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The exception to the rule

13 June 2014 / David Burrows
Issue: 7610 / Categories: Features , Legal aid focus , Family
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David Burrows questions if the exceptional cases legal aid legislation is being properly applied

In JG v Lord Chancellor and ors [2014] EWCA Civ 656, [2014] All ER (D) 192 (May), the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from a refusal of legal aid to a child by Legal Services Commission (LSC) (now the Legal Aid Agency (LAA)). Black LJ considered obiter the meaning of “exceptional case determinations” (EDC), in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), s 10, and certain of the human rights aspects of the scheme.

Lawfulness of ECD guidance

In Lord Chancellor’s exceptional funding guidance (non-inquests) (February 2014) LAA decision-makers are provided with guidance as to how to deal with ECDs. This article asks whether this guidance is lawful in the light of the statutory provision for ECDs, of this country’s duties under the European Convention 1950 and of the case law above, especially in the family law field. In the first nine months of operation of LASPO, eight out of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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