Civil Way: 26 February 2021

THE FIX

Heaven forbid that the Legal Aid Agency should mess up with a civil application but it appears to accept this as a possibility. The evidence is in the establishment of its ‘Fix it’ service, following a successful pilot, which aims to correct its errors relating to civil merits, means and finance related matters at the earliest possible opportunity—the target is 24 hours—and thereby avoid an appeal. This represents a widening of the service which was limited to fast-track correction of errors stemming from the payment of bills. LiPs must keep out.

EMOTIVE LIMITATION

In December 2011 an oil spill occurred off the shore of Nigeria, lasting five to six hours before the offending pipeline was switched off and the oil stopped leaking into the sea. It is asserted that 27,800 individuals and 457 communities were affected. The issue for the Court of Appeal in Jalla v Shell International Trading and Shipping Company and another [2021] EWCA Civ