This briefing provides an update to Public Law Project’s Policy work around Legal Aid, summarising our response to the Justice Select Committee’s ongoing inquiry into ‘The Future of Legal Aid’ and our letter to the Lord Chancellor concerning the need for urgent reform to the ECF scheme. PLP remains committed to Legal Aid as an
Today the Government published the 200 page report of the Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) and at the same time launched a consultation on the reform of judicial review. Public Law Project is analysing the report in detail and looking at how we can support others who wish to respond to the consultation. Jo Hickman, Director of
The Government recently established the Independent Human Rights Act Review (IHRAR) to “consider how [the HRA] is working in practice” after twenty years in operation.
The Home Office is using an algorithm to determine whether a marriage should be investigated as a ‘sham’, according to documents obtained by the Public Law Project under the Freedom of Information Act. PLP is concerned that this algorithm may be flawed and discriminatory because some nationalities seem more likely to be targeted for investigation
Resources for legal aid practitioners Public Law Project has prepared a practice note and a precedent to assist practitioners following the decision in PLP client Claire’s case – R (oao GR) v Director Of Legal Aid Casework [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin). The decision establishes that the Director has a discretion to value assets other than
The government is consulting on proposed changes to the way appeals from the Upper Tribunal work, including narrowing the grounds upon which a ‘second appeal’ to the Court of Appeal can be made, and removing the possibility of appellate review of judicial review applications which are deemed to be ‘totally without merit’.
As we work through the pandemic, all of us at PLP send you our best wishes. We hope that you are staying safe and well. Thanks to the hard work of our team, and the support of partner organisations and our funders, PLP remains fully functional and strong as ever. Casework: Our casework team is
Changes to the legal aid rules have been laid in Parliament today that will allow more homeowners on low incomes to access legal aid. The rule change will particularly benefit survivors of domestic violence, with many more able to have legal representation in family proceedings, reducing the risk of being cross examined by their abusers
PLP is soon to begin work as a research partner on a new ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) funded project, ‘Algorithmic Politics and Administrative Justice in the EU Settlement Scheme’. The project, which is being led by researchers at the University of Exeter, aims to: ‘analyse the process of administrative reform associated with Brexit,
Blog post: Jo Hynes, Research Fellow, Public Law Project The Administrative Court recently ruled in favour of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), in a case challenging a Covid-related Guidance Note as ultra vires. PLP provided a witness statement in support of the claimant. Read: The Law Society Gazette: President’s guidance for
PLP’s client ‘Claire’, a single parent and domestic abuse survivor, has overturned rules that prevented her from accessing legal aid. PLP lawyer Daniel Rourke has said that the High Court ruling of 24 November will improve access to justice for more survivors of domestic violence who are in poverty. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) claimed
Writing in the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, PLP researchers Dr Joe Tomlinson and Jack Maxwell say the trend is that courts expect governments to take responsibility for identifying algorithmic discrimination, not the general public. Read: Proving algorithmic discrimination in government decision-making Public bodies in the United Kingdom increasingly are using algorithms and big data