Lawyers have been celebrating the inaugural Justice Week with a series of debates and talks designed to promote the rule of law and raise public understanding of the justice system.
Justice Week is the joint initiative of the Bar Council, CILEx and the Law Society.
Meanwhile, a survey of more than 2,000 people commissioned for Justice Week by the three main professional organisations has found that justice is as important to most people as health and education. Three-quarters agreed that people on low incomes should be able to get free legal advice but only 20% thought sufficient funding was in place for those who need legal advice.
Chair of the Bar, Andrew Walker QC, said: ‘There is now a gulf between what people expect from our justice system, and what they are getting.’
A Justice Week petition calling on the government to extend the availability of legal aid is now online here.
