FAQ – FILL OUT THE APPLICATION
Apply for support from the Law Does Not Exclude Fund between 10-31 October 2022!
If your case concerns the protection of LGBT+ rights, and your financial situation does not allow you to afford professional legal assistance on your own, you can apply for support from the Law Does Not Exclude Fund. If your application is successful, we will put you in touch with a lawyer specializing in cases like yours, and we will cover their fees and all other costs of the case. Before applying, be sure to read the following information and the terms and conditions available here.
Law Does Not Exclude Fund – FAQ
- Can anyone receive support from the Fund?
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The purpose of the Fund is to provide professional legal support to LGBT+ people in need, especially those in a difficult financial and social situation. The basic criterion for granting funding is therefore the income – that is why we ask you to provide information about this in the form. However, anyone whose case concerns the protection of the rights of LGBT+ persons may submit an application. If funding is not granted, we will still help by putting you in touch with a lawyer who specialises in cases like yours.
- With what kind of case can I apply for the Fund’s support?
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The Law Does Not Exclude Fund’s goal is to protect and improve the legal situation of LGBT+ community in Poland. Therefore, you can apply for financial support of the Fund with any administrative, judicial-administrative, civil, or criminal case related to the protection of the rights of LGBT+ people. For example, it could be a civil case for legal gender recognition, for the transcription of a civil status certificate, for protection from the crime motivated by prejudice, for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
- What does the condition of being in a 'difficult financial situation' mean?
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Difficult financial situation is a situation in which a person cannot independently pay the costs of legal assistance from a professional lawyer without incurring substantial financial loss or substantial difficulty in providing daily living. We do not set a specific income threshold, because situations vary greatly, and we approach each situation individually when considering the application.
- Will every person who meets the criterion of a difficult financial situation receive support?
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Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that, no matter how much we would like to. The Fund’s budget is not unlimited, and we can only help in as many cases as the Fund’s financial resources suffice.
For this reason, in addition to the income criterion, in each case the Coordinator of the Fund and the Advisory Board make an individual decision to grant funding. When doing so, they take into consideration also the degree of individual harm to the applicant, financial situation of the Fund, and other reasonable circumstances.
- For how much financial support can I count on?
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The standard form of support from the Fund is the full funding of all costs of legal proceedings, including the fees of a lawyer, up to the final judgment of the court of second instance. Under special circumstances, however, it is possible to receive a partial funding – on terms agreed individually with the applicant, or legal aid pro bono.
- Can I apply for funding if my case is already pending?
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Yes. However, it is very important that this is clearly indicated in the description of the case in the application form and that you attach to the form a copy of the documents related to the case. Especially administrative decisions or court decisions already issued in the case, as well as submitted pleadings. In a particularly difficult financial situation, it is also possible to apply for a refund of costs already incurred. In this case please attach to the application also documents confirming these costs.
- How long will I wait for a response on my application?
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The Advisory Board will issue a decision on your application within 30 days, counted from the moment of submission of a complete application. That is, one submitted through the form on the Fund’s website, including a description of the case, indicating the legal issue and actions undertaken so far, including a statement of your financial situation justifying your inability to bear the costs of the proceedings and legal aid, and a tax statement for last year. If your application is not complete, we will ask you to provide additional information or documents. Then the 30-days period runs from the date of completing the application.
- What if I do not work and I do not have a tax statement?
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If you are a non-worker dependent on your family or a close relative, you should enclose with your application a tax statement from the person who provides you with a livelihood (indicating how many people are in your household). If this is not possible (for example because the next of kin are not aware of your orientation or identity), please describe these special circumstances in your application. We will then contact you to arrange a course of action.
- Why do I have to wait as long as 30 days for a response? What if my case is urgent?
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We try to act as quickly as we can. However, each application must be carefully reviewed by the Fund’s coordinator and forwarded for a final decision to the Advisory Board, and then the Board of the Association. Therefore, we cannot promise to process the application faster than in 30 days. However, if the matter is very urgent, especially because of a running court deadline, e.g. for submitting an administrative complaint, we would very much appreciate it if you state this clearly in your application. We will try to take this into account when processing your application, or we will contact you to help arrange paid, urgently needed legal assistance for which reimbursement by the Found you may apply afterwards.
- Can I apply to the Fund If I need just legal advice?
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The Fund does not provide legal advice or legal aid directly. Its purpose is to fund legal aid provided by lawyers, specializing in cases of LGBT+ rights protection. If you apply to the Fund for support and receive a positive decision, we will put in touch with a lawyer who will represent you in your case and whose fees will be covered by the Fund. If the decision regarding your application is negative, we will nevertheless contact you with a trusted lawyer who specializes in cases like yours. However, you will have to cover the cost of their legal assistance yourself.
- Can I appeal if the decision regarding support is negative?
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Yes, in the event that the decision to grant you support is negative, you may, within 14 days of receiving it, lodge an appeal. It should contain your name and surname, the designation of the decision which is the subject of the appeal and a justification indicating what circumstances have been omitted or incorrectly assessed by the Advisory Board, in the light of the criteria for granting social assistance indicated in the Terms and Conditions. The appeal should be sent to the e-mail address: prawo@old.mnw.org.pl.
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