Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article offers a theoretical analysis of state-guaranteed legal aid through the lens of social citizenship and access to justice. Drawing on T. H. Marshall's conception, the study argues that legal aid constitutes a structural element of citizenship within a social state, rather than merely a technical instrument for procedural equality. The analysis examines legal aid's historical development within the welfare state and its transformations under neoliberal governance. Particular attention is paid to effectiveness limits of contemporary systems and the risk of reduction to minimal conditional support. The article argues for reconsidering legal aid within a broader conception of access to justice, encompassing prevention of legal exclusion, strengthening of legal capacity, and development of pluralistic support models. Legal aid is analyzed as an indicator of social citizenship and justice accessibility in contemporary legal systems.
Source: Vector European
Authors: Vadim Suhov, Constantin Gilca
Institution: Comrat State University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204188762