We must pay for justice

Article

We must pay for justice

It’s heartening that the FT is raising the alarm over the criminal justice system. Over the past decade, the Government closed half the courts in England and Wales before technology was in place to bridge the gap. News that five Nightingale courts are to close, despite a backlog, suggests lessons have not been learnt.

Recruiting more police officers, stiffer sentencing and rhetoric about being tough on crime is meaningless without investment across the justice system, including legal aid. And it’s not just the criminal courts: backlogs are engulfing the Small Claims Court and the Coroner’s Court, where a growing number of bereaved families are waiting more than a year for an inquest. People living below the poverty line are regularly denied legal aid by too stringent a means test, and many others face legal issues such as in housing, employment and family law, with no recourse because of cuts to legal aid.

If the belief becomes widespread that there is little chance of people enforcing or protecting their rights, there is little incentive for less scrupulous people to comply with their legal obligations, which is highly damaging to the rule of law. ■

A letter to the Financial Times

I. Stephanie Boyce

I. Stephanie Boyce

President of The Law Society of England and Wales