The document summarizes the Dutch legal aid system for asylum seekers. It discusses: 1) The legal framework for legal aid in the Netherlands, including the constitution, EU directives, and relevant laws and organizations like the Legal Aid Board. 2) The players involved in the legal aid system - parliament sets the budget, the ministry sets policy, and the Legal Aid Board implements policy and oversees private lawyers who provide legal assistance. 3) How legal aid works in practice for asylum seekers, including assigning lawyers, points-based reimbursement, and quality control measures for asylum lawyers.

1. Legal aid in application centres
Presentation by Michelle van de Scheur
Legal Coordinators Application Centres

2. 3
Dutch Constitution Section 18:
‘(1) everyone may be legally represented in legal and
administrative proceedings. (2) Terms concerning the supply of
legal aid to persons of limited means shall be laid down by Act of
Parliament.’
EC Asylum Procedures Directive (artt. 15. 16): (restricted) right
to legal assistance and representation in asylum procedures.
Legal Aid Act (Wet op de Rechtsbijstand)
Decree on the Criteria for Granting Legal Aid Fees (Besluit
rechtsbijstand- en toevoegcriteria)
Registration Conditions for Lawyers (Inschrijvingsvoorwaarden)
Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand) is the public body
entrusted with the organisation and administration of legal aid.
This includes matching the availability of legal experts with the
demand for legal aid, as well as supervision and quality
control of the actual services provided.
Legal framework

3. 2
In order to create a good system of legal aid it is necessary
to strike the right balance (checks and balances) between
the interests of the various stakeholders:
• those who need legal aid;
• those who provide legal aid;
• those who pay legal aid (taxpayers);
the government;
• others who benefit from a good legal aid scheme and well
prepared and documented applications (determining
authorities, courts).
Asylum procedure: factual and legal complexity, vulnerable
clients, fixed process, institutional setting, time
constraints. Professional legal aid providers to ensure all
relevant aspects of asylum seeker’s case are taken into
account.
The necessity of legal aid in asylum procedures

4. 4
1. Parliament:
Decision-maker - sets budget and conditions for fees,
contributions and type of services and cases
2. Ministry of Justice:
Policy-maker - proposes budget (legal aid system operates
according to an open end provision).
3. Legal Aid Board (semi-independent government body):
Policy implementer - spends budget and advises to 2.
4. Private lawyers, Legal Services Counter, Mediators:
Providers of legal assistance (in asylum cases only registered
lawyers)
In order to create a good system of legal aid it is necessary
to strike the right balance (checks and balances) between
the interests of the various stakeholders.
Who is who? The players

5. 5
The Dutch legal aid system provides legal aid to people of limited
means. Anyone in need of professional legal aid but unable to (fully)
bear the costs, is entitled to call upon the provisions as set down in the
Legal Aid Act
•Legal Services Counter. Application forms. Case eligible for
subsidized legal aid?
•Before granting legal aid to a client a means, significance and
merits test is done by Legal Aid Board.
•Means test is succeeded by electronic connection with the Dutch
Tax Administration.
•Determination of client’s contribution is based on his annual
fiscal income of two years ago.
•Payment to the lawyer based on fixed fee for different types of
services.
•Exception: asylum seekers – presumed to be of insufficient
means.
Subsidised legal aid in general

6. 6
Responsible for:
The organisation and planning of legal aid for asylum seekers.
Providing timely and adequate legal representation by registered
lawyers, within system of state funded legal aid.
Lawyer appointed to asylum seeker according to a half-year roster
AC:
‘Blind’ distribution; lawyers are expected to handle each type of
asylum case (exception preferred lawyer: freedom of representation).
Legal Aid Desks in four application centres.
Subsidizing of registered lawyers (and DRC - partly).
Asylum section of Legal Aid Board (1)

7. 7
• Asylum law represents 7% of total number of subsidised
procedures (2015).
• Compare:
• criminal law; 23%,
• family law-divorce; 15%,
• ‘regular’ immigration; 4%,
• aliens detention; 1%
• Asylum Legal Aid € 31.530.420,= (2014:€ 27.000.000,=)
(on a total budget of € 427.000.000,= for Legal Aid)
• Circa 17.000 lawyers registered with Bar Association.
• 7.520 lawyers participate in subsidised legal aid system.
• Circa 420 asylum lawyers currently active in application
centres.
Asylum section of Legal Aid Board (2)

8. 8
 Lawyer must be registered at LAB.
 Lawyers are bar members.
 Comply with general registration conditions.
 For some fields (a.o. asylum and immigration) additional
terms apply, set out in appendixes to general requirements.
Quality measures Dutch Bar association
General requirements for lawyers
to participate in Legal Aid Scheme
 Traineeship (3 years, courses, examination)
 Rules of conduct
 Complaints procedure
 Subject to disciplinary proceedings
 Permanent education and training (20 points)
 Audit

9. 9
• Succesfully completed specialised asylum and
immigration law courses and training
• Membership of Legal Aid to Refugees Working Group of
the Dutch Refugee Council
• Act in accordance to minimum standards laid down in
Best Practice Guide Asylum
• Submit to Peer Review
• Minimum (30) and maximum (250) number of asylum
cases a year
• Adequate office organisation and administration
• Permanent education, fixed amount of yearly
courses/studypoints
• Before independent participation on AC rota, work under
supervision of experienced lawyer in at least 10 cases
Requirements and quality control Asylum Law

