that the persons concerned cannot be heard to the satisfaction of the court by any other means.