Legal aid rates will increase by up to 100 percent. What does this mean for local governments?

• A draft amendment to the regulation is currently being reviewed, increasing the applicable fees for ex officio legal assistance provided by legal counsel by 100 percent in ten categories of cases and by 50 percent in five categories.
• These increases will not affect the finances of local government units.
• - Cases in which local government units bear the costs of unpaid legal assistance provided by a legal advisor ex officio are incidental in nature and on a national scale the amount of related expenses is negligible - indicates the Ministry of Justice.

A draft amendment to the regulation on the costs of legal assistance provided by a legal advisor by the State Treasury or local government units is currently being reviewed. The amendment proposes increasing the applicable fees for legal assistance by 100% in ten categories of cases and by 50% in five categories.

The increase is intended to adjust the minimum fee rates to current economic realities, taking into account the legal community's demands raised in public debate and the state budget's resources. The decision to update the fee for providing free legal assistance is influenced by the fact that since 2015, a number of socio-economic factors determining legal counsel's remuneration have changed, the purchasing power of money has changed as a result of inflation, and labor costs, among other factors, have increased.

The Supreme Court expected the Ministry of Justice to provide information on the impact of the increase in rates for free legal assistance on certain entities in the public finance sector, including local government units.

Based on the data collected so far from local government units, it should be noted that cases in which local government units bear the costs of unpaid legal assistance provided by a legal advisor ex officio are incidental and, on a national scale, the amount of expenses related to this is negligible.

- explains the Ministry of Justice.

It was indicated, however, that the proposed rate change will have financial consequences consisting in an increase in the funds spent by courts and prosecutors on court proceedings related to legal aid – up to PLN 11.9 million annually . These expenses will be secured within the current expenses of common courts – if necessary at the expense of other tasks – without the need to apply for additional funds from the state budget in 2026 or in subsequent years.

100% increase in the following cases:

1. for deprivation, restriction, suspension or restoration of parental authority and removal of a child - from PLN 240 to PLN 480;
2. for entry in the land and mortgage register or submission of a document to the collection of documents - from PLN 240 to PLN 480;
3. for securing an inheritance, making an inventory, rejecting an inheritance, announcing a will and ordering its submission, administering an unclaimed inheritance and disclosing inherited items - from PLN 120 to PLN 240;
4. for disclosure of assets - from PLN 120 to PLN 240;
5. for exemption from seizure of items and rights secured in criminal proceedings against a person suspected of committing a crime against property - from PLN 120 to PLN 240;
6. for the return of benefits obtained at the expense of the State Treasury - from PLN 120 to PLN 240;
7. for granting the right to legal aid in proceedings conducted in another European Union Member State - from PLN 300 to PLN 600;
8. for incapacitation - from PLN 480 to PLN 960;
9. for conditional early release or revocation of such release - from PLN 240 to PLN 480;
10. for activities related to the execution of a penalty of restriction of liberty and the execution of security measures - from PLN 240 to PLN 480;

a 50 percent increase in the following cases:

1. under investigation - from PLN 360 to PLN 540;
2. under investigation - from PLN 600 to PLN 900;
3. covered by explanatory activities in proceedings in petty offence cases - from PLN 180 to PLN 270;
4. before a district court in petty offence proceedings - from PLN 360 to PLN 540;
5. for postponement or interruption of execution of the sentence - from PLN 360 to PLN 540.