Justice Beyond Our Borders by IDB

Justice Beyond Our Borders

ROBERT J. RHUDY

public funding. The Netherlands and Ontario primarily use publicly funded private attorney service models. Quebec is unique in offering a mix of staff and private attorney providers with nearly equal levels of public funding and privately funded client services. Probably because the program assures client selection of private or staff attorneys for most services, past surveys have demonstrated relatively high public satisfaction with Quebec's legal aid system. Each of these programs has undergone public reviews and changes over the past six years, particularly that of Ontario. If changes introduced in Ontario in 1998 are successfully implemented, this program warrants careful attention for its diligent efforts to build a legal aid system using a range of models and service approaches. The Netherlands3 Dutch legal aid, first established in 1957, is administered directly by the Ministry of justice. At present, there is no intermediate body, though the establishment of regional legal aid councils is planned in pending legislation. Total expenditure on publicly funded legal services in 1989 was 281 million guilders—the equivalent of L85 million, which represents L5.80 per capita. Private attorneys receive about 82 percent of total expenditure on legal services, reflecting a major dependence on the private sector. Most of the remaining expenditure funds a network of Euros voor Rechtshulp. The buros combine two roles: they act as a type of law center, giving initial advice, taking on welfare law cases and acting as a point of referral; and they process legal aid applications and certificates. The two functions do not always coexist easily. In 1989, these buros cost 40 million guilders, about 15 percent of the overall legal aid budget. A relatively small amount went to university-based law shops, training, various legal aid organizations and trade unions. While the services provided by the buros are free, legal aid from private practitioners is subject to means testing. Since 1983, a charge has been levied on everyone using the civil scheme. In 1991, the minimum contribution was about $20 for advice and $120 for a court case. In practice, however, many advocates refuse to collect these charges, which have been strongly opposed by the legal profession. Dutch advocates have maintained a tradition of professional responsibility towards legally aided work. In 1989, virtually every advocate—5,995 of a total of 6,015—undertook a legally aided case. Most of the work, however, is handled by a smaller number of specialists. In 1989, only 2,000 advocates undertook more than 50 cases. As a legacy of the radicalism of the 1970s, within the legal aid specialties

For further information on legal aid in the Netherlands, see Bamberger (1989); Blankenburg (1992); Cousins (1993); Gorieley (1992); and Huls (1994).