Author
Free legal assistance and representation is provided by refugee counsellors under the same conditions as in other cases of judicial review (see Regular Procedure: Legal Assistance). No additional condition to access free legal assistance is imposed in detention cases.
In practice, assistance in accessing refugee counsellors is provided by PIC lawyers who represent the applicants in first instance procedures. Therefore, cases where detained asylum applicants would not benefit from representation before court practically do not occur.
In accordance with established practice, lawyers can meet with their clients in detention even outside of the daily visitation hours. PIC lawyers are available to detained applicants by telephone and usually meet with them in person a few times per month.