{"id":464,"date":"2019-03-19T11:41:16","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T11:41:16","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-06-07T12:56:55","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T12:56:55","slug":"laspo-2012-review-7839","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lawteacher.net\/free-law-essays\/criminal-law\/laspo-2012-review-7839.php","title":{"rendered":"Legal Aid, Sentencing, and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legal Aid in the UK has always been a mean for underprivileged to have a right to access to justice<\/a>. Cornford addressed the meaning of \u2018access to justice\u2019 as every citizen should be equally able to defend her legal right by having availability to professional assistance[1]. Also, Dicey expressed his view implicitly that the public authorities should liable to ordinary citizens\u2019 legal right and make no difference than others[2]<\/a>. However, the legal aid today seems to have not fulfilled the definition that academics suggested. Since Legal Aid, Sentencing, and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) was implemented, more people are being denied access to justice. Its object is reducing budget on legal aid in order to locate resources in more urgent areas. Although the act is out of good faith, the cuts made to the budget have in fact shut the doors for the underprivileged who seek righteousness through the courts, as statistics show that the total legal aid grants have reduced from \u00a32,431m in 2009\/10 to \u00a31,554m in 2016\/17 after LASPO introduced[3]<\/a>. By analyzing the radical changes in civil legal aid after the reform 2012, this essay will demonstrate an exponential population facing impediment in entering justice. <\/p>\n

Impact on Family Law after LASPO 2012 <\/h3>\n

Post-LASPO, the number of family legal help matter declined sharply from 309,054 in 2009\/10 to 205,617 in 2012\/13[4]<\/a>. The geographical barrier is one of the culprits who holds responsible for the downfall of legal help. The Law Centres Network denoted after the first year of LASPO implemented, nine Law Centres have closed provoking a detrimental outcome — \u2018advice deserts\u2019 is formed[5]<\/a>. The destitute public is more reluctant to seek legal help when they have to travel day and night for times and bear costly transport expenses. In 80% of family court cases in 2013-14 at least one side did not have legal representation[6]<\/a>. Still, the government insisted that family law is less complex and significant compared to other legal issues, mediation is then deployed as the alternatives to family court. But there are cases where mediation is inapplicable and need to find resolutions in family court, for instance, domestic violence. To be eligible in civil legal aid, it requires \u2018triggering evidence\u2019 which shows the person is at risk of being a victim of domestic violence. Evidence criteria could be a merit in a sense of reducing admission cost when dealing with unnecessary cases. Yet, for victims, gaining this evidence could be costly and difficult where no help or funding would be given to the victims during the process. Based on a survey taken by Right of Women, Women\u2019s Aid and Welsh Women\u2019s Aid, it indicated that half of the women who suffered from domestic violence did not have the evidence that family law legal aid required[7]<\/a>. Victims are forced to gain evidence with their own resources and those without evidence would have to drop the case or face the abuser on their own as a self-representing litigant. In Shazia Choudhry and Jonathan Herring\u2019s article, it argues that victims of domestic violence should be protected by legal representative under cross-examination, or else it is a breach of human rights[8]<\/a>. Cross-examining traumatized witnesses by alleged perpetrators without legal protection is an extension of the abuse itself. Without lawyers\u2019 representing, the victim\u2019s allegations might not be correctly interpreted, thus not a fair trial. Concerns also remain on the issue of child abuse after legal aid reform. Aid will only be granted \u2018where the person seeking legal aid has evidence that the child who would be the subject of proceedings is at risk from the other party.\u2019 Cases where children abused by step-parents or relatives will not be granted since they are \u2018out of scope\u2019. The authorities acknowledged the omission rising from LASPO, but they rather turn a blind eye to it.  According to Ministry of Justice data, 6,000 children under 18 years old lose entitlement to civil legal aid each year after the reform. Approximately 34,580 family cases per annual in the area of private law children fall out the scope of legal aid[9]<\/sup><\/a>. The highly adversarial system with profoundly confined regulations is blocking helpless people from aid<\/a>. Access to Justice does not merely meant access in court but providing equal means, including appropriate legal advice and representation in court. Therefore, after LASPO, the scope of legal aid is definitely stringent, resulting in growing numbers of cases rejected in legal help. <\/p>\n

