Access to justice

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was given its second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday 29 June. The Bill passed with a vote (Ayes 295; Noes 212) and will now be considered by a Public Bill Committee who have made a call for written evidence. The DLA has submitted its own Briefing to the Committee which you can read in the attachment.

Jayne Hardwick, Senior Lawyer in the Equality & Human Rights Commission, spoke about the Commission's litigation strategy and how it selects cases to support. This included guidance on how practitioners can request intervention and support from the EHRC.

The DLA considers that the legal reforms will have a significant impact on access to justice for people of this country who lack the financial means to access the legal services they need to protect and enforce their rights

The DLA comments upon the GEO's proposed guidance and form.

Robin Allen's presentation focuses on some underused legal provisions that can provide non-financial remedies, and considers whether these can be useful remedies in discrimination cases. 

Should we be optomistic about the higher courts protecting progress or are they undermining the principles of discrimination law?

 

Should we be optimistic about the Higher Courts and see them as the protectors of progress?

This is a response to the Legal Complaints Service's consultation. While the DLA broadly welcomes the proposal for the publication of solicitor's legal complaints records, it has a number of recommendations that would further improve clients' access to redress in the event of discrimination by their solicitor, and ensure also that BME solicitors are not disproportionately affected by the new measures.

April 2008

Following the publication of the Gibbons Review, the government issued a consultation paper on changes to the employment dispute resolution process, 'Success at Work: Resolving Disputes in the Workplace- a consultation'. This recommends moving away from the existing Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures, and suggests a move towards a greater role for mediation.

Melanie Pine, Director of the Equality Tribunal, Ireland, discusses the usefulness of mediation in the resolution of equality disputes. In Ireland the Equality Tribunal mediates all equality cases unless either the applicant or the respondent does not prefer mediation. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the Equality Tribunal can hear the case.

May 2007

As organisations with overlapping and shared concerns regarding acts of discrimination by the police the following is a joint response to this consultation by the Police Action Lawyers Group (PALG) and the DLA.

The draft guidance makes clear that the IPCC fully recognises discrimination as an aspect of police conduct about which members of the public are likely to complain. We therefore welcome the decision by the IPCC to seek to ensure high standards and best practice. However, the PALG and the DLA are concerned about much of the content of the draft guidance, including serious inaccuracies, and more fundamental concerns about the ways in which the information on discrimination law and discriminatory conduct referred to in these draft guidelines should be 'packaged' - when, how and to whom it should be provided.

January 2008