Bar Council sounds warning on access to justice in Wales

The Bar Council, representing all barristers in England and Wales, has said that it shares the concerns of the Wales & Chester Circuit on numerous problems of access to justice in Wales, in its submission to the Commission on Justice in Wales’ call for evidence (available here – http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/media/662528/bc_response_to_commission_on_justice_in_wales.pdf

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 These include issues that are more specific to Wales – such as the disparity between per capita spending on justice in Wales as opposed to in England, and limits to the right of litigants to conduct their cases in the Welsh language – as well as those broader issues that are also a cause for concern in England. These include the significant under-funding of criminal justice, the erosion of legal aid in civil and family cases, and the under-investment in the physical infrastructure of the courts system.

In its submission, the Bar Council supports many issues highlighted by the Wales & Chester Circuit:

7. … First among these is the fact that PER CAPITA SPENDING ON JUSTICE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN WALES THAN IN ENGLAND, a disparity for which there is no obvious justification._

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8. We are also TROUBLED BY THE GEOGRAPHICAL LACK OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE THAT ARISES FROM A COMBINATION OF COURT CLOSURES AND LIMITED PUBLIC TRANSPORT. Courts should be relatively local, for accessibility and legitimacy, both in Wales and in England. We agree that residents of Wales should have better access to the Court of Protection, Court of Appeal and IP/enterprise small claims track via London._

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9. Finally, while litigants have a right to conduct their cases in the Welsh language, it appears that in practice there are limits to the enjoyment of that right. ON TOP OF LIMITED AVAILABILITY (OR READINESS) OF WELSH-SPEAKING JUDGES OR COURT STAFF, THERE MAY NOT ALWAYS BE ACCESS TO LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES CAPABLE OF CONDUCTING A CASE IN WELSH._

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10. These various problems appear to stem from both a LACK OF ADEQUATE RESOURCES AND A LACK OF SUFFICIENT REGARD FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN WALES, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF WELSH LANGUAGE AND GEOGRAPHY. The availability of legal representation should be secured by a properly funded justice system; and access to courts, and to Welsh language proceedings, should be facilitated by organisational decisions that take into account the geography and specific needs of Wales.

Moreover, a wellfunctioning justice system requires a thriving legal profession, with as many opportunities for those practising outside London–including in Wales–as for those practising in London._