Legal aid is already there: Advocaat.be highlights existing legal aid
Following the launch of the "Advocaat van wacht" app, developed by criminal lawyer Kristof Lauwens and his brother Bram, Advocaat.be highlights the already existing system of first-line legal assistance organised through the bar associations across Belgium. Advocaat.be remains committed to further strengthening the accessibility of independent legal advice.
Where commercial initiatives often revolve around ease of use and speed, Advocaat.be adds a crucial dimension: legal quality, independence and the guarantee that each advice is given in the interest of the citizen - and not the platform.
The new app tries to make it easy for citizens to get in touch with a lawyer - an aspiration that Advocaat.be can only applaud. Yet the suggestion that no 'lawyer on call' would exist until today is misleading. For years, the bar associations have provided an organised system of legal Free Lawyers Advice, where citizens can go at fixed times for free and independent legal advice by recognised lawyers and a chatbot on the website advocaat.be for more info.
Our front-line assistance is not a promise, but a practice. Every day, lawyers are ready to guide citizens through their rights free of charge and independently.
"Independent advice is a right"
Advocaat.be stresses that every citizen is entitled to independent and professional legal advice. Contrary to what a private app might imply, lawyers are not allowed to actively approach clients or 'pull files' towards them. The legal mandate of the legal profession, in the context of front-line assistance, is clear and enshrined in law.
Legal aid is not a product you buy, it is a fundamental right. With Free Legal Advice, we guarantee every citizen access to this pillar of our democratic rule of law.
Moreover, the lawyers providing this advice are specially trained to advise neutrally, correctly and clearly, regardless of the situation or the person sitting in front of them. This means that they are not only legally sound, but also trained in clear communication and in assessing often complex or sensitive situations. This guarantees not only legal quality, but also reliability.
Legal aid, available at any time
In addition to this Free Lawyers Advice, where anyone can receive free advice without obligation, there is also a system of second-line legal assistance, or free lawyers. This means that in certain cases - such as when a person has insufficient means - a lawyer is assigned completely or partially free of charge to follow up a case further or provide assistance in a case. Immediate help is also provided in urgent situations. Through organised on-call services and through Salduz-permanence - where a lawyer intervenes as soon as someone is detained for questioning - lawyers are permanently on standby.
This way, Advocaat.be guarantees that every citizen, regardless of the circumstances, has access to fast, professional and legally established legal aid - as it should be in a democratic constitutional state.
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