‘The UK justice system should receive a radical overhaul for the digital age with the creation of an online court to expand access to justice and resolve claims of up to £25,000, the official body that oversees civil courts has recommended.’
The Guardian, 16th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Is the domestic violence evidence gateway in the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012 ultra vires the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012)? Sarah Clarke, a solicitor at the Public Law Project, examines a recent ruling on the matter and discusses the implications for practitioners.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 12th February 2015
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘A family judge was reprimanded by Court of Appeal judges twice in two days and told he should be “embarrassed” by the way he handled a case, it has emerged.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 6th February 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Lord Justice Fulford and Mrs Justice Lang DBE have rejected Rights of Womens much needed challenge against the regulations (regulation 33) on domestic violence. For practitioners who work in the field of domestic violence and for people who care about gender based violence this is a disappointing and somewhat confusing blow.’
The World of Family Law (Garden Court Chambers), 4th February 2015
Source: www.gcfamily.wordpress.com
‘More than a third of advice agencies that have so far implemented charging for legal services appear to have done so sustainably, a survey of post-LASPO innovations has found.’
Legal Futures, 3rd February 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A respected think tank has compiled a dossier showing more than 20 convicted terrorists and suspects from abroad have used human rights laws to remain in the UK, including al-Qaeda fundraiser Baghdad Meziane.’
Daily Telegraph, 31st January 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Sir Brian Leveson, The President of the Queen’s Bench Division publishes his review into efficiency in criminal proceedings today (Friday) with a wide ranging set of recommendations. He was asked by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas to find ways to make criminal justice more efficient and streamlined.’
Judiciary of England and Wales, 23rd January 2015
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘Government regulations on access to legal aid for victims of domestic violence have been upheld by the high court.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The High Court has rejected a challenge to the legality of government changes to legal aid for victims of domestic violence.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 22nd January 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Delivering judgment on the lord chancellor’s controversial criminal legal aid reforms by the end of the month will be a ‘pretty tall order’, senior judges have said at the end of a three-day hearing in the High Court.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th January 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Armes v Wheel Property Co Ltd, Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court, 17 May 2013
Claimant had been the protected tenant of a two bed flat in a Victorian terrace conversion for 30 years. Current rent was £191 per week.’
NearlyLegal, 18th January 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The principle of fair justice is being undermined by the growing number of criminal defendants forced to represent themselves in court, magistrates from across the country warn in a survey to be released today [19 January].’
The Independent, 19th January 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Child contact centres, where children meet their separated parents who cannot agree access rights, are disappearing as legal aid cuts take effect.The National Association for Child Contact Centres (NACCC) says 40 centres have closed in the last 18 months across England and Wales – and the pace of closures is accelerating. It says that, because it can no longer obtain legal aid, the number of parents accessing the family courts to resolve their problems has halved. As a result they are not receiving advice from solicitors who are likely to refer them to the centres.’
The Guardian, 17th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The lord chancellor’s decision to start a tender process for legal aid crime duty contracts is unlawful because it is “irrational”, “disproportionate” and based on a “manifest error”, the Law Society will argue in the High Court.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 15th January 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The first two reported cases of the year in the Family Court are both concerned with the difficulties litigants – not to mention practitioners, and the courts – are now faced with when trying to navigate the legal aid system. The first – about which we posted here – concerned an unrepresented father who couldn’t get legal aid despite needing to cross-examine a child who had accused him of abuse, leading to the court to order that he be funded outside the legal aid scheme.’
Full story
Legal Aid Handbook, 11th January 2015
Source: www.legalaidhandbook.com
‘This is a housing case, but the procedural issue in this decision is only tangentially related to that. Nonetheless, it is a matter worth noting.’
NearlyLegal, 10th January 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The president of the Family Division has described as ‘unconscionable’ delays over legal aid funding which have held up a case concerning the removal of a child from his parents.’
7th January 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘2015 looks set to be a critical year for the pro bono movement and its uneasy relationship with legal aid. The well-worn pro bono mantra – that pro bono is “an adjunct to and not a replacement for legal aid” – has been challenged in recent years. The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) effectively scrapped public funding for much of social welfare law advice in April 2013 and the legal profession is finally beginning to rethink the formula. Legal aid lawyers are rightly sceptical about ministers trying to co-opt pro bono – but LASPO 2012 is a game-changer.’
The Future of Law, 7th January 2015
Source: http://blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk
‘A couple left in “agony” to fight against the enforced adoption of their three-year-old son could be forgiven for thinking they are trapped in a system which is “neither compassionate nor even humane,” the most senior family court judge in England and Wales has said.’
The Guardian, 7th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Desmond Rutledge provides a practice note on challenging a refusal of permission to appeal by the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) in a welfare benefits case.’
Garden Court Chambers Blog, 6th January 2015
Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com
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