Sisangia ruling restricts civil liberties

A Court of Appeal ruling could restrict legal aid funding for false imprisonment claims, law firm Hodge Jones & Allen has warned.

The decision in in R (oao Sunita Sisangia) v Director of Legal Aid Casework prevents legal aid funding for claims against public bodies unless the claimant can show the defendant intended to act unlawfully or acted dishonestly. Lord Justice Laws held that the police did not deliberately arrest Sisangia unlawfully, therefore legal aid should not have been granted.

Hodge Jones & Allen says the decision applies not just to loss of liberty cases but also claims involving assault, battery and other torts. Sasha Barton, a partner at the firm and solicitor for Sisangia, describes the decision as “a considerable blow for civil liberties in this country”.

She added: “The judge’s suggestion that claimants in Miss Sisangia’s position could find a solicitor to represent them pro bono, under a conditional fee arrangement or represent themselves as a litigant in person, is, with respect, fanciful. Due to other funding changes it is no longer possible in practical terms to fund cases under CFAs unless there is a personal injury element, which in cases like this there are not.”