Illegal Migration Bill legal aid consultation
The Guardian covers our response to the government’s consultation in relation to legal aid fees in the Illegal Migration Bill.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “There is a severe lack of capacity in the asylum and immigration sector, with many asylum seekers dispersed to areas with no legal aid provision, and a growing asylum backlog. The proposed fee increase alone, which will only be for those who have received a removal notice under the illegal migration bill, is not going to address this capacity crisis.”
Court backlogs
Hucknall Dispatch, Worksop Guardian, Oxford Mail, Doncaster Free Press, Bucks Free Press, Bristol World, Liverpool World and 50 plus other regional publications cover our reaction to the backlog of criminal court cases.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “The figures show that more people – the accused, victims, defendants and their families – are waiting to see justice and are left to cope with unresolved cases hanging over them for years.”
New Law Journal looks at the criminal court delays and family court backlog, which is also covered by Today’s Family Lawyer.
Read our family court backlog and criminal court backlog press releases.
State of the courts
The Times (£) looks at the state of magistrates’ courts in England and Wales.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja called on the government to “act now and invest in a properly functioning system if we are to tackle the court delays”.
New Law Journal and Today’s Family Lawyer cover our reaction to a Public Accounts Committee report on HM Courts & Tribunals Services court reform programme.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “Reform is long overdue but mustn’t be done in a way that adds to the burden on judges, court staff, solicitors and barristers who are already overstretched. Neither should it make the long delays faced by court users worse.”
Compulsory mediation
The Times (£) examines the case of Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil, which could have big implications for mediation.
The Law Society opposes compulsory alternative dispute resolution and insists that “wholesale change to civil procedure of this nature is a matter for parliament and not the court”.
Rwanda deportation ruling
New Law Journal covers our response to the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the Rwanda asylum plan is unlawful.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “The government has only secured one removals agreement, which is with Rwanda, that has now been ruled unlawful.”
Shortage of duty solicitors
Stoke Sentinel, Pontypool Free Press and South Wales Argus report on the shortage of duty solicitors in their areas.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “Our projections show the widescale collapse of duty solicitor schemes across England and Wales is ever more likely.
“Combined with more police officers and cases, this is creating a perfect storm in criminal justice that will affect victims of crime, witnesses and society as a whole.”
Bill of Rights Bill scrapped
Today’s Family Lawyer reports on the Bill of Rights Bill being scrapped.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “Scrapping the Bill is the right decision as it would have created an acceptable class of human rights abuses, weakened individual rights and seen the UK diverge from our international human rights obligations.”
Artificial intelligence regulation
Today’s Will and Probate and Tech Xplore look at our response to the government white paper on artificial intelligence (AI) regulation.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “We encourage the government to adopt a nuanced, balanced approach to the development and use of AI with the legal sector, to enable the profession to make the most of these technologies.”
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