Schuurmans to chair independent advisory committee on self-reliance and legal assistance
Those who seek justice do not always manage to find their way through the legal system. Yet the Dutch Legal Aid Act assumes that citizens are self-reliant and can stand up for their interests in cases that are not legally complex. However, in the childcare benefits affair in the Netherlands, this proved to be an incorrect assumption. In response, a temporary regulation has been introduced in which citizens can apply for the subsidised assignment of a lawyer, the Regeling adviestoevoeging zelfredzaamheid (Ratz).
Commissioned by the Legal Aid Board, the Legal Advice Centre and the Netherlands Bar Association, an independent advisory committee chaired by Professor Ymre Schuurmans will advise on how this legal assistance should be regulated.