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Introduction: Understanding the History of Legal Aid in an International and Comparative Perspective

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Histories of Legal Aid

Part of the book series: World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence ((WHCCV))

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Abstract

The introduction to this book argues that the history of legal aid in various countries needs to be examined from a comparative perspective to fully grasp the development of legal aid, which has taken on different forms in different countries and at different times. After providing a general overview on the long history of legal aid, the introduction focuses on the modern, nineteenth- and twentieth-century history of legal aid. It then connects the various chapters of this book interrogating the reasons for establishing legal aid, its recipients and providers, and its perhaps inevitable shortcomings. Employing examples from various countries, the introduction shows how legal aid historically has always been connected to a variety of political considerations including the role of the state as well as the fear of the poor and working class. Moreover, it discusses the multifaceted—and sometimes strained—relationship between legal aid and the legal profession, including the role lay lawyers, particularly lay women, have played in providing legal assistance to those in need. The introduction offers a broad context and framework for the reader to reflect upon and ponder while reading the book’s chapters.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We wish to thank Marianne González Le Saux for her valuable comments regarding the introduction.

  2. 2.

    For example Deuteronomy 24:14–15, Proverbs 14:20–21, Job 29:12.

  3. 3.

    Brundage (1988), pp. 169–174; Nemeth (2001), pp. 288–290; Cappelletti (1972), p. 351.

  4. 4.

    Jozic (2014), p. 38.

  5. 5.

    Brundage (1988), p. 174; Cappelletti (1972), pp. 351–352.

  6. 6.

    Brundage (1988), p. 175. For more on the origins of the legal profession, see Brundage (2008).

  7. 7.

    Vermeesch (2014), pp. 683–684.

  8. 8.

    Kagan (1981), pp. 13, 66–67.

  9. 9.

    Elsener (1976), p. 104.

  10. 10.

    Jozic (2014), pp. 44–46, 74–78.

  11. 11.

    Jozic (2014), pp. 64–68.

  12. 12.

    Seipp (2018).

  13. 13.

    Seipp (2018); see also Leat (1975), p. 167.

  14. 14.

    Musson (2001), p. 148; Vermeesch (2014), pp. 17–21; Jozic (2014), pp. 76–77. On similar considerations in England, see Bradley (2019), pp. 20–21 and Musson (2001), pp. 147–149.

  15. 15.

    Cappelletti (1972), pp. 352–354.

  16. 16.

    Cappelletti (1975), pp. 16–21; Bradley (2019), pp. 44–59.

  17. 17.

    On England, see Bradley (2019), p. 98–101; on Germany, see Kawamura (2014), p. 41.

  18. 18.

    Vasara-Aaltonen (2019), p. 53.

  19. 19.

    Batlan (2015), pp. 176–177.

  20. 20.

    Batlan (2015), pp. 113–114.

  21. 21.

    Cappelletti and Garth (1981), pp. 4–5, 20–21; Abel (1985), p. 501.

  22. 22.

    See, for example, Unger (1983).

  23. 23.

    See, for example, Cappelletti et al. (1975) and Halvorsen Rønning and Hammerslev (2018).

  24. 24.

    Batlan (2015), pp. 220–222.

  25. 25.

    See, for example, Cappelletti and Garth (1981), pp. 2–3.

  26. 26.

    Cappelletti et al. (1975).

  27. 27.

    Cappelletti (1981).

  28. 28.

    One can mention, for example, The Transformation of Legal Aid: Comparative and Historical Studies, Regan et al., eds. (1999), which is divided into a historical and a comparative part. However, the historical part focuses only on the second half of the twentieth century and only examines common law countries. Most recently, one can mention the book Outsourcing Legal Aid in the Nordic Welfare States, Halvorsen Rønning and Hammerslev, eds. (2018), which gives an excellent picture of legal aid in the Nordic countries with some comparisons to the rest of Europe and the U.S.

  29. 29.

    See, for example, Batlan (2015); Bradley (2019); Geisel (1997); Kawamura (2014); Neuberger (1996); Pomeranz (1996); Schnapper (1984).

  30. 30.

    Watson (1993). For criticism against Watson’s theory, see, for example, Legrand (1997). On legal transplants within the context of legal aid, see also Cappelletti and Garth (1981), p. 6.

  31. 31.

    González Le Saux (2018), pp. 116–117, 160.

