The rule of law and access to justice
The rule of law means nothing without effective access to justice for all. All individuals require access to competent and independent advice on the legal issues which affect them. They also need strong representation in court. In a time of economic difficulty, when fewer people have a capacity to pay for advice, the legal safety-net that the state provides becomes even more important.
Legal aid
Legal aid in England and Wales is a front-line service as important as health and education. In recent years, that system has been driven to breaking point by repeated changes in policy and by a failure to anticipate or appreciate the effects on the legal aid budget of decisions elsewhere in the justice system.
The system as it currently exists is not sustainable in the long-term. A report by the National Audit Office in November 2009 revealed that 16 per cent of solicitors? firms providing legal aid criminal defence services make zero per cent profit and 14 per cent of firms make between one and five per cent profit. More worryingly, an NAO survey shows that 28 per cent of firms believe that they are unlikely to be conducting legal aid work in five years' time. Solicitors in private practice provide the most cost-effective way of dispensing legal advice and representation. Constant reorganisation and budget limitation is therefore having the effect of starving out the key suppliers of public legal advice.
The Law Society believes that there is scope for a new approach to legal aid. Partnership between government and the profession is essential to secure such an approach and to ensure that legal aid provision in England and Wales has a sustainable future for the long-term.
The Law Society calls on all parties to commit to:
- Maintaining legal aid eligibility at current levels;
- Working with the profession on a ?new covenant? to enable practitioners to plan with confidence;
- Considering a 'polluter pays' policy whereby those authorities or bodies whose failed prosecutions or other actions cause costs to the legal aid fund are required to reimburse those costs;
- Publishing a legal aid impact assessment with every new piece of legislation together with an indication of how costs will be met.
Civil redress
Access to justice means more than legal aid. It also means the right to be able to seek redress. In a just society, a person who has been harmed by the negligence of others should be entitled to seek compensation.
The Law Society calls on all parties to commit to:
- Ensuring that victims can obtain proper redress and have access to the advice and support needed to obtain that redress;
- Maintaining the small claims limit in personal injury cases;
- Encouraging greater take-up of legal expenses insurance through the tax system;
- Ensuring proper regulation of 'third party capture', where insurers attempt to limit damages by going direct to accident victims and encouraging them to under-settle claims.