Andrew Boon
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195141177
- eISBN:
- 9780199871391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195141172.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The neoliberal agenda initiated under the Thatcher government had a major impact on the legal profession in the U.K., by dismantling its protective practices, and by substantially reducing the legal ...
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The neoliberal agenda initiated under the Thatcher government had a major impact on the legal profession in the U.K., by dismantling its protective practices, and by substantially reducing the legal aid budget as part of its assault on welfare expenditures. The legal profession saw this as derogation from its legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion, or erosion of its symbolic social capital, and responded by an increased focus on cause lawyering and by assuming a greater burden of pro bono work.Less
The neoliberal agenda initiated under the Thatcher government had a major impact on the legal profession in the U.K., by dismantling its protective practices, and by substantially reducing the legal aid budget as part of its assault on welfare expenditures. The legal profession saw this as derogation from its legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion, or erosion of its symbolic social capital, and responded by an increased focus on cause lawyering and by assuming a greater burden of pro bono work.
FRANK S. BLOCH and MARY ANNE NOONE
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195381146
- eISBN:
- 9780199869305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381146.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter explores the connection in many countries of the world between the provision of legal aid services, including legal representation, advice and assistance, community legal education, and ...
More
This chapter explores the connection in many countries of the world between the provision of legal aid services, including legal representation, advice and assistance, community legal education, and law reform activities, and the establishment of clinical programs. It outlines the development of modern legal aid schemes in the context of the access to justice movement of the 1960s and 1970s, details the relationship between early clinical programs and legal aid services, and analyzes different models for delivering legal services in a law school legal aid clinic. It also examines the transformative potential in legal aid-based clinical legal education programs relative to their two constituencies: the communities they serve and the students they teach. The chapter concludes that redressing injustice and furthering equality before the law must remain a consistent theme and overwhelming concern in legal aid clinics around the world.Less
This chapter explores the connection in many countries of the world between the provision of legal aid services, including legal representation, advice and assistance, community legal education, and law reform activities, and the establishment of clinical programs. It outlines the development of modern legal aid schemes in the context of the access to justice movement of the 1960s and 1970s, details the relationship between early clinical programs and legal aid services, and analyzes different models for delivering legal services in a law school legal aid clinic. It also examines the transformative potential in legal aid-based clinical legal education programs relative to their two constituencies: the communities they serve and the students they teach. The chapter concludes that redressing injustice and furthering equality before the law must remain a consistent theme and overwhelming concern in legal aid clinics around the world.
RICHARD L. ABEL
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198260349
- eISBN:
- 9780191682094
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260349.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
The classic professions — law and medicine — presented themselves as honoratiores, indifferent to material reward. Clients and patients were lucky to get their services. The rapid accumulation of ...
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The classic professions — law and medicine — presented themselves as honoratiores, indifferent to material reward. Clients and patients were lucky to get their services. The rapid accumulation of capital and growth of the bourgeoisie in the nineteenth century stimulated demand for the emergent modern legal professions. By the 1980s, however, these comfortable arrangements were unravelling. The expansion of academic legal education dramatically increased the number of law graduates. The extraordinary increase in divorces from 38,000 in 1951 to 176,000 in 1981 explained much of the jump in civil legal aid certificates from 38,000 to 270,000. Between 1970 and 1983, the civil legal aid budget grew tenfold and the criminal more than twentyfold. Legal aid transformed the relationship between lawyers and clients from a neo-classical market in which no consumer could influence price or quality to something more monopsonistic.Less
The classic professions — law and medicine — presented themselves as honoratiores, indifferent to material reward. Clients and patients were lucky to get their services. The rapid accumulation of capital and growth of the bourgeoisie in the nineteenth century stimulated demand for the emergent modern legal professions. By the 1980s, however, these comfortable arrangements were unravelling. The expansion of academic legal education dramatically increased the number of law graduates. The extraordinary increase in divorces from 38,000 in 1951 to 176,000 in 1981 explained much of the jump in civil legal aid certificates from 38,000 to 270,000. Between 1970 and 1983, the civil legal aid budget grew tenfold and the criminal more than twentyfold. Legal aid transformed the relationship between lawyers and clients from a neo-classical market in which no consumer could influence price or quality to something more monopsonistic.
