The article presents a comparative legal analysis of international and European standards of free legal aid, including the European court of human rights decisions, the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the legislation norms of Ukraine. The violations of international standards, as well as the problems of organization and functioning of the system of free legal aid in Ukraine were detected. Special attention is paid to the problem of timely provision of legal aid to an arrested person. The issue of lawyers’ independence in the implementation of their powers is investigated. Some suggestions for further improvement of Ukrainian legislation, which regulates the provision of free legal aid, including the aim of harmonizing it with the European one are proposed. Some priority areas for further development of the system of free legal aid in Ukraine are suggested.