Government's exceptional funding scheme ruled to be breaching human rights by High Court

The government's exceptional funding scheme for people who have been denied legal aid because of cuts has been ruled unlawful by the High Court.

As The Law Society Gazette reports, the merit test was ruled "wholly unsatisfactory", while the application process was damned as “far too complex” for applicants who are members of the public and not trained lawyers. The ruling was brought about when Charity Public Law Project challenged the scheme on behalf of a vulnerable client, 'IS'.

Mr Justice Collins, presiding over the case, found that the government's exceptional funding scheme is not providing the safety net it promises. The scheme is supposed to provide funding for cases which fall outside the current scope of legal aid, where not to provide funding would be a breach of the Human Rights Act. However, only 13% of applications to the scheme are successful (probably due to the defective merit test and application process) and there is no right of appeal - meaning that many people’s human rights are being breached because they cannot take their cases to courts or tribunals. Collins said it was "difficult to imagine" a family case involving children which would not qualify for funding under the Human Rights Act.

Collins said: "I believe that only in rare cases, subject to means and merits if properly applied, should legal aid be denied in such cases. As it is now applied the scheme is clearly wholly deficient in that it does not enable the family courts to be satisfied that they can do justice and give a fair hearing to an unrepresented party."

The Ministry of Justice has said that it will appeal the decision.