Lawyers provide the assistance demanded by citizens who request free legal aid and who need it, in order to guarantee the fundamental right provided for in Article 24 of the Spanish Constitution.
This service is organised by the Bar Association, in accordance with the provisions of Law 1/96 of 10 January on Free Legal Assistance, its development regulations and internal regulations approved by the Governing Board.
Inclusion in the legal aid scheme is voluntary for lawyers and, to become members, they must meet the incorporation requirements required in current regulations.
Regulation
Regulation
- Free Legal Assistance Law
- Legal Aid Regulations
- Decree 86/2003 of 19 June 2003, regulating free legal aid in the Community of Madrid
- Royal Decree 996/2003 of 25 July 2003, approving the Regulations on Free Legal Assistance of the Ministry of Justice
- Ministerial Order of 3 June 1997
- European Council Directive 2002/8/EC to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes
incorporation
Incorporation
General minimum requirements for lawyers
(Ministerial Order of 3 June 1997 and legal aid regulations)
- To have an office open within the territory of the corresponding association, as well as having fulfilled all statutory obligations. For the purposes of this section the territorial scope of the Madrid Bar Association excludes the judicial districts of Alcalá de Henares, Torrejón de Ardoz, Coslada and Arganda.
- Proof of more than three years of experience in the profession.
- To be in possession of a diploma from the School of Legal Practice course or equivalent courses approved by the Association, or, where appropriate, to have passed the courses or tests for access to the in-court representation and legal aid services for detainees established by the Governing Boards.
- To have enough time available to attend to customers promptly and to go to the signposting. Civil servants and full-time staff of any of the public administrations may not belong to the legal aid scheme.
Exceptionally, the Governing Board may waive the requirement established in the third point if there are merits and circumstances that prove the lawyer’s ability to provide the service, and provided that they may justify to have been involved in the technical management of at least 30 legal proceedings in the last three years in the area in which they are applying for registration.
Once these requirements have been met, in order to apply for registration, they must attend the training session organised by the Association on legal aid regulations and professional deontology.
Important: The lawyers who request to be included in the legal aid scheme may do so initially in only one matter (civil, criminal, labour, administrative litigation). When they have been on duty for three years, they may request to be assigned to a second subject. Within each subject, they may apply for registration in the matters they wish, provided that they meet the specific access requirements.
Specific requirements
(Regulatory rules of the legal aid scheme “in addition to the general access rules”)
- Special and cassation schemes: TEN years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Immigration and refugee scheme: FIVE years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Children’s scheme: THREE years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Jury’s scheme: TEN years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- National Court scheme: TEN years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Prison surveillance scheme: FIVE years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Constitutional scheme: TEN years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Business scheme: THREE years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Mortgage scheme: THREE years of seniority in the exercise of the profession and a specific course on the matter.
- Gender violence: Prior registration in civil and criminal matters, and a specific course on the matter.
- Protection of victims of human trafficking: Prior registration in criminal matter, special scheme and registration in administrative litigation matters, immigration scheme, and a specific course on the matter.
- Protection of victims of crime and hate: Prior registration the general scheme for criminal matters and a specific course on the matter.
- Protection of victims of sexual and gender diversity discrimination: Prior registration the general schemes for administrative litigation and labour matters and a specific course on the matter.
- Protection for victims with intellectual disability or mental illness: Prior registration the general scheme for criminal and civil matters and a specific course on the matter.
The application for registration can be made by downloading the registration form hereand/or, in any case, in writing addressed to the Legal Aid Department, clearly indicating the subject matter, scheme and areas where registration is required, and attaching the documents proving the required training.
The application for deregistration can be made by downloading the deregistration form here and/or, in any case, in writing addressed to the Legal Aid Department, clearly indicating the subject matter, scheme and areas where deregistration is required.
The application for deregistration can be downloaded from here.
distribution
Distribution of the legal aid: matters and areas
The matters are grouped, in accordance with the procedure to be followed, within the following list of matters:
Criminal
(*) General Scheme
Misdemeanour Scheme
Legal Assistance to Prisoners
Prison Surveillance Scheme
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
National Court Scheme
Jury’s Scheme
Children’s Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Civil
(*) General Scheme
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
(*) Family Scheme
Children’s Scheme
Business Scheme
(*) Mortgage Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Administrative Litigation
General Scheme
Special Scheme
Immigration and International Protection Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Labour
General Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Gender violence
General Scheme
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Protection of victims of human trafficking
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Protection of victims of crime and hate
General Scheme
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Protection of victims of discrimination
General Scheme
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
Protection for victims with intellectual disability or mental illness
General Scheme
Special Scheme
Cassation Scheme
Constitutional Scheme
In civil and criminal matters, in the schemes indicated with an asterisk (*), the Lawyers may be assigned to the territorial area of the judicial district of Madrid and/or to one of the following areas:
- Móstoles-Navalcarnero-Alcorcón-Fuenlabrada
- Getafe-Aranjuez-Leganés-Parla-Valdemoro
- Torrelaguna-Colmenar Viejo-Alcobendas
- San Lorenzo de El Escorial-Majadahonda-Collado-Villalba, Pozuelo de Alarcón
In labour matters, registration may be requested in the territorial area of the judicial district of Madrid and/or in the area of Móstoles.