Henning Grunwald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199609048
- eISBN:
- 9780191744280
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199609048.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
What role did the courts play in the demise of Germany's first democracy and Hitler's rise to power? This book challenges the orthodox interpretation of Weimar political justice. It argues that an ...
More
What role did the courts play in the demise of Germany's first democracy and Hitler's rise to power? This book challenges the orthodox interpretation of Weimar political justice. It argues that an exclusive focus on reactionary judges and a preoccupation with number-crunching verdicts has obscured precisely that aspect of trials most fascinating to contemporary observers: its drama. Drawing on untapped sources and material previously inaccessible in English, it shows how an innovative group of party lawyers transformed dry legal proceedings into spectacular ideological clashes. Supported by powerful party legal offices (hitherto almost entirely disregarded), they developed a sophisticated repertoire of techniques at the intersection of criminal law, politics, and public relations. Harnessing the emotional appeal of tens of thousands of trials, Communists and (emulating them) National Socialist institutionalized party legal aid in order to build their ideological communities. Defendants turned into martyrs, trials into performances of ideological self-sacrifice, and the courtroom into a ‘revolutionary stage’, as one prominent party lawyer put it. This political justice as ‘revolutionary stage’ powerfully impacted Weimar political culture. This book's argument about the theatricality of justice helps explain Weimar's demise but transcends interwar Germany. Trials were compelling not because they offered instruction about the revolutionary struggle, but because in a sense they were the revolutionary struggle, admittedly for the time being played out in the grit-your-teeth, clench-your-fist mode of the theatrical ‘as if’. The ideological struggle, their message ran, left no room for fairness, no possibility of a ‘neutral platform’: justice was unattainable until the Republic was destroyed.Less
What role did the courts play in the demise of Germany's first democracy and Hitler's rise to power? This book challenges the orthodox interpretation of Weimar political justice. It argues that an exclusive focus on reactionary judges and a preoccupation with number-crunching verdicts has obscured precisely that aspect of trials most fascinating to contemporary observers: its drama. Drawing on untapped sources and material previously inaccessible in English, it shows how an innovative group of party lawyers transformed dry legal proceedings into spectacular ideological clashes. Supported by powerful party legal offices (hitherto almost entirely disregarded), they developed a sophisticated repertoire of techniques at the intersection of criminal law, politics, and public relations. Harnessing the emotional appeal of tens of thousands of trials, Communists and (emulating them) National Socialist institutionalized party legal aid in order to build their ideological communities. Defendants turned into martyrs, trials into performances of ideological self-sacrifice, and the courtroom into a ‘revolutionary stage’, as one prominent party lawyer put it. This political justice as ‘revolutionary stage’ powerfully impacted Weimar political culture. This book's argument about the theatricality of justice helps explain Weimar's demise but transcends interwar Germany. Trials were compelling not because they offered instruction about the revolutionary struggle, but because in a sense they were the revolutionary struggle, admittedly for the time being played out in the grit-your-teeth, clench-your-fist mode of the theatrical ‘as if’. The ideological struggle, their message ran, left no room for fairness, no possibility of a ‘neutral platform’: justice was unattainable until the Republic was destroyed.
Frank S. Bloch (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195381146
- eISBN:
- 9780199869305
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381146.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This book describes the central concepts, goals, and methods of clinical legal education from a global perspective, with a particular emphasis on its social justice mission. Certain common features ...
