22
United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems
(b) To identify incentives for lawyers to work in economically and
socially disadvantaged areas (e.g., tax exemption, fellowships and travel and
subsistence allowances);
(c) To encourage lawyers to organize regular circuits of lawyers
around the country to provide legal aid to those in need.
57. In the design of their nationwide legal aid schemes, States should take
into account the needs of specific groups, including but not limited to the
elderly, minorities, persons with disabilities, the mentally ill, persons living
with HIV and other severe contagious diseases, drug users, indigenous and
aboriginal people, stateless persons, asylum seekers, foreign citizens, refugees
and internally displaced persons, in line with guidelines 9 and 10.
58. States should take appropriate measures to establish child‑friendly18
and child-sensitive legal aid systems, taking into account children’s evolving
capacities and the need to strike an appropriate balance between the best
interests of the child and children’s right to be heard in judicial proceedings,
including:
(a) Establishing, where possible, dedicated mechanisms to support
specialized legal aid for children and support the integration of child‑friendly
legal aid into general and non‑specialized mechanisms;
(b) Adopting legal aid legislation, policies and regulations that explic‑
itly take into account the child’s rights and special developmental needs,
including the right to have legal or other appropriate assistance in the prepa‑
ration and presentation of his or her defence; the right to be heard in all
judicial proceedings affecting him or her; standard procedures for determining
best interest; privacy and protection of personal data; and the right to be
considered for diversion;
(c) Establishing child‑friendly legal aid service standards and profes‑
sional codes of conduct. Legal aid providers working with and for children
should, where necessary, be subject to regular vetting to ensure their suitabil‑
ity for working with children;
(d) Promoting standard legal aid training programmes. Legal aid pro‑
viders representing children should be trained in and be knowledgeable about
children’s rights and related issues, receive ongoing and in‑depth training and
18
“Child‑friendly legal aid” is the provision of legal assistance to children in criminal, civil and
administrative proceedings that is accessible, age‑appropriate, multidisciplinary and effective, and that is
responsive to the range of legal and social needs faced by children and youth. Child‑friendly legal aid
is delivered by lawyers and non‑lawyers who are trained in children’s law and child and adolescent
development and who are able to communicate effectively with children and their caretakers.