Court of Justice 7 July 2009, C-246/08 (Commission of the European Communities v Republic of Finland.)

Opinion of the Advocate-General Opinion of the Advocate-General I – Introduction 1. In the year 2002, the Republic of Finland decided to extend free legal aid, which had traditionally been afforded to citizens with lower incomes, to another segment of the population whose income was higher but who would find it difficult to pay the full cost of the service.