In the gender violence guards, registration may be requested in Madrid-capital and/or in one of the following areas:
– San Lorenzo de El Escorial-Majadahonda-Collado-Villalba, Pozuelo de Alarcón
- Móstoles-Navalcarnero-Alcorcón-Fuenlabrada
- Getafe-Aranjuez-Leganés-Parla-Valdemoro
- Torrelaguna-Colmenar Viejo-Alcobendas
- San Lorenzo de El Escorial-Majadahonda-Collado-Villalba. Pozuelo de Alarcón.
Professional
Professional obligations
The lawyers appointed under a legal aid scheme are obliged to contact as soon as possible the client whose defence has been entrusted to them, and to collect the necessary documents to initiate the appropriate action.
In the event that it is not possible to contact the interested party, or that they do not provide the documentation for the study of the claim, the provisions of Article 32 of Law 1/96 of 10 January on Free Legal Assistance apply: this circumstance must be brought to the attention of the Free Legal Assistance Commission so that it may be requested by this body, with a warning, to close the file.
If, once the necessary information has been provided, the designated lawyer considers that the claim is unsustainable, and is not obliged to maintain the defence, within 15 working days of receiving the designation (for this purpose the month of August is a working month), they must send a letter to the Central Commission for Free Legal Assistance or the Commission for Free Legal Assistance of the Autonomous Community, as appropriate, to which they must attach a legally motivated report on the viability of the action, together with the documentation and background information provided to them for assessment.
They must also inform the judicial body of this circumstance, requesting the suspension of the procedural deadlines until the incident is resolved by the Commission.
The same procedure can be followed, when the unsustainability is raised in an appeal (Article 35 of Law 1/96 of AJG).
METHOD OF FILING:
Free Legal Assistance Commission of the Community of Madrid (Gran Vía, nº 43, 4ª)
- Electronically: Electronic registration accessed through the following link.
- The Community’s website contains a Manual for the electronic presentation of writings to the Free Legal Assistance Commission in Madrid, which explains the steps to be taken.
- In person: At the headquarters of the Commission, Gran Vía, nº 43, 4ª 28013-MADRID.
- By administrative post
Central Commission for Free Legal Assistance (Marqués de Duero, nº 4, 1ª)
- By email: justiciagratuita.comision@justicia.es
- By fax: 911026338
- By administrative post
- In person at the headquarters of the Commission.
The Central Commission will only accept reports on those cases that the central bodies of the Administration of Justice (Central Administrative Court, National Court, Supreme Court, Constitutional Court) are competent to resolve.
However, whenever the procedure for which the unsustainability is raised, mainly in the appeals, must be carried out before a lower body (Provincial Court, High Court of Justice) the competent body to deal with this incident will be the Free Legal Assistance Commission of the Community of Madrid.
Oncall
On-call services
Through the various On-call Services, legal assistance is guaranteed immediately to those who are deprived of their liberty or are in immediate need of protection of their rights.
The execution of the on-call service is personal. If a lawyer is unable to do it, they may excuse themselves or swap with another partner belonging to the same scheme and area, but not assign it to a third party.
Inclusion in this service requires the availability of the lawyer for 24 hours (from 10 p.m. on the appointed day to 10 p.m. the following day) and the rapid location of the lawyer during that period.
In November of each year, the Legal Aid Department will draw up a list of the lawyers on duty in each speciality and subject area planned for the whole of the following year.
Likewise, substitute lawyers shall be appointed for each of the guards, who, although not obliged to be contactable or available, may be called to assist them if necessary on the appointed day.
The services are communicated to the lawyers by e-mail, through the MICAM service on the Association website, and by means of a reminder a few days before the start, by SMS.
Lawyers registered in the on-call services can, through this application, carry out all the formalities related to the on-call service in a simple way, thus avoiding trips to the Association’s headquarters.
