Legal Aid in the Criminal Matters in Jordan

Abstract

The idea of legal aid has emerged from fundamental rights associated with litigation such as the right to access justice, the right to fair trial, the right to defence, and the right to equality. The notion of regulating legal aid is relatively new in Jordan despite its significance. This paper examines the regulation of legal aid in Jordan through describing and analysing the existing literature concerning legal aid and defining the law as well as examining how it applies to legal aid. It is noteworthy that there has been a rise in the demand for legal aid and Jordan has taken certain steps towards establishing a holistic approach to provide the necessary legal aid. This paper concludes that legal aid should be treated as a fundamental right rather than a grant given by the government to people.

Keywords: Legal aid, Access to justice, Jordanian legislation

DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/93-08

Publication date: January 31^st 2020