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This book describes the central concepts, goals, and methods of clinical legal education from a global perspective, with a particular emphasis on its social justice mission. Certain common features have contributed to clinical legal education's growing influence around the world, most notably its focus on lawyering skills and professional values. Even so, law school clinics vary considerably from country to country due to differences in legal systems and professional and academic cultures that have led to the development of a variety of distinctive national and regional approaches to clinical education. The book also examines clinical legal education's commitment to reform the legal academy and the legal profession, and charts its future role in educating lawyers for social justice. It argues that an emerging global clinical movement is playing an increasingly important role in educating lawyers worldwide, and that it can advance social justice through legal education. The most common model is a law school-based legal aid clinic that offers law students the opportunity to gain “real world” practical experience by working with clinical faculty to address legal problems in the community. The book consists of three parts: Part 1 explores the global reach of clinical legal education, including descriptions of programs from every region of the world; Part 2 discusses the justice mission of global clinical education and the various ways that clinical programs advance the cause of social justice around the world; Part 3 looks at the global clinical movement, with analyses of its various dimensions and its capacity to advance social justice through socially relevant legal education.Less
This book describes the central concepts, goals, and methods of clinical legal education from a global perspective, with a particular emphasis on its social justice mission. Certain common features have contributed to clinical legal education's growing influence around the world, most notably its focus on lawyering skills and professional values. Even so, law school clinics vary considerably from country to country due to differences in legal systems and professional and academic cultures that have led to the development of a variety of distinctive national and regional approaches to clinical education. The book also examines clinical legal education's commitment to reform the legal academy and the legal profession, and charts its future role in educating lawyers for social justice. It argues that an emerging global clinical movement is playing an increasingly important role in educating lawyers worldwide, and that it can advance social justice through legal education. The most common model is a law school-based legal aid clinic that offers law students the opportunity to gain “real world” practical experience by working with clinical faculty to address legal problems in the community. The book consists of three parts: Part 1 explores the global reach of clinical legal education, including descriptions of programs from every region of the world; Part 2 discusses the justice mission of global clinical education and the various ways that clinical programs advance the cause of social justice around the world; Part 3 looks at the global clinical movement, with analyses of its various dimensions and its capacity to advance social justice through socially relevant legal education.
RICHARD L. ABEL
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198260349
- eISBN:
- 9780191682094
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260349.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
Labour had equivocated on legal aid. As shadow Home Secretary, Tony Blair declared that any attempt to slash the legal aid budget would be disastrous for the legal system and for the many ordinary ...
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Labour had equivocated on legal aid. As shadow Home Secretary, Tony Blair declared that any attempt to slash the legal aid budget would be disastrous for the legal system and for the many ordinary citizens. Lord Irvine told 500 solicitors that Lord Mackay's 1995 Green Paper had the fingerprints of the treasury all over it but conceded Labour had no quick fixes and no new money. Anticipating the 1997 general election, Irvine promised at the September 1996 annual Bar conference to restore legal aid to the status of a public social service. Universal contributions were a ‘powerful deterrent’ to accepting legal aid. At the same time, Irvine did not rule out a budget cap, the hope was to have QCs' fees regulated. After the Labour landslide, the Solicitors Journal hoped the presence of seven lawyers in the Cabinet would be good news for the legal profession. Labour promised a less confrontational approach.Less
Labour had equivocated on legal aid. As shadow Home Secretary, Tony Blair declared that any attempt to slash the legal aid budget would be disastrous for the legal system and for the many ordinary citizens. Lord Irvine told 500 solicitors that Lord Mackay's 1995 Green Paper had the fingerprints of the treasury all over it but conceded Labour had no quick fixes and no new money. Anticipating the 1997 general election, Irvine promised at the September 1996 annual Bar conference to restore legal aid to the status of a public social service. Universal contributions were a ‘powerful deterrent’ to accepting legal aid. At the same time, Irvine did not rule out a budget cap, the hope was to have QCs' fees regulated. After the Labour landslide, the Solicitors Journal hoped the presence of seven lawyers in the Cabinet would be good news for the legal profession. Labour promised a less confrontational approach.
Grunwald Henning
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199609048
- eISBN:
- 9780191744280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199609048.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
The chapter is a history of the Communist Party legal organization, which funded, administered, and publicized tens of thousands of political trials. Despite their professions of ideological ...
More
The chapter is a history of the Communist Party legal organization, which funded, administered, and publicized tens of thousands of political trials. Despite their professions of ideological discipline, harnessing the often volatile, headstrong and individualistic party lawyers to a coherent political strategy proved tricky. The Communist Party pioneered the standardization of legal aid and the propagandistic exploitation of trials by ingeniously combining both in one in-house law office. The highly innovative KPD party legal organization grew rapidly and enjoyed a high visibility both within the party and outside it. Matching lawyers and cases, it used legal aid to monitor trials and disseminate the party's message, discipline defendants, and build up selected cases into high-profile publicity campaigns. The celebrated trial and rehabilitation campaign of Max Hölz, the ‘Communist Robin Hood’, is the main case study.Less
The chapter is a history of the Communist Party legal organization, which funded, administered, and publicized tens of thousands of political trials. Despite their professions of ideological discipline, harnessing the often volatile, headstrong and individualistic party lawyers to a coherent political strategy proved tricky. The Communist Party pioneered the standardization of legal aid and the propagandistic exploitation of trials by ingeniously combining both in one in-house law office. The highly innovative KPD party legal organization grew rapidly and enjoyed a high visibility both within the party and outside it. Matching lawyers and cases, it used legal aid to monitor trials and disseminate the party's message, discipline defendants, and build up selected cases into high-profile publicity campaigns. The celebrated trial and rehabilitation campaign of Max Hölz, the ‘Communist Robin Hood’, is the main case study.
