Litigants in person to become the norm?

Litigants in person will become “the rule rather than the exception” as a result of cuts in legal aid and reduced public funding for advice agencies, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has predicted.

A report published by a CJC working group this week, Access to justice for Litigants in Person, explores the consequences for access to justice and sets out a series of action steps.

“Every informed prediction is that…the number of self-represented litigants will increase, and on a considerable scale,” it says.

“The design of the legal aid reductions and changes will take away routes to accessible early advice…and leave intervention too late or denied altogether. As a result we will find more cases started by self-represented claimants that need not have been started, more cases where self-represented defendants are involved for longer than need be, and more cases not starting when they should be started so that they can be resolved. We will find problems clustering, with increasingly wide and serious consequences for the individual, for families, and the state.”

Pro bono services “cannot begin to meet the scale of shortfall in provision”, it warns.

It notes that the civil justice system is “designed for lawyers”. Consequently, “it is hard to overstate just how difficult it can be—for the person, for the court, and for other parties—when someone self-represents”.

It makes 10 recommendations for immediate action, including improving online resources, producing a “nutshell” guide for self-represented litigants, advising judges on the availability of pro bono services, drafting guidance for court staff and lawyers on dealing with self-represented litigants, introducing a code of conduct for McKenzie Friends and freeing up in-house lawyers to provide pro bono services.

The CJC group’s longer-term recommendations range from increasing the number of personal support units at courts to promoting public legal education.

Robin Knowles QC, chairman of the working group, said: “It is impossible to overstate how important it is for people to have access to justice in a free society.”

Lord Neuberger, master of the rolls and CJC chairman, said: “It seems clear that there will be increases in the number of litigants in person wanting to use the courts and requiring practical assistance.

“The report produces a very comprehensive overview of the issues likely to arise, and offers some ideas for how best those issues can be addressed given the financial context we are operating within.”