Access to justice restricted beyond the ‘reasonable endurance of ordinary citizens’ | Solicitors Journal
The chairman of the Bar Council, Alistair MacDonald QC, has urged the government to ensure that access to justice is not further restricted following the chancellor’s spending review.
George Osborne pledged yesterday to invest more than £700m in the courts and tribunals system over the course of the next five years.
MacDonald said that investment aimed at modernising the court system and tribunals was vital to the successful reform of our criminal justice system, however, the government’s cuts to the Ministry of Justice’s administrative budget of 50 per cent was a ‘big concern’.
‘Since LASPO was enacted, hundreds of thousands of people have been left without access to legal advice, often in serious cases involving custody of children, victims of domestic violence, and access to housing, education, health and welfare services,’ said the leading silk.
‘The introduction of court fees means people must now pay to £10,000 in order to get access to the courts if they are injured at work or if they are a small business chasing a late payer,’ he continued.
The Justice Committee’s recently released and damning report highlighted the criminal courts charge as ‘grossly disproportionate’ after it had heard evidence that the controversial charge was a symbol of a ‘medieval’ justice system.
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Welcome to the return of the dark Ages.
Never believe an Osborne pledge mere lies, my son was senior partner in a London legal practice, thanks to Grayling and Tory policies he and 130 staff are finished, jobless.
The damage is already done and how many more will go to the wall thanks to Tory reforms, we have never had it so bad.
Thatcher inflicted misery nationwide the present shower have caused carnage and untold poverty and hardship on the masses and it’s going to get a whole lot worse.
Thousands of public sector, police and steel workers gone and more to follow, how can they truthfully stand in the HOC and say unemployment is at an all time low, blatant bare faced lies
It means that if a late payer owes less then the court fee, or the money paid at a tribunal would be less then the cost, that it is not worth going to court/tribunal in the first place.
There is no such thing as Justice anymore in this land called the UK, it died years ago!