10. 10
• System of fixed rate fees, based on granting a specific
amount of ‘points’ for providing legal aid in a certain
stage in a procedure.
• One point = one hour’s work = 105,61 euro
• One individual client / family members with ‘wedded link’
= one subsidised procedure
• Flat rate: amount of points based on average amount of
hours spent on specific type of case. More complex/time-
consuming cases ‘compensated’ with cases requiring less
work.
• Possibility to request extra hours >24 hours
• Travel expenses and interpreter's fee are covered by legal
aid system, costs relating to expert consultation are not
Remuneration of lawyers

11. 11
• General Asylumprocedure divided in 3 modules of 4
points: full 8 day procedure (including day-1and negative
decision)=12 points. Permit granted after second
interview: 4 points, intended rejection and written
reaction: 8 points, continued in Extended Procedure: +2
points. Appeal: 8 points.
• Dublin-procedure, safe country of origin: shorter
procedure (combined interviews): 4 points
• Subsequent applications. ‘no cure less fee’. Application
form, 3-day procedure. Succesful: 7 points, rejected: 2
points.
• Ad hoc short-term activities facilitated by Legal Aid desk:
point per hour. Or full module when lawyer takes on the
case.
Points-system in ‘GA’-procedures

12. 420 deelnemers juli - december 2016
Totaal per AC Aantal deelnemers
AC Den Bosch 134
AC Ter Apel 101
AC Zevenaar 126
AC Schiphol 59
op 15 augustus 2016
180 kantoren met 1 asieladvocaat 180
57 kantoren met 2 asieladvocaten 114
22 kantoren met 3 asieladvocaten 66
6 kantoren met 4 asieladvocaten 24
3 kantoren met 5 asieladvocaten 15
1 kantoor met 6 asieladvocaten 6
1 kantoor met 7 asieladvocaten 7
1 kantoor met 8 asieladvocaten 8
271 kantoren 420totaal aantal advocaten
 Advocaat kiest zelf welk AC
 overschot aan advocaten

13. Asylum influx and subsidised cases

14. General Asylum Procedure
14
Main principle: continuity of legal aid
= 1 lawyer represents the asylum seeker during the entire= 1 lawyer represents the asylum seeker during the entire
procedure (relationship of trust)procedure (relationship of trust)
LAB appoints lawyer to client as soon as possible (after
registration  before start of general asylum procedure)
In practice the lawyer is not present during the interview
(check of report next day)
However, in case of a vulnerable person the lawyer may
attend the hearing or request DCR to attend and report
day -1 day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4 day 5 day 6 day 7
Lawyer IND Lawyer IND Lawyer IND Lawyer IND IND Lawyer
preparation on
asylum-
procedure
intake / 1st
interview
background
check 1st
interview /
prep. 2nd
interview
2nd
interview:
asylum
motives
check 2nd
interview
intended
decision
written
reaction
decision
notification
decision
preparation
appeal
decision extended procedure or continue A.A.-
procedure or granting of permit
day 8
start Asylumprocedure
preparation period decision extended procedure or continue A.A.-
procedure or granting of permitstart Asylumprocedure
preparation period

15. Asylum Procedure in practice
15
maandag 28-jun dinsdag 29-jun woensdag 30-jun donderdag 1-jul vrijdag 2-jul zaterdag 3-jul
zondag 4-jul
maandag 5-jul dinsdag 6-jul woensdag 7-jul donderdag 8-jul vrijdag 9-jul zaterdag 10-jul
zondag 11-jul
maandag 12-jul dinsdag 13-jul woensdag 14-jul donderdag 15-jul vrijdag 16-jul zaterdag 17-jul
zondag 18-jul
Example 3 cases in 1 month
Day 6
mr and mrs A. letter
mr. B. invitation
in AC: mr. C written
reaction
day 7 IND
decision making
Day 8 notification decision
mr. C.
Lodging appeal
DAY 1
A: 4 points
B: 8 points + 2 points
(or 12+2)
C: 12 points
1 point = € 106,-
Day 5 IND:
mr and mrs A granted
mr. B. additional
investigation
mr. C. intention to refuse
Day 2 Meeting in AC:
check of 1 interview
-mr. an mrs. A.
- Mr. B
- Mr. C.
Day 3: second interview IND
Day 4 Meeting in AC:
check of 2nd interview
-mr. an mrs. A.
- Mr. B
- Mr. C.
Day-1: lawyers office:
mr and mrs A. Somalisch
mr. B. Somalisch
mr. C. Somalisch

16. Consequences of high influx
Satellite AC’s Budel and Doetinchem
Weekend openings, all calendar days are procedure days
‘Expectation letter’ from ministry to each asylumseeker
Extended waiting/decision period (6 + ( months)
POL’s linked to AC (concentric approach,according to
fifo-principle)
‘Air-AC’ Schiphol also processes ‘land-cases’
Turkey deal EU, relocation quota
Multi track procedure (specific track for each type of
application)

17. Multi track procedures: track 1: Dublin, track 2: safe country of origin, track 3: speedy
admission, track 4: standard, track 5: speedy with inquiry. Tracks 3, 5 currently unused

18. Questions??
Thank you for listening!