The term "pro bono," which is short for pro bono publico, is a Latin term that means "for the public good." The term has specific significance in the legal arena and is a highly encouraged practice. The idea is to provide equality in access to justice. The underprivileged or people from marginalised society who do not have the means to bear the costs of a lawyer- such people are provided free legal services by lawyers who work pro bono. WCL feels that pro bono work is a social responsibility and it is prime duty of every lawyer to integrate pro bono services into their legal practice.
Access to justice is indeed a facet of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Citizens inability to access courts or any other adjudicatory mechanism provided for determination of rights and obligations is bound to result in denial of the guarantee contained in Article 14 both in relation to equality before law as well as equal protection of laws.
The above is the observation of Honble Supreme Court, while asserting that each one of us have a fundamental right to access justice. However, on the other side of the coin lies the picture of thousands of underprivileged and marginalised social classes who lack the means to access justice. WCL- through its collateral collaborations- aims to establish this right of access for every person. The idea is to ensure that no person is deprived of access to legal justice because of his or her position in the socio economic hierarchy. The notion of Justice only for the rich defies the entire concept of justice. Pro bono is an effort- an effort to help build an equitable justice system.
We invite applications from lawyers, law firms, practitioners to partner with us for pro bono services. The aim of such partnerships is to ensure that legal access is reached even to the remotest areas through our partners and affiliates.
To qualify for availing pro bono services:
a) an Indian citizen must have an annual income below Rs. 1,20,000
b) Foreigners /NRIs who are victims of corruption or human rights violations or terrorist situations or are abandoned here- if they are deprived of access to legal justice system in any manner, they can apply for availing pro bono services.
The discretion to grant such application shall rest solely with WhiteCode Legal.
