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27 October 2017
Issue: 7767 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
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Why ‘A Right to Justice Act’ is wrong

Lord Bach’s proposed Justice Commission’ is a ‘quango’ that ‘this country does not need’ and his proposed Right to Justice Act is a ‘silly idea’, solicitor and NLJ columnist David Burrows writes in NLJ this week.

Lord Bach’s 50-page Right to Justice report was published to favourable reviews last month. Its headline recommendation was to create a ‘right to justice’ for individuals to receive reasonable legal assistance at a price they can afford.

It also proposed the creation of an independent Justice Commission to develop and enforce this right.

According to Burrows, however, what’s needed is a clearly-written Legal Aid Act not a Right to Justice Act. He writes: ‘The scope of legal aid is for the politicians to decide upon. The scope of justice? Never.’

On the proposed Justice Commission, Burrows says ‘judges do not need anyone—beyond the copious and ever-expanding case law—to monitor their work or to issue guidance to them’.

Issue: 7767 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carpmaels & Ransford—Kevin Cordina

Carpmaels & Ransford—Kevin Cordina

Firm adds former Simmons Simmons patent head to engineering and tech team

ACTAPS—Sally Goodger

ACTAPS—Sally Goodger

Freeths strengthens its voice in national disputes with ACTAPS committee appointment

Pillsbury—Matthew Sperry

Pillsbury—Matthew Sperry

Pillsbury expands private client and family office platform with Cadwalader partner hire

NEWS
Pastries may be in the firing line while kebabs escape scrutiny, but the reality is far more nuanced
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dillon highlights a central tension in modern public law: rights may be recognised without being fully realised
A landmark ruling has delivered the first judicial application of the UK’s anti-SLAPP regime and provided fresh guidance on abusive litigation
Non-court dispute resolution is no longer an alternative in family law—it is rapidly becoming the norm
Some employment law controversies never disappear—they merely lie dormant
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