Editing Litigant in person (section)

{{Short description|English legal concept}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
In [[England and Wales]], a '''litigant in person''' is an individual, company or organisation that has [[rights of audience]] (this is, the right to address the court) and is not represented in a [[Courts of England and Wales|court of England and Wales]] by a [[solicitor]] or [[barrister]]. Instructing a barrister and not a solicitor, for example through the [[Public Access Scheme]], however, does not prevent the party on whose behalf the barrister had been instructed from being a litigant in person.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-10 |title=Agassi v Robinson (Inspector of Taxes)(No.2)Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |url=https://www.dipublico.org/100871/agassi-v-robinson-inspector-of-taxes/ |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=www.dipublico.org}}</ref>

It is possible nevertheless for litigants in England and Wales to obtain free legal advice and in some cases representation from the [[Citizens Advice Bureau]] (CAB).

The term ''litigant in person'' is also used in the similar (but separate) legal systems of [[Law of the Republic of Ireland|Irish law]] and [[Northern Irish law]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guidelines for Litigants in Person |url=http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/library3.nsf/(WebFiles)/78EC834664F2107780258027002C6A56/$FILE/Information%20Booklet%20for%20High%20Court%20Central%20Office.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011014413/http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/library3.nsf/(WebFiles)/78EC834664F2107780258027002C6A56/$FILE/Information%20Booklet%20for%20High%20Court%20Central%20Office.pdf |archive-date=2018-10-11 |access-date=2018-10-10 |website=The Courts Service of Ireland}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ulster.ac.uk/faculties/arts-humanities-and-social-sciences/schools/law/research/litigants-in-person |title=Litigants in person in Northern Ireland - Ulster University |access-date=2018-10-10 |archive-date=2018-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011013829/https://www.ulster.ac.uk/faculties/arts-humanities-and-social-sciences/schools/law/research/litigants-in-person |url-status=live }}</ref>

The equivalent in [[Scotland]] is a [[party litigant]] and in the United States is [[Pro se legal representation in the United States|''pro se'' legal representation]].

The right to defend oneself in person or through chosen legal assistance is provided for in [[Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite wikisource|European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms}}</ref>