Impact on Immigration Law after LASPO 2012  <\/h3>\n

The provisions of LASPO has removed nearly all immigration cases from
\nthe scope of legal aid which led to a drastic decrease in the number of grants
\nin legal help and representation from 23,526 in 2009-10 to 3,672 in 2016-17 [10]<\/a>. Applicants who are experiencing family migrant, deportation
\nfrom the UK, with cases relying on the right to respect for family and private
\nlife and unaccompanied migrant children would no longer have access to legal aid
\nafter 2013. Without legal advice and representation, immigrants would have
\ndifficulties regularizing their status, they could be homeless and unemployed. These
\npeople are likely jobless and no rights to benefits who are impossible to
\nafford to pay for representatives. Denying their rights accessing to justice is
\na vicious loophole, without status, they are not able to be financially
\nindependent and would always rely on subsistence support. European Convention
\non Human Rights has great doing in the denial of fair trial applying to
\nimmigration matters. Article 6(1) guarantees the right to a fair trial and
\naccess to court. However, in Maaouia v
\nFrance<\/em>[11]<\/strong><\/em><\/a> said otherwise, the European Court of Human Rights
\nheld that \u2018civil rights do not include disputes relating purely to public right\u2019.
\nThis case set a precedent that Article 6(1) was not applicable to decisions on entry,
\nstay and deportation of aliens. Immigrants and asylum seekers could not seek
\nprotection by bringing cases for breaching convention rights to the European
\nCourt of Human Rights as in Steel v
\nMorris<\/em>[12]<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, where held there is failure to provide legal aid[13]<\/a>. The plight of immigrants is concerning since
\ntheir background, socio-economic status and the language barrier would leave
\nthem more burdensome, soul-breaking, frustrating in handling complex legal
\nprinciple and prescribed documents. The complexity of the immigration law could
\nbe difficult to understand for judges or lawyers, let alone with poorly
\neducated migrants. A highly strict procedural requirement is needed when
\nfilling the application form, if they fail to fill it precisely, the
\napplication will be seen as invalid, and the applicants might lose their legal
\nstatus. Legal Aid Agency sets a high requirement without considering the
\ncapability of applicants, forcing them no choice but to give up their rights to
\naccess justice. Equality of arms under such circumstances is indeed deeply worrying.
\nNonetheless, the provision of immigration legal service is highly regulated. Organizations
\nwithout the regulation of by Office for the Immigration Service Commissioner or
\nby a qualifying regulator would be refrained from giving legal advice. The
\nalternatives for immigration legal aid is limited, applicants who fell out the
\nscope could only try their chances on Exceptional Cases Funding (ECF) since
\nConditional Fee Arrangement is not available in immigration cases. The number
\nof application granted in 2013-14 is barely 3 cases, however, in Gudanaviciene & Ors v Director of the
\nLegal Aid Casework & the Lord Chancellor<\/em>[14]<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, the number has increased rocket-high to 668 in
\n2016-17[15]<\/a>. Mr Justice Collins in the case of Gudanaviciene<\/em> ruled that the guidance
\nissued by lord chancellor is unlawful to set such a high threshold. The court
\nalso disagreed the approach used in Maaouvia
\nv France<\/em> applied to the provision of immigration ECF. The effect of Court
\nof Appeal\u2019s decision has contributed to an incline of grants of ECF funding
\nsince 2016. Although more people are benefitted to gain access to justice,
\nthere are still many areas denying people\u2019s access to legal help. The impact of
\ncuts on separated migrant children is significant, most of them are desperate
\nfor legal help to remain infinite leave or regularize their status. If their
\nuncertain status remains, it will jeopardize the future of those children that
\nthey could get isolated or suffer in poverty. Separated migrant children fell
\nout of scope
\nleading them to solve their problems alone. Most of them would have to pay a fortune
\nfor legal advice themselves or try to resolve the issue their own by preparing
\nwitness statement and gathering evidence. It is harsh that the government
\nshrinking the scope of immigration legal aid, causing those with financial
\ndifficulties have no access to legal advice and self-represented litigants have
\nno representation to test their proper interpretation[16]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Highly restricted guidance in Exceptional Case Funding<\/h3>\n

