PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS OF FREE SECONDARY LEGAL AID IN CIVIL CASES

The article investigated the actual problems that arise in the protection of civil rights of persons who have applied to the system of free secondary legal aid. Imperfection of legal regulation creates many obstacles. Firstly, in the person's access to free legal aid, and, secondly, in the effective functioning of this institute. Since the main task of civil proceedings, defined by the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, is the effective protection of violated, unrecognized or challenged rights and freedoms of a person, in order to achieve this «efficiency» it is necessary that each institution in the civil process, including the provision of legal assistance, properly function to achieve a single goal. The Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine does not provide for the definition of the procedure and specifics of providing free legal aid. Therefore, the article explores the main problems of the mechanism of providing free legal counsel. In addition, the provisions on the «free election of a lawyer» in the context of the choice of a lawyer by a person who has the opportunity to pay for legal services independently and persons who have applied to the system of free secondary legal aid are analyzed.Also, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights was considered in order to confirm the thesis that in practice the advantage in providing free legal aid is given to criminal cases rather than to civil ones. The article also examines the problems that arise when it comes to protecting civil cases in international courts, because national legislation contains a direct indication of refusal to provide this type of legal assistance.