ABSTRACT
This short note assesses the previous Government’s record on civil justice over its 14 years in power and the priorities for reform for the next administration in advance of the election on 4 July 2024. The Government’s record on all counts – attention, policy and implementation – has been extremely poor. That is evident in the large swathes of the country that are now legal aid ‘deserts’. More indirectly, it can also be seen in instances of group litigation, now notorious, where victims of mass harm have struggled for years to get justice and many felt forced into unfair settlements. There is a pressing need for the UK to introduce class actions procedures, like those in Canada and Australia, which are designed to provide equality of arms between individuals and well-resourced corporations or the state itself, and in so doing to provide effective redress for victims of mass harm. Relatedly, the rules on litigation funding – whether provided by lawyers or anyone else – require a radical overhaul following the Supreme Court’s regrettable decision in PACCAR. It is time to finally put the ghosts of champerty and maintenance to bed and free up sources of funding for those not eligible for legal aid. Finally, even in a civil justice system that is principally privately funded, there is a need to increase public support for people with legal problems that will never attract commercial funding.
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Andrew Higgins, ‘Time for change – time for some sensible law reform to create meaningful access to a justice system forgotten by the last government’ (2024) 43(3) Civil Justice Quarterly 169-175.
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