While much of UK life ground to a halt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government sought to keep the wheels of justice turning. To achieve this while also ensuring compliance with public health guidance on social distancing and associated legal restrictions, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has relied extensively on remote hearings,
Citizens’ rights during the transition period is now live. Read on to find the law applicable to EU nationals residing in the UK, or who arrive in the UK, up until 31 December 2020. EU Citizens’ Rights during the transition period Read the previous updates here.
A survey carried out by Public Law Project indicates that legal aid providers lack faith in the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme and shows that a large percentage of respondents rarely make applications on behalf of their clients. Read Improving Exceptional Case Funding: Providers’ Perspectives. The survey results showed: 77% of respondents disagreed that ECF
On the afternoon of 14 January 2020, around 20 lawyers gathered in a former railway arch in Hackney, hosted by ClientEarth, to discuss judicial review of statutory instruments. This seminar was important because it is not often that Statutory Instruments (“SIs”) and system-change litigation are discussed in conjunction with one another. This was a chance
PLP’s solicitor Katy Watts has written a toolkit on setting up ECF clinics. The legal aid Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme is intended to be a human rights ‘safety net’ to avoid breaches of people’s rights, ensuring access to legal aid even when it would not normally be available. ECF clinics help people access ECF
The Commission on Justice in Wales has today published Justice in Wales for the People of Wales, a review of how the justice system operates in Wales and recommendations for its future. The Public Law Project submitted three reports to the Commission: The effects of LASPO on civil legal aid in Wales Judicial Review in
Withdrawal Agreement Bill – Public Law Project briefing The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill (WAB) has been ‘paused’ for now. The Bill may nevertheless resume progress through Parliament, possibly at short notice. The Public Law Project briefing on the Bill has brought to the attention of parliamentarians the unjustifiably broad delegated powers that the Bill
Speaking for the Government in yesterday’s debate on the Freedom of Establishment and Free Movement of Services (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi gave reassurances that the changes proposed will not impact on EU citizens’ rights and will not impose additional restrictions on EU nationals. He said: “First, with respect to the practical
EU SELF EMPLOYED WORKERS: RIGHTS UNDER THREAT FROM ‘UNLAWFUL’ REGULATIONS Regulations that could strip EU workers of the right to be self-employed in the UK are up for debate in the House of Commons on Monday as legal charity Public Law Project warns that Government plans to make use of controversial Henry VIII powers may
GOVERNMENT FORCED TO WITHDRAW PLANS TO MAKE BREXIT LAWS ‘BY DECREE’ In response to a challenge by the Public Law Project, the Government has agreed to shelve plans for civil servants to make Brexit legislation by ‘public notice’, a controversial Henry VIII style power recently described by a committee of MPs as “a modern form
With the latest Ministry of Justice figures showing that Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) applications remain stubbornly low, the Public Law Project is calling on practitioners to complete a survey about how the legal aid scheme is used and why it is not working as it should. TAKE THE SURVEY Evidence from the survey will be
February 2020 update – EU Citizens’ rights during a ‘transition period’ The purpose of this summary is to describe the law applicable to EU nationals residing in the UK, or who arrive in the UK, up until 31 December 2020. The position is stated on the basis of the law as at 10 February 2020,