Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill published
21 June 2011
The long-awaited Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill has been published. I have reproduced it below via Scribd. The Ministry of Justice’s press release is here.
The Ministry of Justice has also released its response to its formal consultation on legal aid reforms (also reproduced via Scribd below the page break).
The Bill contains:
- the government’s proposals on civil (section 7 onwards) and criminal (section 12 onwards) legal aid;
- new arrangements for litigation funding and costs (section 41 onwards);
- The (controversial) proposals for criminal sentencing reforms.
Thanks for posting this, Adam. What are your thoughts on clause 7 of the bill, which excludes funding in judicial review cases unless the case has a potential to produce a “benefit for the individual, a member of the individual’s family or the environment”? How will this leave third party JR’s, for example by pressure groups on behalf of their clients? Are those cases currently eligible for legal aid or are they always represented pro bono anyway? What about cases that are in the public interest, but not specifically the environment?
Regards