The Legal System: Access to Justice & Funding (P1&2&3) Flashcards
What is the Citizens Advice Bureau?
-The Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) was set up in 1938 and there are around 2,500 throughout the country.
-The CAB is a charity organisation available in most towns to provide free advice to anyone on a variety of issues mostly associated with social welfare and debt problems but they can advise on legal issues.
-If problems require further action then they can contact appropriate agencies or solicitors to help.
-Most CAB centres work with a firm of solicitor who offer advice on a pro-bono (free) basis to the clients.
What are law centres?
-Law Centres have existed since 1970, they offer free, non-means-tested legal advice to people in their area.
-There are around 40 throughout the UK.
-They aim to provide free legal advice in areas where access to the legal system is limited.
-Law Centres specialise in social welfare issues.
- Funding is an issue for law centres however the government has provided funding for some centres.
What are trade unions?
Trade unions offer legal services for their members. This can include advice and representation in any employment dispute or personal injury claims. Some trade unions will also offer other forms of legal advice for their members for issues arising outside of their employment. Members of trade unions pay subscription fees for these benefits.
What are examples of Private Funding?
-Own resources
-Insurance
-Conditional Fee Arrangements
How do people use their own resources?
If people can afford to, they can pay a solicitor and barrister using their own money. However consulting a solicitor can be expensive, solicitors on average charge a minimum of £150 per hour. This method of funding does give the individual the freedom to choose their
own representation and find a specialist practitioner for their area of law. An individual can also seek a barrister directly in certain civil cases which would keep the overall cost of the case down.
How do people use insurance?
Individuals may also receive free legal advice through their legal insurance such as motor insurance or home insurance.
What are Conditional Fee Arrangements?
The main basis of a CFA is that
if the case is unsuccessful then the client does not pay anything. However if the claim is successful then the client must pay the normal solicitor fee plus the success fee, which can be an additional 100% of the solicitors fee. Some solicitors will agree in advance that their
success fee will not exceed 25% of the client’s overall compensation. This is to prevent the client having to pay all of their damages straight to their solicitor. This is often referred to as a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement.
How are civil cases publicly funded?
Civil Legal Advice is a free telephone service that offers advice for civil matters such as housing, family matters, debt etc. For other civil cases, the government set a limited amount of funds each year available to
pay for civil legal advice and representation. Civil legal aid is very limited. It is not available for contract or tort cases e.g. personal injury
claims. There is however, some funding available for family cases particularly ones involving children. There are a few other type of case where legal aid is available.
How do you qualify for legal aid in civil cases?
Financial Limits:
* Gross income must be below £2,657 per month
* Disposable income must be below £733.
* Disposable capital must be below £8,000 (in immigration matters the limit is £3,000)
* If income or capital is below the upper level but above the minimum level, the person will be required to pay a contribution towards the legal aid.
The Lord Chancellor has also introduced a criteria for deciding if someone can access legal
aid:
* The importance of the case to the individual
* Whether the case can be funded in a different way
* The public interest
* whether there are alternative methods to solve the dispute out of court e.g. alternative dispute resolution (ADR).There are other general factors to be considered
How are criminal cases publicly funded?
- Duty Solicitors
This provides people held at a police station with free legal advice. Duty solicitors must provide advice over the phone to the individual unless they can prove they had to attend the station to significantly progress the case. Duty solicitors are free for everyone, they are not means tested. - Advice and assistance
A solicitor who has a contract with the Legal Aid Agency can do criminal legal aid work for free, normally this only covers advice but it can include advocacy. Only people on low incomes qualify for free advice and assistance, this is means tested.
What is the means test?
This applies at the Magistrates’ Court and is subject to strict financial criteria except for those under the age of 18 and in full time education or those claiming most benefits. The means test is based on the person’s gross annual income. This is adjusted according to how
many dependants they have in the family. If this is too high (over £22,325), they will not qualify. Below £12,475 is fully funded. If it is between £12,475 and £22,325, a full means test is carried out based on disposable income. Based on this, a contribution towards the costs may be required. At the Crown Court, there is more funding available as the cases dealt with are much more serious. A household disposable income of less that £37,500 will get legal aid, above that, will not. The defendant with a very high disposable income will have to pay for their own legal representation and a contribution to court costs. If they are found not guilty, these contributions are refunded.
What is the interest to justice test?
The individual must also pass a merits test known as the ‘interest of justice’ test. The individual must show that it is in the interests of justice for their claim to be funded by qualifying under at least one of the five factors:
a. The individual will be likely to lose his liberty or livelihood
b. The case will involve a substantial point of law
c. The individual is unable to understand the proceedings in court or state his own case
d. The case may involve tracing, interviewing or expert cross-examination of
witnesses
e. It is in the interests of another person that the individual is represented
