PAYING JUSTICE TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

PAYING JUSTICE TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Think about healthcare. In the UK, we all know that each and every one of us has the right and ability to access any healthcare we may need through the NHS - regardless of who we are or what our financial situation might be.

But when it comes to justice, few of us think of it in the same way. We don’t necessarily regard it as a right, a resource we are entitled to tap into.

JUSTICE, the law reform and human rights charity, exists with the purpose of bringing the justice system within everyone’s reach in the UK, including those who are the most vulnerable or marginalised within our society. In its lifetime of 67+ years (and showing no signs of reaching retirement age anytime soon) it has created a history of transforming the justice system in deep and fundamental ways - it describes itself as a ‘systems change charity’. It is not about giving advice to individual people but is about looking at the most pressing issues in the justice system and working out pragmatic solutions. In its early years, JUSTICE played a major part in creating the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the CPS, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and many other key legal bodies which we simply take for granted today.

More recently, its work has - amongst other things;

1. Safeguarded children by securing a government pilot to protect domestic abuse victims and children in family court processes, and supported people with mental health difficulties by having liaison and diversion professionals in Magistrates’ and Crown Courts to help identify people with mental health issues and other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the system.

2. Protected journalists by being instrumental in amending the Public Order Act 2023 to prevent people from being arrested while reporting on protests.

3. Ensured government accountability with a recent legal intervention which blocked attempts to routinely hide the names of junior civil servants - including external contractors and political special advisors - in judicial review (a key tool for holding the government to account).

4. Helped secure everyone’s human rights by playing a leading role in the Save our Human Rights Act Coalition, working with over a hundred other NGOs to defend our current human rights framework.

Again, in direct comparison with healthcare, just as the NHS covers everything from childbirth to knee replacements, from cancers to cataracts - JUSTICE encompasses the gamut of legally related matters; from criminal to family to housing to benefits. It is the only NGO that covers the whole of the UK justice system.

JUSTICE’s work is known for its independence and rigour. Its research is grounded in deep subject-matter expertise bringing together experts from within and beyond law – including people with lived experience of interacting with the justice system – to develop realistic solutions to key challenges.

It advises policymakers, judges, civil servants, lawyers, service providers, and others on how to build a better justice system. As well as producing reports, briefings, and consultation responses, it regularly meets with senior civil servants and politicians from across the political spectrum, sits on key advisory bodies, and works with the media to widen understanding of, and influence positive change to, the justice system.

JUSTICE is a cross-party membership organisation with members from students to senior judges. Its council is currently headed by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC, with Vice-presidents Dominic Grieve KC and Baroness Sarah Ludford.

It is the UK section of the International Commission of Jurists – an organisation of eminent jurists working to defend human rights and the Rule of Law worldwide.

Fiona Rutherford joined JUSTICE as Chief Executive in February 2022. Previously Fiona’s work straddled both Law and Policy; she was a specialist criminal barrister instructed to defend and prosecute a wide range of crimes including homicide and complex fraud. She was also the Deputy Director for Legal Aid Policy at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and, prior to joining JUSTICE, was the MOJ’s Director of Access to Justice Policy - a role which made her eminently suitable to be JUSTICE’s CEO.

Fiona has been at the forefront of developing a new six year strategy for JUSTICE. This strategy has four primary goals;

1. To embed the Rule of Law and remedy the erosion that there is evidence of from the landmark report of September 2023 (‘The State We’re in: Addressing Threats & Challenges to the Rule of Law’). There is an important project currently underway to this end to induct new parliamentarians and ensure they (and current incumbents) fully understand what their role as legislators covers and how to apply the Rule of Law.

2. To increase equality and reduce discrimination. This is a huge and far reaching goal that covers so many different issues. JUSTICE has a number of projects already underway; one looking specifically at women and girls to more niche areas like Drill music and how it is used in trials against black defendants and the appropriateness of that.

3. As the modernisation of the system develops - HMCS have just completed their £1.6 billion reform programme - there is a need to ensure that people are at the heart of any modernisation, whether it be normal tech or AI, rather than it be driven largely by commercial interest. JUSTICE is scoping a UK first initiative to create a data and policy hub to identify and address the vast data gaps that exist about the people in and around our justice system.

4. To raise awareness of the value of the Justice system. Again, using the healthcare analogy, if the man on the street was asked what the NHS does, he would be able to articulate this in broad terms at the very least and what the benefits are but if the same question was posed regarding the justice system, beyond criminal justice there would be very little awareness.

Regarding the last point, Fiona feels most lawyers are not in a position to understand the entirety of the system and what it does and are likely to see the system from the perspective of their own areas of practice. She confesses she did the same when she was practising.

How would she describe it now with the hindsight of her more recent experience?

“The justice system is an ecosystem of people, services and institutions that advise, enforce and administer the law. It can be broken down into four parts; the administrative (largely tribunals), family, criminal and civil jurisdictions. The reality, though, is that is quite an historic way of looking at things and the public does not see things in the way they are jurisdictionally categorised. Say someone has a dispute with their neighbour about a garden fence; they would probably not be able to define it as a type of party wall issue and that they have certain rights. Or, if their child has certain needs in order to receive a full education that they can apply for Special Educational Needs assistance. Such examples - there are many, many more - are often not considered part of the justice system because they don’t necessarily involve a court. This lack of knowledge disempowers people - which is bad for the system. And it’s bad for society; if you know what your rights are, or where to go to find the right information, you avoid legal problems becoming legal issues; if you know your landlord is treating you unfairly and you can articulate your position according to your rights, the chances are you will resolve the issue sooner. The positive impact this would have on our busy courts system should not be underestimated.”

How can greater awareness be achieved?

Fiona believes it is important not to be too “legalistic” when talking to the public about their rights; not to put them off with jargon but to be more inclusive. Currently, the work JUSTICE does is very well received by policy makers and the legal profession but there is potential for it to travel much further and so JUSTICE is expanding its means of communication with more use of media, both mainstream and social - in short, to exercise its voice to do good.

JUSTICE is not just about researching complex problems and writing reports; it is also a major player in getting change implemented. To that end it works - in a completely apolitical way - with whichever party is in government. Government members are invited from the outset

to working parties (although they generally sit as observers) and their early engagement is helpful. Fiona stresses how pragmatic JUSTICE is - given the previous government’s determination not to increase legal aid spending, for example, JUSTICE has sought alternative routes to strengthening the system and worked to build broad coalitions around these proposals.

JUSTICE retains its completely independent position by not taking any government funding so it depends on grants from trusts and foundations, corporate sponsorships, and individual and firm memberships. Members are amongst one of JUSTICE’s greatest assets – their support and expertise enables and informs the organisation’s work. JUSTICE members are eligible to participate in the working parties, gain access to exclusive events, and receive discounts for paid-for events (including the annual conference). There are individual, student, and corporate membership options.

To find out more ; visit https://justice.org.uk/support-justice/join-justice/ . Follow: @JUSTICEhq / JUSTICE.org.uk / www.linkedin.com/company/ justicehq/ Donate: https://support.justice.org.uk/donation-new. 

“The justice system is an ecosystem of people, services and institutions that advise, enforce and administer the law. It can be broken down into four parts; the administrative (largely tribunals), family, criminal and civil jurisdictions.”