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Most liberal democracies consider that it is necessary to provide some level of legal aid when it established the Legal Services Commission, and is available for most criminal cases, and many types of civil cases with exceptions including libel, most personal injury cases (which are now dealt with under Conditional Fee Agreements, a species of contingency fee) and cases associated with the running of a business. Family cases are also often covered. Depending on the type of case, legal aid may or may not be means tested.
Although the European Courts have recently ruled that a lack of legal-aid-libel may be a breach of the right to a fair trial (following the McLibel case), it is still unclear how this will affect UK libel trials.
Criminal legal
