Protecting Scotland's vulnerable citizens: Access to Justice Committee Discussion Paper

The Law Society of Scotland's Access to Justice Committtee (AJC) has published a radical Discussion Paper (DP) suggesting that the Scottish Government's 8.2% legal aid cut could be achieved by tax efficient regulatory restructuring.  The DP also calls for the redeployment of PDSO resources to fund victim support and other unmet civil legal need services.

The Convenor of the Law Society's Access to Justice Committee, GLC's Mike Dailly, said: ' We believe the priority must be to protect Scotland's vulnerable and low income citizens from the worst consequences of unprecedented welfare benefit and public funding cuts. This cannot be done in the current economic climate without innovative regulatory and structural reform of our existing legal aid system".

The Acccess to Justice Committee's Discussion Paper can be read here.

Call for radical Access to Justice (Scotland) Bill

The new Access to Justice Committee (AJC) of the Law Society of Scotland is calling upon members of the Scottish Parliament to support the introduction of a radical Access to Justice (Scotland) Bill as a top priority in the next session of the Scottish Parliament in 2011.

The AJC agreed at its first meeting in Glasgow yesterday to produce, as a matter of urgency, a detailed framework for a comprehensive and far-reaching Access to Justice (Scotland) Bill, which could immediately address a number of major deficiencies in accessing Scotland's systems of civil and criminal justice.

The Committee also agreed to identify, tackle and address the emerging risks to access to justice in Scotland which would flow from the announced cuts to welfare benefit spending by the UK Government, the forthcoming public sector cuts by the Scottish Government, and from the forthcoming decision of the UK Supreme Court in the case of Cadder v. Her Majesty's Advocate.

The Committee Convener Mike Dailly said:
"Access to civil or criminal justice in Scotland is a constitutional and human right. We believe that Scotland's legal system is a public service, not a commodity, which should deliver that right in the same way that schools deliver education, or the NHS delivers a health service. The courts must therefore be free at the point of use and should never be used as a means of generating income for the state"

"Accordingly, we believe that citizens in Scotland are entitled to access the appropriate legal advice, assistance, and representation, whenever their liberty, life, wellbeing, children, home, work, environment, and community are significantly threatened. We hold these principles to be self-evident".

"We have resolved to identify the key components for a wide ranging, and comprehensive Access to Justice Bill in Scotland, capable of meeting the needs of Scotland's people, its communities, and its legal system in the 21st Century".

"We would urge all MSPs and all Scottish political parties to embrace the need for a radical Access to Justice (Scotland) Bill in the next Parliamentary session, and to have regard to our analysis of the emerging risks to access to justice in Scotland in light of UK and Scottish Government welfare benefit and public sector cuts".

Committee Membership: in addition to the Committee Convener, the legal practitioner members are Patrick McGuire, solicitor advocate with Thompsons, whose career has been seeking compensation for victims of accidents, injury and disease; John McGovern, solicitor advocate with McGovern Solicitors and current President of the Glasgow Bar Association; Robert Sutherland, advocate and convener of the Scottish Legal Action Group; and Frances McCartney, solicitor and board member of the Environmental Law Centre Scotland. The lay members are Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress; Danny Phillips, board member of Child Poverty Action Group; Geraldine Cotter, manager of Money Matters Advice Centre; Bob Hay of Glasgow University Student Representative Council, who has worked with a range of voluntary agencies and organisations on a consultancy basis; and Phyllis Craig, a senior welfare rights officer at Clydeside Action on Asbestos. Full biographical details of members are available here.

Law Society of Scotland's new Access to Justice Committee to meet

The Law Society of Scotland's new Access to Justice Committee meets tomorrow for the first time (Thursday, 2 September 2010) in Glasgow. 

Committee Convener, Mike Dailly said:  "It's a great honour to have been appointed by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland to convene its new Access to Justice Committee.  We've brought together an outstanding group of Scottish access to justice champions, which includes solicitors, solicitor-advocates, advocates, anti-poverty and social justice campaigners, trade unionists, welfare rights specialists, and experts in rights based advocacy and community empowerment.

"This is a committee of the 'coalface', members with direct experience of the myriad of access to justice problems that many citizens face every day in Scotland. We're going to take a fresh approach. Our job is to identify and demand radical improvements so that Scotland's system of civil and criminal justice is fit for its people, its communities, and the 21st Century".

President of the Law Society visits GLC new offices

President of the Law Society of Scotland, Jamie Millar, received a warm welcome and tour of Govan Law Centre's new Orkney Street offices today. Mr Millar congratulated Govan Law Centre, its staff and board members, on securing the newly refurbished premises at the Orkney Street Enterprise Centre (OSEC). 

The facilities at OSEC provide the local community with access to free legal advice and representation, prevention of homelessness services, money and financial inclusion advice, help and support to get back to work or into further education, and access to social work services.

Mr Millar was in Govan to discuss access to justice issues in Scotland, with the Society's new Access to Justice Committee convener, GLC's Mike Dailly. The Society's new Access to Justice Committee is scheduled to have its first meeting later this week.

GLC's Principal appointed Convener of Access to Justice Committee

GLC's Principal Solicitor has been appointed Convener of the Access to Justice Committee (AJC) today by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland.  The AJC is responsible for promoting access to justice for the public in Scotland; monitoring the supply of publicly funded legal assistance across Scotland, encouraging greater co-ordination of services and liaising and negotiating with external organisations such as the Scottish Government, the voluntary advice sector and others bodies. The AJC also collaborates with other Law Society of Scotland committees, including Civil Justice, the Civil Legal Aid negotiating team, Mental Health and Disability, Equality and Diversity and Human Rights and Discrimination.