This paper outlines the significant developments in the provision of legal services to low-income persons that have taken place since the First Congress on Civil Procedures, held in Ghent, Belgium, in August of 1977. Although only six years have passed, there have been numerous developments in various parts of the world with respect to legal services, as the legal profession the judiciary and governments have grappled with civil and criminal procedures in their attempts to make them more accessible to the poor, the unemployed and other groups which have traditionally been excluded from the legal system. This paper carries forward the analysis of Professor Vittorio Denti which was published with the Ghent national reports on this topic in Perspectives on Legal Aid - A Comparative Survey, (1979), and relies heavily on the data generated by the 26 responses to a questionnaire designed by the writer which addressed the issues of changes and developments since 1977.