The electronic management that can be done through this application are:
- Consultation of list of assigned services
- Excuse from services
- Swap proposal for a service
- Acceptance or rejection of services proposed by other colleagues
- Cancellation of swap proposal
- Check the situation of any legal aid scheme
To carry out these procedures through the web, it will be necessary to have an electronic signature certificate. If you do not have one, you can request it from the secretary of the Association, who will issue it free of charge if you are registered on duty.
Designations
Designations
All legal aid appointments made are communicated to lawyers, interested parties and judicial bodies.
The communication to the lawyer is done by e-mail and through the communication system provided in the reserved area of the website.
The information contained in the text of the e-mail is restricted and therefore the professional has to access the website of the Association to obtain the fullest information. Security reasons prevent more detailed information from being included in the email. Through the communication system of the reserved area of the website you can download the appointment in PDF format.
By using the electronic signature through the website and entering the reserved area, in the section ex officio appointments, all the appointments of the last two years will also be shown, as well as those of the previous years whose actions have not been justified for the purposes of payment accrual.
You can select one by one the designations to access the detail of each one of them and, there, generate a reproduction in PDF format. You can also download the signature of the document, which guarantees that the reproduction is authentic and has been issued by the Association.
Likewise, there is a window to “attach designation documents” (documents needed to prove execution of Legal Aid), through which you can send in a .zip file documents associated with the designation to justify actions taken for the purpose of receiving the corresponding amounts. Once the documents submitted have been supervised, they will be recorded and the corresponding part will be justified.
DESIGNATIONS DERIVED FROM ON-CALL SERVICES:
Once the service has been executed, when the lawyer continues to undertake the legal proceedings initiated or to be initiated as a result of the assistance, they must request the corresponding appointment from the Legal Aid Department. This request must be submitted within 15 days of the end of the service.
The documentation that must accompany is as follows:
1. Designations in criminal matters
- Proof of the proceedings duly completed with indication of the Court, type of proceedings and number of files. This document must be stamped by the court or a copy of the declaration must be submitted with it.
- Application for free legal aid duly signed in original, clearly and legibly stating the following details: name, surname(s), address, telephone number, DNI, NIE or Passport number and e-mail address, if possible.
- Authorisation signed in original copy by the applicant in which they authorise this Corporation to consult their economic data with the Public Administrations.
- If the applicant has no known address, a copy of the court declaration stating this fact.
- If they refuse to sign the application for legal aid, the lawyer must expressly state this on the form.
- If the detainee was released after assistance at the detention centre, the application for designation will not be submitted until all the court and procedural details are known.
2.Designations in immigration matters
Expulsions
Once the service has finished, a designation will be requested for the corresponding phase of the procedure (prior administrative procedure, contentious procedure or precautionary internment measure), with the following documents:
- Application for free legal aid duly signed in original, clearly and legibly stating the following details: name, surname(s), address, telephone number, NIE or Passport number and e-mail address, if possible.
- Authorisation signed in original copy by the applicant in which they authorise this Corporation to consult their economic data with the Public Administrations.
- Resolution agreeing to the opening of the file of expulsion, order of internment or resolution on precautionary measure.
Rejections
Express designation for previous process will be processed, with the following documents:
- Application for free legal aid duly signed in original, clearly and legibly stating the following details: name, surname(s), address, telephone number, NIE or Passport number and e-mail address, if possible.
- Resolution agreeing to the rejection at the border.
- Express authorisation of the person concerned issued to the police officer, to lodge an appeal.
- If the applicant provides the documentation proving their economic circumstances and meets the requirements for recognition of the right, a designation will be made for administrative litigation appeal.
International protection
- Application for free legal aid duly signed in original, clearly and legibly stating the following details: name, surname(s), address, telephone number, NIE or Passport number and e-mail address, if possible.
- Decision of inadmissibility of the application for international protection
3.Designations in gender-based violence and trafficking
The appointment must be processed for each legal procedure followed in the defence of the victim and, to this end, it is essential to provide the following documentation:
- Proof of the proceedings with indication of the procedure for which the appointment is requested. In criminal proceedings it is necessary to indicate court, proceedings and case number. In family proceedings, clearly specify the type of proceedings and competent court.
- Application for free legal aid duly signed in original, clearly and legibly stating the following details: name, surname(s), address, telephone number, DNI, NIE or Passport number and e-mail address of the applicant, as well as the first and last name of the respondent. It is necessary to complete an application for each different proceedings whose defence is assumed by the lawyer.
- Authorisation signed in original copy by the victim they authorise this Corporation to consult their economic data with the Public Administrations.
4.Designations for appeals
The lawyer representing the defence in legal proceedings has the obligation to continue the proceedings in the following instances, including incidents and execution of the sentence, unless they fall under a different scheme. If the lawyer does not belong in the corresponding scheme, either by own decision or because they do not meet the requirements for access (seniority and/or training), they must write to the Judicial Body so that the Bar may be required to make a new professional designation.
