The Right to Free Legal Aid in the Light of the Constitutional Principle of Equality

The aim of the article is to analyze the solutions enabling the use of legal aid in the light of the principle of equality under the Art. 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. There is an inconsistency between the aid at the judicial and pre-court stage. Theoretically, both forms of legal aid are aimed at people in a difficult financial situation. In practice, aid at the pre-court stage can be provided to both poor and very wealthy people, as the assessment of the inability to bear the costs of paid legal aid is based only on the subjective belief of these people. On the other hand, the grounds for obtaining legal aid at the judicial stage must be clearly demonstrated by the person applying for the appointment of a professional lawyer.