Reviewing the Lord Chancellor’s evidence in today’s UK Human Rights Blog, our Director of Human Rights Policy, Angela Patrick considers the implications of Mr Grayling’s multiple references to ideology and belief as the basis for the Government’s proposed reforms to legal aid. JUSTICE considers that the proposals in Transforming Legal Aid are rushed, ill-considered and […]

JUSTICE has submitted evidence to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee. Our briefing highlights the deficiencies of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill and provides essential modifications to the Bill’s provisions on anti-social behaviour, extradition and criminal compensation. The Public Bill Committee is currently scrutinising the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill and […]

JUSTICE has today welcomed the wide-ranging House of Commons backbench debate on the Government’s latest proposals to restrict access to legal aid in Transforming Legal Aid. However, today we publish our correspondence with the House of Commons Justice Select Committee. We welcome the decision of the cross-party Committee to question the Lord Chancellor about restrictions […]

JUSTICE and others have today written to the press in an open letter, regretting the coming into force of the Justice and Security Act 2013. We regret that the Act will give Government a green light to exclude claimants and their lawyers and their press from any or all part of a case, in violation […]

Today, seven justices of the Supreme Court unanimously reject an attempt by the Ministry of Defence to legally exclude armed forces personnel operating overseas from the protection of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA 1998”). In Smith & Others v Ministry of Defence, families of troops killed in Iraq during operations asked the Supreme Court […]

JUSTICE, together with other NGOs, wrote to the national press to highlight the critical recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture on the UK’s recent record. The Government must take heed of the Committee’s recommendation that the interim findings of the Gibson inquiry on the treatment of detainees should be published as soon as possible.  […]

JUSTICE considers that the proposals in Transforming Legal Aid are rushed, ill-considered and unsupported by evidence. We regret that less than a year after the implementation of the last reforms in Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (“LASPO”), the Government is proposing a series of changes which fail to consider the important […]

JUSTICE considers that that the operation of CMP is inherently unfair and that normalising the use of these controversial and previously exceptional hearings will undermine the credibility of our judges and public confidence in the civil justice system. Allowing one party – usually the Government – to present its case to the Court largely unchallenged […]

Monday afternoon will see the Justice and Security Bill return to the House of Commons for some key votes. The “Secret Courts” Bill would introduce closed material procedures (CMP) – where one party is excluded from a claim, together with his or her legal team, from part or all of a case, their interests represented […]

On Monday morning, the Supreme Court will begin a four day hearing set to determine whether the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights extends to the activities of UK troops overseas. JUSTICE has intervened in this case to urge the Supreme Court to find that the relationship between the UK and its forces […]