Lawyers urge Johnson to use majority to fix justice system
updated on 19 December 2019
Solicitors’ and criminal barristers’ representative bodies have called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to use his large Conservative majority in Parliament to address problems in the justice system.
David Greene, president of the Law Society said that Johnson’s government takes office once again with the justice system “on its knees”. “Years of underfunding have led to crumbling courts, a crisis in criminal justice and growing numbers of vulnerable people refused legal aid and unable to enforce their rights,” he said.
As the Law Gazette reports, the Law Society is calling for the restoration of legal aid for early advice in family and housing cases and an increase in criminal legal aid fees.
Caroline Goodwin QC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, joined the calls. She commented: “There is no option left for any government but to invest properly and substantially in the criminal justice system from end to end. To do anything less would be criminally reckless with all our lives - rich or poor, state or private, we are all in this together.”
Meanwhile, civil rights campaigners have expressed concern about pledges in the Conservative election manifesto to restrict access to judicial review and alter the Human Rights Act.
