‘Many more children could be expelled from school under new guidance which comes into force this week, according to lawyers who represent pupils at appeal panels.’
The Guardian, 6th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Provisions in the Exceptional Funding Guidance (Non-Inquests), issued by the Lord Chancellor under section 4 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, although correctly identifying many of the particular factors which were to be taken into account by the Director of Legal Aid Casework and legal aid caseworkers in deciding whether to make an exceptional case determination for legal aid in a particular case, mis-stated the discretion conferred by section 10(3)(b) of the 2012 Act, and failed to comply with both article 6(1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, by impermissibly sending a clear signal to the director and the caseworkers that the refusal of legal aid would amount to a breach only in rare and exceptional cases.’
WLR Daily, 15th December 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on exceptional funding in civil legal aid is incompatible with the right of access to justice under Article 6 of the ECHR and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Court has further decided that this Guidance was not compatible with Article 8 of the ECHR in immigration cases; in other words, that legal aid should not be refused when applicants for entry to the UK seek to argue that refusal of entry would interfere with their right to respect for private and family life.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Guidance on granting legal aid for exceptional immigration cases is “unlawful”, judges have ruled.’
BBC News, 15th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Roger Smith OBE made the case for 1% of the legal aid budget to be directed towards an ‘innovation fund’ to promote access to justice online. The former director of JUSTICE, who was delivering the keynote speech earlier this week at the 2014 Legal Voice conference, called upon Chris Grayling to ‘re-evaluate’ priorities and to deploy online help for initial advice.’
LegalVoice, 11th December 2014
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
‘The High Court’s decision to block the abolition of recoverability for mesothelioma claims has denied victims the 10% uplift in damages they would otherwise have received, justice minister Lord Faulks has said.’
Litgation Futures, 11th December 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Following the recent publication of a report on litigants in person in private family law (reported here), the Lord Chancellor has commissioned a review of accessibility and affordability of legal services.’
LegalVoice, 10th December 2014
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
‘The legal aid bill is being slashed by £300m without research into the potential effect of the cuts, the most senior civil servant at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has admitted.’
The Independent, 5th Decemeber 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Jessica Craigs, senior solicitor of Mills & Reeve LLP analyses the financial remedies and divorce news and cases published by Family Law Week during November.’
Family Law Week, 5th December 2014
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘On 20 November 2014, the National Audit Office – the independent Parliamentary body responsible for scrutinising the way in which the government spends public money – published a report on the implementation of the post-2010 civil legal aid reforms. Its central conclusion is an unsurprising one: while spending on civil legal aid has been reduced significantly, the Ministry of Justice failed properly to consider the wider impact of the reforms before implementing them.’
Free Movement, 5th December 2014
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
‘Master of the rolls Lord Dyson has told MPs that an increase in litigants in person has caused miscarriages of justice.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 1st December 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Speech by The Right Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Cardiff Business Club on 3 November 2014.’
Judiciary of England and Wales, 27th November 2014
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘On-call, duty contracts for criminal solicitors to attend police stations and courts will be slashed from 1,600 to 527 in England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.’
The Guardian, 27th November 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Legal help for thousands of families facing eviction from their home is being slashed by the Government despite soaring numbers of repossessions, an investigation for The Independent has found.’
The Independent, 26th November 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘An overwhelming majority of lawyers believe that wealth is becoming a more important factor than it used to be in gaining access to justice.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 21st November 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
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