The effectiveness of Exceptional Case Funding has always been a
\ncontroversial topic amongst politicians. For cases which are \u2018out of scope\u2019 in
\nPart 1, Schedule 1, there is a last resort to get access to legal aid. LASPO
\n2012 s10 (3) requires ECF must be made, otherwise, it would breach the person\u2019s
\n\u2018Convention rights\u2019 or their \u2018enforceable EU rights. The provision of ECF is serving
\nas a safety net to mitigate the impact of large cut of budget in legal aid. The
\ngovernment has done reasonable precaution for the possibility of \u2018inequality of
\narms\u2019 which they estimated before-LASPO the grant of ECF was 6500, sadly, the
\nidea has not been carrying out as expected, in 2016-17, the total grant for ECF
\nis merely 808. The success rate of ECF is disappointing, Mr Justice Mostyn in
\nthe Family Division has criticized the scheme is not much \u2018safety net\u2019 but
\nrather a \u2018fig leaf\u2019 to cover the embarrassment that the failure in LASPO 2012[17]<\/a>. Fortunately, the case of Gudanaviciene, the court
\nheld that the guidance set the bar too high and it did not state the law
\ncorrectly by not considering \u2018the critical question is whether an unrepresented
\nlitigant is able to present his case effectively and without obvious unfairness\u2019.
\nIn June 2015, the guidance was re-issued according to the pitfall in the
\njudgement of Gudanaviciene has pointed out. The guidance is more detailed than
\nthe previous one by providing questions where caseworkers would have to
\nconsider before deciding the grant is successful or not. Although the latest
\nedition of guidance has widened the entry to access legal aid, there is still
\nmajor problem have not resolved. Legal Aid Agency will not pay lawyers anything
\nunless the application is successful. This has caused a dilemma for legal
\npractitioners to spend their time voluntarily making application without
\nknowing if their work getting paid. It serves an economic disincentive for
\nlawyers risking their time to provide assistance to the needy. One of the
\nreasons for low ECF grant-rate is ECF application is often refused because they
\nprovided insufficient information for its purpose. The reason for this outcome
\nis that a litigant in person facing difficulties to complete forms
\ncorrectly without proper assistance. As a consequence, litigants have no choice
\nbut bring cases to court with obvious unfairness. <\/p>\n

In conclusion, LASPO 2012 has caused multiples impacts on areas of civil
\nlegal aid, including family law and immigration law. The statistics indicated
\nhow severe the situation is that thousands of people being denied having a fair
\ntrial.  Victims of abuse no longer have
\naccess to legal aid unless they can provide sufficient evidence for domestic
\nviolence. Separated migrant children with disadvantaged conditions and no means
\nto pay are excluded from the scope of legal aid. Ineligible migrants with
\ninferior social status, language barriers, poorly educated would have to bear
\ntheir own legal fees burden or self-represented when they have no means to pay.
\nIt is patently obvious LASPO has built high barriers for most vulnerable in
\nsociety access to justice and effective remedy. <\/p>\n

Primary Sources <\/h3>\n

Table of Cases<\/p>\n

UK Cases<\/h4>\n

MG & JG v JF [2015] EWHC 564 (Fam)<\/p>\n

R (Gudanaviciene) v Director of Legal Aid Coursework [2014] EWCA Civ
\n1622<\/p>\n

Steel and Morris v UK,
\n68416\/01 [2005] ECHR 103<\/p>\n

EU Cases<\/h4>\n

Maaouia v. France, Appl. no. 39652\/98<\/p>\n

Secondary Sources<\/h3>\n

Books<\/h4>\n

AV Dicey, The Constitution of Liberty<\/em>
\n 232<\/p>\n

Tom Cornford, Access to Justice:
\nBeyond the Policies and Politics of Austerity<\/em> 28, 2<\/p>\n

