News item | 31-01-2025 | 15:30
State Secretary for Legal Protection Teun Struycken makes an additional 400,000 euros available for subsidies for legal and legal stores. The total amount for this subsidy therefore comes to 515,000 euros per year. Right and legislative stores offer low-threshold access to law, because they help everyone with legal demand free of charge. With the extra money, access to law is increased, the legal and legislative stores can further professionalize and students come into contact with this form of legal assistance, so that they may more often choose the profession of social lawyer. The extra money is available retroactively from January 1, 2025.
State Secretary Struycken: “Together with the Legal Counter and the Social Counselors, the legal and legislative stores form the low-threshold access to the right to the most vulnerable in our society. With their valuable work, right and legislative stores not only help justice, but are also the breeding ground for the social lawyers of the future. With this extra money, the right and law stores can help more people, organize their organizations more professionally and let more students come into contact with the wonderful profession of social lawyer. ”
Right and Law stores
The Netherlands has around 115 legal and legislative stores, where everyone can go for legal help free of charge. Right and legislative stores offer consultation hours, information, legal advice and support at physical locations. The services can also consist of assisting justice in procedures, help with writing letters or help with filling in forms. For example, the legal and legal stores are a supplement to the other first-line facilities for legal aid such as the Legal Counter and the Social Counselors. The work in legal and legislative stores is mainly done by students and volunteers, who are supported in professionalizing their services by the Dutch Association of Rechtswinkels (NVR).
Change of existing regulations
There was already a subsidy for legal and legislative stores, but this subsidy had not been indexed since 2009 and not all right and legislative stores were eligible for this subsidy. As a result, only 33 right-wing and legal stores could use the subsidy. The regulation for this subsidy has been amended, which means that all approximately 115 legal and legislative stores in the Netherlands are eligible. For the subsidy, right and legislative stores must meet conditions for accessibility, quality and design of the services. They must also be a member of the Dutch Association of Right and Wet Shops or a comparable branch organization.
Right and legislative stores that help more than 100 liters per year are eligible for extra subsidy. A number of extra conditions apply to this. For example, these legal and legal stores must have an active relationship with education and local social-legal networks, undertake activities in the field of information and prevention, stimulate the growth of social lawyers and signal any shortcomings in legal protection.
The adjusted subsidy scheme was established in collaboration with the Legal Aid Council, which is also responsible for its implementation. In addition, the Dutch Association of Law Shops and the Legal Counter have been consulted. The Council for Legal Aid has also asked a number of legal and legislative stores, different in size, location and type, to respond to the concept.