“Reforms may not produce significant savings as it would result in more unrepresented litigants and longer hearings, says Lord Neuberger.”
The Guardian, 18th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“‘This is a derisory document’. Thus, Professor Roger Smith described the MoJ’s paper on Transforming Legal Aid, when he gave evidence to the Select Committee for Justice last Tuesday. The most senior members of the legal profession gave evidence about the potential impact of the proposals. The President of the Law Society, and the chairs of the Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association, and Criminal Law Solicitors Association all agreed that, if the Minister has his way, the criminal justice system will be irreparably harmed. The MoJ plans to introduce these changes by secondary legislation, although more than 90,000 signatories to an e-petition (Save UK Justice) have now called for a full debate in Parliament.”
LegalVoice, 17th June 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“Vulnerability among child sex abuse victims should no longer be a barrier to justice, the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, has declared as he unveiled new guidelines for handling cases.”
The Guardian, 11th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Senior judges have called for children to be spared from the ‘damage’ of appearing in criminal trials, and instead have their evidence video recorded.”
Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Otterburn Consulting recently completed a survey to inform the Law Society’s response to the government’s consultation ‘Transforming legal aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system on price competitive tendering (PCT).’ The aim was to find out what the impact on firms would be, based on hard evidence and to evaluate whether the proposed system was likely to work in practice.”
LegalVoice, 7th June 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“Lawyers say police could ‘circumvent criminal justice’ by using intelligence in civil immigration courts to increase deportations.”
The Guardian, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Lawyers waving placards and chanting blocked the road outside the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday evening in protest over proposals to slice a further £220m out of criminal legal aid and remove defendants’ ability to choose a solicitor.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Leading human rights barrister Dinah Rose challenges cabinet minister Ken Clarke over the Government’s extension of the use of secret courts.”
BBC Unreliable Evidence, 5th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Victims are to be given new rights to challenge the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to charge a suspect or to drop a prosecution.”
The Guardian, 5th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Inspectors of police service and prosecutors have called for decisive action to streamline the criminal justice process and end ‘the spectre of unnecessary bureaucracy’.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 4th June 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“Middle class families face bankruptcy and miscarriages of justice under reforms which threaten to undermine the Britain’s legal system, one of the country’s most senior lawyers has warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 31st May 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Recorded crime, convictions and the number of individuals entering prisons have shown a dramatic decline since 2011. We take a closer look at the data.”
The Guardian, 30th May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“‘Unity is our secret weapon’ was the key message that emerged from this week’s unprecedented meeting of 1,000 defence lawyers who voted unanimously backing a motion that price competitive tendering was ‘not the way forward’, writes Jon Robins.”
LegalVoice, 24th May 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“Hundreds, some wearing wigs and gowns, demonstrate against justice secretary’s plans, which they say undermine UK justice.”
The Guardian, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A ComRes poll, commissioned by the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, today shows that seven out of ten (71%) of the British public are concerned that cuts to legal aid could lead to innocent people being convicted of crimes they did not commit. The poll, published this morning, also shows that two-thirds (67%) of the British public agree that legal aid is a price worth paying for living in a fair society.”
The Bar Council, 21st May 2013
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
