“The Government should not restrict people from seeking judicial review, the UK’s most senior judge has warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 15th October 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Britain’s most senior judge has warned the Government that its proposed cuts to the legal aid budget could mean ‘a rank denial of justice’ for vulnerable people.”
The Independent, 15th October 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Now that legal aid is diminished, is it possible to find new sources of public funding for legal advice? Yes, if you work at it, writes Sue Bent.”
LegalVoice, 31st July 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“The Appeal Court has criticised the lawyers of five refugees who were wrongly jailed for carrying false documents after fleeing their countries under the threat of persecution.”
The Independent, 30th July 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Government plans to reform legal aid for criminal suspects could undermine the fundamental principles of justice in England and Wales, the official prosecuting body has suggested.”
The Independent, 16th July 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Justice minister Lord McNally is facing criticism from lawyers over a claim that cases involving litigants in person (LiPs) are ‘normally’ completed more quickly than those where parties have legal representation.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 15th July 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“It was a fitting end to a year’s presidency that has witnessed unprecedented changes in the way legal services are funded and delivered. On 1 July, just 10 days before she is to step down, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff was able to tell the profession that government has at last bowed to Law Society pressure and agreed to retain client choice at the heart of the criminal legal aid system.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 8th July 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“The Judicial Working Group on Litigants in Person – Report, July 2013.”
Judiciary of England and Wales, 5th July 2013
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
“Small law firms reliant upon legal aid will be forced to amalgamate under plans being examined by the Ministry of Justice to save £220m a year.”
The Guardian, 3rd July 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The 10% increase comes amid cuts to criminal legal aid, leading lawyers to ask whether a better funded CCRC will address the problem of lack of legal representation.”
The Guardian, 3rd July 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Legal Services Board publishes today three reports which together deliver new insight into consumers’ behaviour when deciding whether or not to seek legal advice and into the proportionality of regulation.”
Full story (PDF)
Legal services Board, 3rd July 2013
Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk
“The absence of legal representation for defendants to an action for debt who contended they could not speak English resulted in the High Court granting an application that the trial be adjourned for a second time. The judgment is a good example of the interaction of Article 6 ECHR (right to a fair trial) with the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).”
UK Human Rights Blog, 26th June 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“A Cheshire solicitors has recovered more than £300,000 for 700 passengers with their no-win no-fee service.”
The Guardian, 15th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“High-profile cases such as those of murder victims Stephen Lawrence and Victoria Climbié would not have been taken up by lawyers if the government’s legal aid cuts had been in place, a prominent solicitor-advocate has warned.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th June 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“Even the government’s own lawyers are horrified by these reforms.”
The Independent, 7th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has already brought to an end the availability of legal aid across a whole range of areas of law that have direct relevance to the poor. Under cover of generalised claims about opportunistic litigation, the goal has clearly been to remove the capacity for challenge to the implementation (whether lawless or not) of the coalition’s various attacks on benefits. The same legislation also withdrew state support from foreign nationals in prison who are threatened with deportation, as many are – regardless of how long they had been here and how British they are in fact. The idea behind this change was to prevent resistance to removal by showing an infringement of the right to respect for private life in the Human Rights Act (a matter on which government now also intends to legislate separately). In both these cases, the government appears close to accepting that their goal is to prevent meritorious cases getting to court, on the ground that the laws that make them meritorious (human rights legislation; equality law; the common law of procedural fairness) are not laws they like. They have been tempted to remove the litigants rather than the laws, hoping there’ll be less fuss.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 10th June 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
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