Journal articles<\/h4>\n

Amnesty
\nInternational, Cuts That Hurt: The Impact
\nof Legal Aid Cuts in England on Access to Justice<\/em> 21<\/p>\n

Jess Mant; Julie Wallbank, The
\npost LASPO landscape: challenges for family law, Journal of social welfare and
\nfamily law<\/em>, VOL. 39, NO.2
\n149-151<\/p>\n

Meyler.F; Woodhouse.S, Changing the immigration rules and
\nwithdrawing the \u2018currency\u2019 of legal aid: the impact of LASPO 2012 on migrants
\nand their families<\/em><\/p>\n

Shirley Shipman, Steel & Morris v United Kingdom: legal
\naid in the European Court of Human Rights<\/em> 1<\/p>\n

Law Reports <\/h4>\n

Bach Commission, The Right to
\nJustice<\/em> 4<\/p>\n

Other Reports <\/h4>\n

Evidencing domestic violence: nearly 3 years
\non <\/em>http:\/\/rightsofwomen.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Evidencing-domestic-violence-V.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Implementing Reforms to Civil Legal Aid<\/em>, HC 784 2014-15, 15. https:\/\/www.nao.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Implementing-reforms-to-civil-legal-aid1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Legal Aid statistics <\/em>https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014<\/a><\/p>\n

Legal aid statistics: January to March 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

Ministry of
\nJustice, Guide to Family Court Statistics<\/em>https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/622664\/guide-to-family-court-statistics-june-2017.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

[1] Tom Cornford, Access to Justice: Beyond the Policies and Politics of Austerity 28, 2<\/p>\n

[2] AV Dicey, The Constitution of Liberty 232<\/p>\n

[3] Bach Commission: The Right to Justice 4<\/p>\n

[4] Legal Aid statistics April 2013-March 2014. Table 5.1,  https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/legal-aid-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014<\/p>\n

[5] Amnesty International, \u201cCuts That Hurt: The Impact of Legal Aid Cuts in England on Access to Justice\u201d, 2016, EUR 45\/4936\/2016, 21<\/p>\n

[6] Implementing Reforms to Civil Legal Aid, HC 784 2014-15, 15 https:\/\/www.nao.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Implementing-reforms-to-civil-legal-aid1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[7] Evidencing domestic violence: nearly 3 years on http:\/\/rightsofwomen.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Evidencing-domestic-violence-V.pdf<\/p>\n

[8] Jess Mant; Julie Wallbank, The post LASPO landscape: challenges for family law, Journal of social welfare and family law, VOL. 39, NO.2 149-151 <\/p>\n

[9] Guide to Family Court Statistics, Ministry of Justice https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/622664\/guide-to-family-court-statistics-june-2017.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[10] Legal Aid Agency, (2017) Legal aid statistics: January to March 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

[11] Maaouia v. France, Appl. no. 39652\/98<\/p>\n

[12] Steel and Morris v UK, 68416\/01 [2005] ECHR 103<\/p>\n

[13] Shirley Shipman, Steel & Morris v United Kingdom: legal aid in the European Court of Human Rights 1<\/p>\n

[14] R (Gudanaviciene) v Director of Legal Aid Coursework [2014] EWCA Civ 1622<\/p>\n

[15] n10<\/p>\n

[16] Meyler.F; Woodhouse.S, Changing the immigration rules and withdrawing the \u2018currency\u2019 of legal aid: the impact of LASPO 2012 on migrants and their families <\/p>\n

[17] MG & JG v JF [2015] EWHC 564 (Fam)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since LASPO 2012 was implemented, more people are being denied access to justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[85],"class_list":["post-464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-law-essayscriminal-law","tag-uk-law"],"yoast_head":"\nLegal Aid, Sentencing, and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 Impact | LawTeacher.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since LASPO 2012 was implemented, more people are being denied access to justice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lawteacher.net\/free-law-essays\/criminal-law\/laspo-2012-review-7839.php\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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