Difference between Pro Bono and Legal Aid

PERTANYAAN

Are pro bono and legal aid the same legal term? If different, please explain what is meant by legal aid.

INTISARI JAWABAN

Pro bono legal aid provided free of charge is an obligation inherent in advocates. This is different from legal aid. What distinguishes pro bono from legal aid?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Perbedaan Pro Bono dengan Bantuan Hukum (Legal Aid) written by Bernadetha Aurelia Oktavira, S.H. and was published on Tuesday, 18 July 2023.

This article is an update of the article with the same title, written by Dimas Hutomo, S.H. and was first published on Thursday, 18 April 2019.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Pro Bono (Free Legal Aid)

The definition of pro bono in the Cambridge Dictionary is freely translated as work completed by an advocate without asking for payment or in other words done free of charge. Meanwhile, when referring to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (“KBBI”) or the official dictionary of the Indonesian language, pro bono is legal assistance provided free of charge to someone who is involved in a legal case, but the person cannot afford the services of a lawyer himself.

It should be noted that advocates are obliged to provide free legal aid to impoverished justice seekers.[1] In fact, Article 11 Peradi Regulation 1/2010 states that advocates are encouraged to provide free legal aid for at least 50 working hours each year. Furthermore, the provision of free legal aid is regulated in Government Regulation 83/2008.

What are the types of legal aid services? Free legal aid or pro bono is a legal service provided by advocates without receiving honorarium payments including providing legal consultation, exercising power of attorney, representing, accompanying, defending, and taking other legal actions for the benefit of impoverished justice seekers.[2]

When can a person be provided with legal aid? Those who are entitled to free or pro bono legal aid are poor justice seekers, individuals or groups of economically disadvantaged people who require the legal services of an advocate to handle and resolve legal problems. This includes people or groups who are socio-politically weak, so that their opportunities to obtain legal aid are not the same as other members of the community.[3]

It should be noted that the provision of pro bono legal aid is not limited to the courtroom or at every level of the judicial process, but also outside the court.[4] In addition, advocates in providing pro bono must provide the same treatment as the provision of legal aid made with honorarium payments.[5]

Legal Aid

Now that we know what pro bono is, we will explain what legal aid is. Freely translated from the Cambridge Dictionary, legal aid is a system that provides free legal aid practice to people who cannot afford it.

Regarding legal aid, we refer to the definition in Article 1 number 1 Law 16/2011 as legal services provided by legal aid providers free of charge to legal aid recipients.

The legal aid provider is a legal aid institution (in Bahasa Indonesia known as Lembaga Bantuan Hukum or LBH) or community organization that provides legal aid services based on Law 16/2011.[6] Meanwhile, the recipient of legal aid is a person or group of impoverished people.[7]

The provision of legal aid is carried out by legal aid providers, which must meet the following requirements:[8]

1. incorporated as a legal entity;
2. accredited;
3. have a permanent office or secretariat;
4. have a management; and
5. have a legal aid program.

Legal aid funding is charged to the State Budget. In addition, sources of legal aid funding can come from grants or donations and/or other legal and non-binding sources of funding.[9]

Then, what are the types of legal aid services? In terms of providing legal aid, legal aid providers exercise power of attorney, accompany, represent, defend, and/or take other legal actions for the legal interests of legal aid recipients, which include civil, criminal, and state administrative law issues both litigation and non-litigation.[10]

Difference between Pro Bono and Legal Aid

After understanding the meaning of both, we can conclude the difference between pro bono and legal aid. Summarized from Differentiate, Not All Legal Aid Can Be Called Pro Bono, the obligation of pro bono is a specialty of the advocate profession so that it is called an honorable position (officium nobile). In short, the obligation of pro bono legal aid is attached to each individual advocate, as stated in Law 18/2003 and its implementing regulations.

Still sourced from the same article, the legal aid program is a government policy whose implementation is charged to the government budget. The legal basis specifically refers to Law 16/2011 and its implementing regulations.

Enrich your legal research with the latest bilingual legal analysis, as well as the collection of regulatory translations integrated into Hukumonline Pro, click here to learn more.

These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 18 of 2003 on Advocate;
2. Law Number 16 of 2011 on Legal Aid;
3. Regulation of the Government Number 83 of 2008 on Requirements and Procedures for Providing Chargeless Legal Aid;
4. Regulation of the Indonesian Advocates Association Number 1 of 2010 on Guidelines for the Provision of Free Legal Aid.

References:

1. Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, accessed on 18 July 2023, at 10.00 Western Indonesian Time (zone);
2. Legal aid, accessed on 18 July 2023, at 09.05 Western Indonesian Time (zone);
3. Pro bono, accessed on 18 July 2023, at 09.00 Western Indonesian Time (zone).

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[1] Article 22 section (1) Law Number 18 of 2003 on Advocate.

[2] Article 1 number 3 Regulation of the Government Number 83 of 2008 on Requirements and Procedures for Providing Chargeless Legal Aid (“Government Regulation 83/2008”).

[3] Article 1 number 4 Government Regulation 83/2008 and Article 1 number 3 Regulation of the Indonesian Advocates Association Number 1 of 2010 on Guidelines for the Provision of Free Legal Aid.

[4] Article 3 Government Regulation 83/2008.

[5] Article 10 Government Regulation 83/2008.

[6] Article 1 number 3 Law Number 16 of 2011 on Legal Aid (“Law 16/2011”).

[7] Article 1 number 2 Law 16/2011.

[8] Article 8 section (2) Law 16/2011.

[9] Article 16 Law 16/2011.

[10] Article 4 section (2) and (3) Law 16/2011.