Only appeals against decisions terminating the proceedings will generate a new designation.
Applications for appeals designation must necessarily be sent via web using an electronic signature and attaching the files in pdf, jpg or tif format.
The designation for the second and subsequent instances must be requested by attaching the following documentation:
- Civil/Family Appeal Procedures: Court decision admitting the appeal or considering it to be contested.
- Criminal Appeal Procedures: Court decision admitting the appeal or deeming it to be contested.
- Appeal Procedures: Court decision admitting the appeal or deeming it to be contested.
- Cassation Procedures: Resolution of the Supreme Court stating the number of the Appeal, Secretariat and Section.
- Appeals for Protection: Decision of the Constitutional Court stating the Room and the number of the appeal (for the purposes of designation, the Court’s simple information note is not valid unless it is accompanied by a sealed copy of the appeal for protection).
- Appeals Procedures for Penitentiary Surveillance: The Order of the Penitentiary Surveillance Court must always be accompanied by the summons for the formalisation of the appeal together with the resolution by which it is formalised.
No designations will be made for Appeals if the lawyer does not belong in the corresponding scheme.
The aforementioned documents shall be sent to the Duty Department as soon as possible and within a maximum of 15 days, so that the corresponding designation for the defence can be made and the free legal aid file can be processed as quickly as possible.
As an example you can see the Free Legal Aid Application form fully filled in, as it is to be submitted to the Association.
Documents
Documents
Comunidad de Madrid
Ministerio de Justicia
Justification
Justification of actions, certification and payments, confirming
It will only be possible to justify actions through the web
How to justify actions through the web
This system allows to justify actions in a fast, comfortable and ecological way, without going to the headquarters of the Bar Association and without the need to make copies of the documentation in paper.
The documentation sent is processed as soon as possible and allows the member to verify if it has been sufficient to justify the payment and to correct any incidents that may be observed before the end of the quarter.
Documentation required to accredit actions:
The professional actions carried out by the Lawyers who belong to the Legal Aid Scheme are compensated by the Public Administration, either by the Ministry of Justice (those carried out before Central Bodies of the Administration), or by the Community of Madrid (those actions carried out before the other Courts and Tribunals with headquarters in the Community of Madrid).
In order to receive compensation, lawyers must provide documentary evidence of the actions taken. The documents to be presented are related in the Decree 86/03 that develops the Free Legal Assistance for the Community of Madrid and in the Royal Decree 996/03 of the Ministry of Justice.
The justification of the professional performance in the Legal Aid Scheme for the purposes of the compensation provided for in the regulations, must be made within one month from the time of the accrual that the regulations in force provide in this regard.
Every month the Association, with all the actions justified in that period, issues a joint certification and through the General and Autonomous Councils of Lawyers, presents it to the Administration for payment.
Once the Association has received the amounts certified to the Administration, payment is immediately made to the lawyers, which can be done, as indicated by them, by transfer to the indicated account or by nominative check.
However, the Association offers the possibility of anticipating the amounts accrued through confirming. Once the quarter is over and the certifications have been presented, you can access this system through the website and find out the amounts accrued and how to receive them without waiting for payment from the Administration.
The economic modules that lawyers receive for each professional performance are set by regulation.
Applicable scales
- Legal Aid Scheme scales in force for 2019 Community of Madrid
- Scales of the Ministry of Justice, updated by Order JUS / 1170/2018, of 7 November, which updates Annex II of Royal Decree 996/2003.
You can consult, for complete years, the amounts that have been certified to the different administrations, whether they have already been paid or are still pending, from your ICAM personal area. The payments made can be viewed by full years, both the amounts and the date and breakdown of cases paid.
Through this system the lawyers of the Legal Aid Scheme are offered the possibility of collecting in advance the actions under the Legal Aid Scheme pending of payment and that already have been certified to the corresponding public administrations.
Those interested in making use of this possibility should send us, completed and signed, the specific membership application that can be obtained from this page.
Memory
Activity Memory 2019
Prisons
Service Information: Prisons
Protocols
Protocols for Actions
- Protocol for Action on behalf of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
- Human Trafficking Protocol
- Practical Guide to the Labour Rights of Prisoners
- A practical guide to legal advice for victims of gender-based violence
- Good Practice Guide for Taking Statements from Victims of Gender-based Violence
- “Vademécum del Abogado de Extranjería: 70 reglas básicas”
- Issues of “Cuadernos de Derecho Penitenciario” to download : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23