  32. 32.

    See Felice Batlan’s chapter in this book.

  33. 33.

    “Juridik populär i Japan,” Hufvudstadsbladet, 27 Feb. 1959.

  34. 34.

    Yanow Johnson (1975), pp. 653–654; Kakiuchi (2007).

  35. 35.

    On comparative legal history, see, for example, Moréteau et al. (2019).

  36. 36.

    See Felice Batlan’s chapter in this book.

  37. 37.

    See Mayeux (2020), pp. 94–95.

  38. 38.

    Merryman (2000); Bates and Leitel (1974).

  39. 39.

    Johnson (2014), pp. 182–185.

  40. 40.

    Goriely (2006), pp. 41–44, 52–54, 58–59.

  41. 41.

    Anderson (2000), pp. 1–10.

  42. 42.

    On Germany, see also Geisel (1997).

  43. 43.

    Bradley and Rowland (2020).

  44. 44.

    On women’s organisations and female lawyers being active in legal aid in a number of European countries around the turn of the twentieth century, see, for example, Kimble and Röwekamp (2017), pp. 9–10; Kimble (2017), p. 128.

  45. 45.

    See Leipziger Uhrmacherzeitung, digitally available at https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/26202/1/, accessed 27 Mar 2021.

  46. 46.

    Bradley (2014).

  47. 47.

    Black (2013).

  48. 48.

    See, for example, Bradley and Rowland (2020).

  49. 49.

    For more on the comparative history of litigation investment and legal expenses insurance, see Van Boom (2020).

  50. 50.

    Schoultz (2018), pp. 45–46; Lasola and Rissanen (2013), p. 3; Rissanen (2018), pp. 89–90.

  51. 51.

    See, for example, Grossberg (1997), p. 306.

  52. 52.

    See Brundage (2008), pp. 344–370.

  53. 53.

    Rhode (2004), pp. 146–147.

  54. 54.

    Abel (1985), pp. 598–599.

  55. 55.

    Abel (1985), p. 499.

  56. 56.

    Abel (1985), pp. 503–508.

  57. 57.

    On “lay lawyers,” see, for example, Korpiola (2019).

  58. 58.

    See Hiroki Kawamura’s, William Pomeranz’s, and Marianne Vasara-Aaltonen’s chapters in this book.

  59. 59.

    González Le Saux (2017), pp. 352–353.

  60. 60.

    See Marianne Vasara-Aaltonen’s chapter in this book.

  61. 61.

    See Hiroki Kawamura’s chapter in this book, and Bradley and Rowland (2020).

  62. 62.

    Bradley and Rowland (2020), p. 4; Bradley (2019), pp. 46–47.

  63. 63.

    Bradway (1929).

  64. 64.

    Batlan (2015); González Le Saux (2017), pp. 356–369.

  65. 65.

    Wilson (2018), pp. 267–269.

  66. 66.

    “Ylioppilaiden kansansivistyskokous Upsalassa,” Työmies, 20 May 1901, p. 1.

  67. 67.

    See Jin Dong’s, Marianne González Le Saux’s, and Bruno Debaenst’s chapters in this book.

  68. 68.

    Abel (1985), pp. 499–500.

  69. 69.

    Bradley (2019), p. 136; Abel (1985), pp. 499–500.

  70. 70.

    Hammerslev and Halvorsen Rønning (2018), pp. 147–150.

  71. 71.

    Korpiola (2010), pp. 252–253.

  72. 72.

    For more on the comparative history of clinical legal education, see Wilson (2018). On U.S. law school students’ pro bono work, see also Rhode (2004), pp. 156–160.

  73. 73.

    Jüriloo (2015), pp. 204–210; Legal empowerment of the poor and eradication of poverty. Report of the Secretary-General (2009), UN Doc A/64/133; Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul (21 May 2013), UN Doc A/HRC/23 /43, para 20–27, 46.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, USA

    Felice Batlan

  2. Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Marianne Vasara-Aaltonen

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  1. Chicago Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, USA

    Felice Batlan

  2. Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Marianne Vasara-Aaltonen

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Batlan, F., Vasara-Aaltonen, M. (2021). Introduction: Understanding the History of Legal Aid in an International and Comparative Perspective. In: Batlan, F., Vasara-Aaltonen, M. (eds) Histories of Legal Aid. World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80271-4_1

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