Rule 377 – Conditions for granting legal aid

1. The applicant shall be entitled to apply for legal aid where:

(a) owing to his economic situation, he is wholly or partly unable to meet the costs referred to in Rule 376; and

(b) the action in respect of which the application for legal aid is made has a reasonable prospect of success, considering the applicant’s procedural position; and

(c) the claimant applying for legal aid is entitled to bring actions under Article 47 of the Agreement.

2. The Administrative Committee may define thresholds above which legal aid applicants are deemed wholly or partly able to bear the costs of proceedings set out in Rule 376. These thresholds may not prevent applicants whose economic situation is above the thresholds from being granted legal aid if they prove that they are in fact unable to pay the costs of the proceedings referred to in Rule 376 as a result of the high level of the cost of living in the Contracting Member State of domicile or habitual residence.

3. When deciding on the grant of legal aid the Court shall, without prejudice to paragraph 1(a), consider all relevant circumstances including the importance of the action to the applicant and also the nature of the action when the application concerns a claim arising directly out of the applicant’s trade or selfemployed profession.