The Law Society of England and Wales says that it has won a court battle against the British Government on criminal legal aid.

The solicitors’ organisation took legal action after the British Government failed to increase criminal-defence solicitors’ legal-aid rates by 15%, as recommended by an independent review.

In the London High Court, Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Jay today (31 January) ruled that the decisions were “irrational”, and that the Lord Chancellor at the time, Dominic Raab, made insufficient enquiries as to the state of the criminal-legal-aid sector before making them.

System ‘coming apart’

In a statement, the society highlighted the court’s observation that it had been presented with an “impressive, compelling, body of evidence” that showed that “the system is slowly coming apart at the seams”.

“Unless there are significant injections of funding in the relatively near future, any prediction along the lines that the system will arrive in due course at a point of collapse is not overly pessimistic,” the judges stated.

“We are delighted the High Court has recognised that then Lord Chancellor Dominic Raab’s decision was irrational,” said the society’s president Nick Emmerson.

Exodus

“We may have won the court battle but it’s the public who will lose out in custody suites and courtrooms across the country unless the government takes immediate action to stop the exodus of duty solicitors from the profession,” he warned.

The Law Society now wants the British Government to ensure that the 15% rise is implemented for solicitors as soon as possible.

It has also called for a commitment to ensure that criminal-legal-aid rates “become and remain economically viable” in the long-term.