System of Free Legal Aid: Regarding the Problems of Terminology

The article discusses the terminology used in the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid”. Some of its shortcomings are noted and special attention is paid to the term “system of free legal aid”. The authors emphasize the importance of the concept itself and point out the role of its analogues in other current legislative acts. With the help of the method of system-structural analysis, the main features of the legal system, focused on law enforcement activity, which are usually reflected in similar definitions, are allocated. Taking into account the list of established features, it is proposed to define the system of free legal aid, as well as ways of its implantation in the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid”. The new version of Art. 6-1 Law. An analysis of the text of the current Article 6-1 of the Law is carried out, and it is pointed out that the current title of the article does not correspond to its content, as well as the contradiction in the content itself, which consists in the fact that under the title “System of free legal aid provision” the article contains an incomplete list of entities involved in the provision and administration of the provision of primary and secondary free legal aid. A new text of the article has been developed, which will allow, on the one hand, to introduce a definition of the system of free legal aid into the Law, and on the other hand, to preserve the list of subjects of such aid enshrined in the article. This approach is justified by the fact that the subjects of legal aid provision are one of the main elements of its system. At the same time, to correct the shortcomings in the above-mentioned list by expanding it and including in the text all entities involved in ensuring the implementation of the constitutional guarantee for free legal aid (both providers and administrators of such aid). The article also substantiates the expediency of including the term “free legal aid system” in the text of the law and its practical importance. In addition, analyzing the terminology used in the law, the authors draw attention to less significant shortcomings that need to be eliminated (inaccuracies of names, classification errors).