Abstract Legal Aid and Human Rights Legal aid means assistance to those people who are unable

to afford legal representation and get access to the court system. It plays a vital role in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial. Is it more to legal aid than winging lawyers who say they don't get paid enough? This is often the picture that is being painted by those, both within and outside government, who want to cut back on state provision for those accused of crime and also for the many others who need state aid if they are to be able to claim the rights the law say are their due. But is there more to legal aid than simply a matter of justice? Is there a human right to legal aid? What are the implications of such a right for public access to justice in India and can India afford a proper commitment to civil as well as criminal legal aid ? My paper will deals with all these questions. If legal aid means nothing more than legal representation in court, then to that extent there is a right to legal aid, although of limited availability. It is found to be implicit, in various legal systems and in human rights instruments. I argue for it in its broadest sense as a fundamental human right, guaranteeing public access not only to legal institutions idea of it lies in and legal representation, but also to legal information, legal advice, and legal education and knowledge. The key to establishing a right to a broader one. After reviewing cases and human rights treaties that describe a right to legal representation, I will conclude in the paper that even that right is available only in limited circumstances. I then outline a new argument for a fundamental human right not only to legal representation, but to 'legal aid' more broadly understood. Keywords: Human right, Legal aid , Justice. understanding the role of state from a human rights perspective rather than a welfarist