Legal aid

If you are a victim of crime, you may require legal aid – lawyer services. Your chosen lawyer will give you a detailed explanation of your rights, help you participate in the criminal procedure and defend your (as the victim’s) interests. You can find a list of lawyers on the Lithuanian Bar Association website.

If you have little assets or low income, you may receive free or partially compensated legal aid. This aid includes the services of a lawyer – preparation of documents and your representation during the investigation and in court.

This calculator will help you assess whether you are eligible to receive free legal aid based on the level of your assets and income.

Decision on whether to provide state-funded legal aid is made by the State-Guaranteed Legal Aid Service. When submitting a request to receive legal aid, you may specify your preferred lawyer indicated in the list of the Service. The Service will consider this when examining your request and, if there are no objective obstacles, for example, the preferred lawyer’s workload is too high, you will be assigned the lawyer that you have selected.

You may request for a lawyer that is not in the list of the Service. In this case, along with your request, you must also submit a written consent of your selected lawyer to represent you in the case.

Legal aid in seeking compensation for damages

Victims of crime shall have the right to apply to court to receive compensation for damages. This can be done in several ways – by either bringing a claim in the criminal procedure, which is initiated while the crime is investigated, or bringing a civil claim after the court examines the case.

Detailed information on how to seek compensation for damages will be provided to you by your lawyer. The legal aid of a lawyer is free of charge for all victims in cases where compensation for damages is sought, regardless of the income or assets of the victims. In this case, add the decision of the police officer or the prosecutor to recognize you as a victim when submitting a request on legal aid to the State-Guaranteed Legal Aid Service.

You can find detailed information on how to submit a request, as well as the request forms on the State-Guaranteed Legal Aid Service website.