CJC urges help for rising numbers of litigants in person

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has released a report calling for action to help the rising number of litigants expected to be without legal representation as a result of legal aid cutbacks.

In the report, Access to Justice for Litigants in Person (or self-represented litigants), a CJC working group said the forthcoming reductions and changes in legal aid would have “the most serious consequences” and “a disproportionately adverse effect on the most vulnerable in our society”.

It added: “Moreover the reductions and changes in legal aid are taking place at a time of reductions in local authority contribution to the funding of advice agencies, and reductions in staff, venue and infrastructure at HMCTS (the courts and tribunals service).”

The working group expressed a fear that many individuals would not know how to bring or defend proceedings in the absence of legal advice and representation.

It warned that this could lead to those individuals either suffering a reduction in the quality of justice, entirely abandoning their efforts to enforce or defend their rights, or trying to take their cases to courts but not doing so properly.

In the report, the working group said the civil justice system was of real quality, but designed for lawyers and “far too complex and obscure for those representing themselves”.

The CJC stressed the importance of early advice on merits in cases involving litigants in person. It also recommended:

• improvements to guidance available to litigants, lawyers for other parties and court staff to help them assist litigants
• steps to be taken to achieve greater transparency and confidence about what can be expected of judges, of court staff, of lawyers representing other parties, and of McKenzie friends
• every effort to be made to support advice agencies “and that includes when national or local government is contemplating change”
• concerted leadership to drive collaboration between advice agencies and pro bono initiatives, “including freeing up in-house lawyers to provide pro bono services”
• better understanding of mediation
• (in the long term) increased Public Legal Education.

The report acknowledges current impediments to in-house counsel and legal executives working pro bono on contentious matters. It has suggested that the National Pro Bono Centre lead efforts to clarify the position by 1 April 2012 and to remove those impediments that are found.

In May this year regulators were urged to resolve the prospect of local government and other in-house solicitors being barred – under the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s new Handbook – from providing pro bono advice in areas of reserved legal activity.

The SRA’s Handbook came into force on 6 October, but Local Government Lawyer understands that there is no immediate prospect of the relevant restriction being lifted.

Robin Knowles QC, the chairman of the CJC working group, said: “We know there will be an increase in the numbers of self-represented litigants at just the time when the advice sector is also facing cuts in funding. We have attempted to set out the impact on access to justice, but we have also made a number of constructive recommendations about things that can be done.

“It is impossible to overstate how important it is for people to have access to justice in a free society. As our report highlights, it is crucial that we get the right information to people to help them resolve their disputes at the right stage.”

Describing the report as “timely and valuable”, Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls (and CJC chairman), said: “It seems clear that there will be increases in the number of litigants in person wanting to use the courts and requiring practical assistance. The report produces a very comprehensive overview of the issues likely to arise, and offers some ideas for how best those issues can be addressed given the financial context we are operating within."

A copy of the report can be viewed here.

Philip Hoult