Richard L Abel
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198260349
- eISBN:
- 9780191682094
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260349.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
In the final decade of the twentieth century the legal profession witnessed profound changes. First the Conservatives sought to apply laissez-faire principles to the profession. Then Labour ...
More
In the final decade of the twentieth century the legal profession witnessed profound changes. First the Conservatives sought to apply laissez-faire principles to the profession. Then Labour transformed the legal aid scheme it had created half a century earlier. At the same time, the profession confronted cumulative changes in higher education and women's aspirations, internal and external competition, and dramatic fluctuations in demand. This book analyses the politics of professionalism, the struggles among individual producers (barristers, solicitors, foreign lawyers, accountants) and their associations, consumers (individual and corporate, public and private), and the state to shape the market for legal services by deploying economic, political, and rhetorical resources (including changing conceptions of professionalism). The profession had to respond to a greatly increased production of law graduates and the desire of lawyer mothers (and also fathers) to raise their families. It had to replace exclusivity with efforts to reflect the larger society (class, race, gender). The Bar needed to address challenges to its exclusive rights of audience from both solicitors and employed barristers and decide whether to retaliate by permitting direct access, thereby compromising its claim to be a consulting profession. Solicitors had to reconcile their invocation of market principles against the Bar with their resistance to corporate conveyancing and multidisciplinary practices. The government had to restrain a demand-led legal aid scheme; practitioners and their associations sought to pressure the government to expand eligibility and raise remuneration rates.Less
In the final decade of the twentieth century the legal profession witnessed profound changes. First the Conservatives sought to apply laissez-faire principles to the profession. Then Labour transformed the legal aid scheme it had created half a century earlier. At the same time, the profession confronted cumulative changes in higher education and women's aspirations, internal and external competition, and dramatic fluctuations in demand. This book analyses the politics of professionalism, the struggles among individual producers (barristers, solicitors, foreign lawyers, accountants) and their associations, consumers (individual and corporate, public and private), and the state to shape the market for legal services by deploying economic, political, and rhetorical resources (including changing conceptions of professionalism). The profession had to respond to a greatly increased production of law graduates and the desire of lawyer mothers (and also fathers) to raise their families. It had to replace exclusivity with efforts to reflect the larger society (class, race, gender). The Bar needed to address challenges to its exclusive rights of audience from both solicitors and employed barristers and decide whether to retaliate by permitting direct access, thereby compromising its claim to be a consulting profession. Solicitors had to reconcile their invocation of market principles against the Bar with their resistance to corporate conveyancing and multidisciplinary practices. The government had to restrain a demand-led legal aid scheme; practitioners and their associations sought to pressure the government to expand eligibility and raise remuneration rates.
DAVID MCQUOID-MASON, ERNEST OJUKWU, and GEORGE MUKUNDI WACHIRA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195381146
- eISBN:
- 9780199869305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381146.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter covers clinical legal education in Southern, East, and West Africa. It includes a short history of law clinics in each region, as well as an analysis of why the law clinics were needed ...
