SECTION X - Legal Aid And Assistance To The Poor

Legal aid in conducting litigation (Armenrecht) may be granted to a party (plaintiff or defendant) by order of the trial court under the following conditions:(a) The party must be unable to pay the costs of proceedings without endangering his or her own maintenance and that of his or her family.

(b) A prima facie case must exist.

(c) The prosecution or defence of the case must not be unreasonable, i.e., the case must be of such a character that a party who is able to pay costs would not desist from bringing proceedings because of the nature of the case, as, e.g., where the amount at stake is so small that it is unreasonable to bring proceedings.

Armenrecht is granted to foreign nationals provided that the country of the foreign national gives the same treatment to German Subjects. Here again, a number of international treaties relevant to this question are at present not in operation. See Control Council Proclamation No. 2, article III, para. 6. Armenrecht is granted to citizens of the U.K., because legal aid is granted to German nationals under English and Scottish law. 'Stateless Persons ' may be granted Armenrecht provided they comply with the general requirements, but they have no right to demand the Armenrecht. It depends, consequently, entirely on the discretion of the individual Court, whether or not they are granted legal assistance; section 114 (2), ZPO.

If legal assistance is granted, the poor party is exempt from paying Court fees, including fees of witnesses and experts, and from giving security for costs. In the Landgericht, the Oberlandesgericht and the Supreme Court an Attorney is appointed for the poor party. The Attorney receives his fees and expenses, insofar as they are...