3.

Directive 2003/8 provides: ‘Article 3 Right to legal aid 1. Natural persons involved in a dispute covered by this Directive shall be entitled to receive appropriate legal aid in order to ensure their effective access to justice in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Directive. 2. Legal aid is considered to be appropriate when it guarantees: (a) pre-litigation advice with a view to reaching a settlement prior to bringing legal proceedings; (b) legal assistance and representation in court, and exemption from, or assistance with, the cost of proceedings of the recipient, including the costs referred to in Article 7 and the fees to persons mandated by the court to perform acts during the proceedings. … Article 7 Costs related to the cross-border nature of the dispute Legal aid granted in the Member State in which the court is sitting shall cover the following costs directly related to the cross-border nature of the dispute: … (b) translation of the documents required by the court or by the competent authority and presented by the recipient which are necessary for the resolution of the case; and … Article 8 Costs covered by the Member State of the domicile or habitual residence The Member State in which the legal aid applicant is domiciled or habitually resident shall provide legal aid, as referred to in Article 3(2), necessary to cover: (a) costs relating to the assistance of a local lawyer or any other person entitled by the law to give legal advice, incurred in that Member State until the application for legal aid has been received, in accordance with this Directive, in the Member State where the court is sitting; (b) the translation of the application and of the necessary supporting documents when the application is submitted to the authorities in that Member State. … Article 13 Introduction and transmission of legal aid applications 1. Legal aid applications may be submitted to either: (a) the competent authority of the Member State in which the applicant is domiciled or habitually resident (transmitting authority); or (b) the competent authority of the Member State in which the court is sitting or where the decision is to be enforced (receiving authority). 2. Legal aid applications shall be completed in, and supporting documents translated into: (a) the official language or one of the languages of the Member State of the competent receiving authority which corresponds to one of the languages of the Community institutions; or (b) another language which that Member State has indicated it can accept in accordance with Article 14(3). … 4. The competent transmitting authority shall assist the applicant in ensuring that the application is accompanied by all the supporting documents known by it to be required to enable the application to be determined. It shall also assist the applicant in providing any necessary translation of the supporting documents, in accordance with Article 8(b). The competent transmitting authority shall transmit the application to the competent receiving authority in the other Member State within 15 days of the receipt of the application duly completed in one of the languages referred to in paragraph 2, and the supporting documents, translated, where necessary, into one of those languages. … 6. The Member States may not charge for services rendered in accordance with paragraph 4. …’