Legal aid may be granted to:

• anyone who is legally domiciled or legally resides in Luxembourg (i.e. authorised to stay in Luxembourg);
• foreign nationals with the same right to legal aid as Luxembourg nationals, pursuant to an international treaty;
• third-country nationals who are in Luxembourg illegally for the purpose of recovering compensation owing to them, pursuant to the Luxembourg Labour Code;
• foreign nationals whose financial resources are insufficient to cover the cost of proceedings in matters relating to asylum, entry to Luxembourg, temporary or permanent residency, or deportation.

Cross-border disputes

In cross-border disputes, anyone whose domicile or usual place of residence is in Luxembourg is eligible for legal aid for the purpose of receiving legal advice, including for the purpose of preparing an application for legal aid in another EU Member State.

Similarly, any foreign national whose domicile or usual place of residence is in another EU Member State, with the exception of Denmark, is also eligible for legal aid in Luxembourg for cross-border disputes. However, they must apply to the competent authority in their home country, which will forward the information to the Luxembourg Ministry of Justice (Ministère de la Justice).

Defining 'insufficient resources'

Insufficiency of resources is assessed by considering your total gross income and your wealth, as well as that of any other adults living with you in the same household.

The resources of the other persons living with you in the same household will not be taken into account:

• in the case of adversarial proceedings between you and your spouse, or between persons who normally live with you in your home; or
• if, between you and your spouse, or between persons who normally live with you in your home, there is a divergence of interests requiring a separate assessment of resources.

The following persons shall be deemed as having insufficient resources:

• beneficiaries of social inclusion income (revenu d'inclusion sociale – REVIS), within the limits established by law;
• persons who are not REVIS beneficiaries, but whose income and wealth are such that they would be entitled to the REVIS if they satisfied the other legal conditions for eligibility;
• persons who live in the same household as a REVIS beneficiary, and whose income and wealth are taken into account for the purpose of determining the REVIS.

Special cases

You may be granted legal aid if:

• you have sufficient resources, but there are compelling reasons to justify your eligibility, owing to your social, family or material circumstances;
• you:
  • are domiciled or reside in another EU Member State; and
  • can prove that you are unable to cover the costs of a dispute in Luxembourg, owing to the difference in the cost of living between your State of residence and Luxembourg;
• you are a minor, regardless of your parents' resources, or the resources of the persons who live with you in the same household.

Refusal of legal aid

Legal aid will be refused if:

• the proceedings in question are manifestly inadmissible, groundless, or frivolous, or disproportionate compared to the costs that would be incurred;
• you are entitled to have the costs to be covered by the legal aid reimbursed by a third party (e.g., another provider of legal aid, a trade union, etc.);
• you are a merchant, manufacturer, artisan or member of a liberal profession, and the dispute concerns your professional activity.

You can apply for legal aid either before the proceedings which it is being applied for, or while the proceedings are ongoing.

If your application is approved, it will take effect retroactively from the date on which the proceedings commenced, or from any other date determined by the President of the Bar Association.

Applying for legal aid is free.

If your application for legal aid is refused, or if partial legal aid is granted, you will have to bear all or part of the fees charged by your lawyer, as well as any other legal fees.

Submitting the application

First, you should fill in and sign the legal aid application form, which is available:

• below (see 'Online services and forms');
• from the Central Social Assistance Service (Service central d’assistance sociale – SCAS); or
• on the website of the Luxembourg Bar Association.

Once you have filled in and signed your application, you should send it to the President of the Bar Association in the appropriate jurisdiction (Diekirch or Luxembourg).

You may also specify the name(s) of the lawyers you wish to retain.

Supporting documents

Your application must be accompanied by the following documents:

• a copy of your identity document;
• for you and for each adult member of your household:
  • a certificate of affiliation to the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale – CCSS);
  • your payslips (or a certificate of income issued by the CCSS), or proof of REVIS, unemployment, pension or other income covering the last 3 months, showing gross amounts (bank statements are not sufficient);
  • a negative certificate issued by the National Solidarity Fund (Fonds national de solidarité);
  • a certificate of property ownership/non-ownership issued by the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des contributions directes);
  • if you are a tenant: a copy of the lease agreement and the receipts for your rent payments for the past 3 months;
  • if you are paying off a mortgage: proof of your monthly payments;
• a copy of your legal protection insurance policy;
• documents concerning the proceedings in question.

Special cases

If you are in prison, you must provide:

• a certificate of imprisonment;
• documents concerning the proceedings in question.

If you are a refugee or an asylum seeker, you must provide:

• a copy of your identity document (if available);
• a certificate stating that an application for international protection has been filed for each person mentioned in the application, or a document attesting to the filing of an application for regularisation of residency status in Luxembourg;
• if you are being detained in an immigrant detention centre: a document attesting to your detention;
• documents concerning the proceedings in question.

How the legal aid process works

Approval

If your resources are deemed insufficient, you will be sent a standard letter informing you that your application for legal aid has been approved.

The lawyer of your choice will be appointed. If you have not chosen a lawyer, or if the President of the Bar Association considers your choice to be inappropriate, a lawyer will be appointed.

If legal aid is granted while proceedings are ongoing, any legal fees that you have incurred will be reimbursed, either fully or partially, depending on the case.

Legal aid may also be granted in the case of conservatory proceedings, proceedings to seek enforcement of legal decisions, or any other enforcement proceedings.

In the event of an emergency, legal aid may be provisionally ordered without any other formalities.

Refusal or partial legal aid

If your application for legal aid is refused, or if partial legal aid is granted conditionally, you will be sent a registered letter informing you of the decision.

Partial legal aid

In this case, your financial resources:

• exceed the threshold for eligibility for full legal aid; but
• entitle you to partial coverage (50 % or 25 %) of your lawyer's fees and any fees in connection with the proceedings.

To be granted partial legal aid, you must enter into a fee agreement with the appointed lawyer. The fee agreement must specify:

• the lawyer's hourly rates for the share of the costs to be borne by you;
• the terms of payment; and
• the lawyer's hourly rates if partial legal aid is fully or partially revoked.

The fee agreement must be:

• signed by you and your appointed lawyer; and
• sent to the President of the Bar Association within 3 months of the date of notification of the decision to grant partial legal aid.

Expenses not covered by legal aid

Legal aid does not cover:

• in the case of criminal proceedings: costs and fines that you have been sentenced to pay;
• in the case of civil proceedings: procedural costs and costs for abuse of process or vexatious litigation.

Revocation

Legal aid will be revoked, even after the proceedings or the performance of the acts for which it was granted, if:

• it was obtained further to submitting false declarations or inaccurate documents;
• your wealth status has improved and the criteria for insufficient resources are no longer satisfied.

When legal aid is revoked, any aid you may have received must be immediately reimbursed.

Appeals

If your application for legal is refused, or if only partial legal aid is granted, you may bring a claim before a justice of the peace:

• within one month of the date of notification of the President of the Bar Association's decision;
• by filing a written request (petition) with the clerk of the Magistrate's Court for your district, in as many copies as there are parties in the proceedings.

Your petition must:

• mention each party's surname, first name(s), profession and domicile;
• include a brief description of the grounds for and the arguments supporting your petition; and
• specify the purpose of the petition.

You will be summoned to a hearing at the Magistrate's Court, and a judgment will be delivered. You cannot appeal this judgment.

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