Help for making an appeal

You can get help for making an appeal. You can only make an administrative appeal in a matter that concerns you personally. You have the right to use an attorney or an agent to help you.

The authority must give you advice and guidance for making an appeal. The authority has to give you advice even if you do not ask for it if they see that you need advice.

If the authority does not have power in the matter in which you need help, they must send you to the right authority.

In appeals related to social welfare services, you can get advice from the Social Ombudsman, and in appeals related to health care, from the health care unit's Patient Ombudsman.  There is no charge for the services of the Social Ombudsman or the Patient Ombudsman.

You can get help for making an appeal from an attorney, a solicitor’ office or a law firm. They charge a fee for this service. An attorney is a person who has a post-graduate law degree and at least four years’ experience of working as a legal expert and who has taken an attorney’s examinations.  

If you are poor, you may get legal aid paid for from public funds. Legal aid may be fully or partly free. You do not usually get legal aid if you have a legal expenses insurance.