Due process insurance and free court fees – Legal aid

Due process insurance will cover necessary and reasonable advocacy and trial costs. These expenses include assistant fees when the case is about an insured person’s personal dispute, a crime or an application matter that can be processed in a district court in Finland. Due process insurance is valid for the policy holder and the people living in the same household.

The insurance covers insured events that happen during the time period that the insurance-policy is valid. Due process insurance is an add-on part to common voluntary damage insurance.

A private citizen’s due process insurance is often a part of their home insurance or car insurance. Due process insurance may be included in farm insurance, as well as in entrepreneur and small business damage insurance. Due process insurance can also be separate for the business sector and in the insurance policies that the trade unions take out for their members.

Legal aid and the naming of the defender
A disadvantaged person with a low income has the possibility of getting legal aid from government funds. Legal aid can be given without any payback responsibility to the government, or with a partial payback responsibility as it is stated in the law. Legal aid is not usually given if the applicant has due process insurance, that can cover the costs. Legal aid is not given to businesses or societies. In a criminal trial the defendant is in some cases guaranteed a defender with government funds irrespective of his or her financial status.
Victims of sex- or serious violent crimes can as well, irrespective of their financial status, get a government funded trial assistant.

In these matters you should contact our office and ask for more information. You will find a legal aid application and the information you will need before you fill out the financial report here.