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This chapter covers clinical legal education in Southern, East, and West Africa. It includes a short history of law clinics in each region, as well as an analysis of why the law clinics were needed and a description the clinical programs' requirements and the types of training and evaluation used. In most African countries, university law clinics were established to provide legal services and access to justice for poor and marginalized communities, as well as to teach law students practical skills. As in the United States during the 1960s, the South African clinical movement in the 1970s was closely linked to access to justice and therefore “live client” clinics tend to be the norm. The chapter concludes that apart from educating law students in practical skills and social justice, law clinics can also play a crucial role in supplementing the paucity of legal aid services in most African countries.Less
This chapter covers clinical legal education in Southern, East, and West Africa. It includes a short history of law clinics in each region, as well as an analysis of why the law clinics were needed and a description the clinical programs' requirements and the types of training and evaluation used. In most African countries, university law clinics were established to provide legal services and access to justice for poor and marginalized communities, as well as to teach law students practical skills. As in the United States during the 1960s, the South African clinical movement in the 1970s was closely linked to access to justice and therefore “live client” clinics tend to be the norm. The chapter concludes that apart from educating law students in practical skills and social justice, law clinics can also play a crucial role in supplementing the paucity of legal aid services in most African countries.
CAI YANMIN and J. L. POTTENGER
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195381146
- eISBN:
- 9780199869305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381146.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter discusses the development of clinical legal education in the People's Republic of China and the challenges it faces today. It describes China's legal, legal education, and legal aid ...
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This chapter discusses the development of clinical legal education in the People's Republic of China and the challenges it faces today. It describes China's legal, legal education, and legal aid systems, including their dramatic expansion since 1979 and the substantial political constraints on legal reform imposed by China's administrative-party state. It also offers a brief history of Chinese clinical legal education, including to the work of the Ford Foundation and China's leading national clinical organization, the Committee of Chinese Clinical Legal Educators (CCCLE), as well as an overview of current programs and descriptions of several universities' clinical programs. It presents examples of individual and group-representation labor rights cases, which are prominent in Chinese clinics. The chapter concludes by analyzing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, including future financing and better integration with both the legal academy and the legal profession—challenges that mirror those in other countries, including the United States.Less
This chapter discusses the development of clinical legal education in the People's Republic of China and the challenges it faces today. It describes China's legal, legal education, and legal aid systems, including their dramatic expansion since 1979 and the substantial political constraints on legal reform imposed by China's administrative-party state. It also offers a brief history of Chinese clinical legal education, including to the work of the Ford Foundation and China's leading national clinical organization, the Committee of Chinese Clinical Legal Educators (CCCLE), as well as an overview of current programs and descriptions of several universities' clinical programs. It presents examples of individual and group-representation labor rights cases, which are prominent in Chinese clinics. The chapter concludes by analyzing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, including future financing and better integration with both the legal academy and the legal profession—challenges that mirror those in other countries, including the United States.
Sandra F. Joireman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199782482
- eISBN:
- 9780199897209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199782482.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
It has long been accepted that nongovernmental organizations have taken over the role of the government in spheres of health and education in Africa. Using field research from Uganda, this chapter ...
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It has long been accepted that nongovernmental organizations have taken over the role of the government in spheres of health and education in Africa. Using field research from Uganda, this chapter presents examples of NGOs that have been active in the enforcement of property rights where the state has chosen not to enforce certain rights or where it is not strong enough to do so. Ideologically motivated NGOs have acted to educate lawyers, judges, and citizens and, in some extreme cases, to equip and train police so as to enable the defense of legal rights to property. The implications of this new role for NGOs in terms of local and national authority are discussed. The evidence suggests a completely different model for understanding legal NGOs from that which has been previously suggested; they neither feed into the legal process nor exist completely separate from it, but are intertwined with the state in surprising ways.Less
It has long been accepted that nongovernmental organizations have taken over the role of the government in spheres of health and education in Africa. Using field research from Uganda, this chapter presents examples of NGOs that have been active in the enforcement of property rights where the state has chosen not to enforce certain rights or where it is not strong enough to do so. Ideologically motivated NGOs have acted to educate lawyers, judges, and citizens and, in some extreme cases, to equip and train police so as to enable the defense of legal rights to property. The implications of this new role for NGOs in terms of local and national authority are discussed. The evidence suggests a completely different model for understanding legal NGOs from that which has been previously suggested; they neither feed into the legal process nor exist completely separate from it, but are intertwined with the state in surprising ways.
Ross Cranston
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199292073
- eISBN:
- 9780191700699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199292073.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
This chapter is about the compensating mechanisms and how they work to further access to justice. It starts by reviewing how publicly funded ...
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This chapter is about the compensating mechanisms and how they work to further access to justice. It starts by reviewing how publicly funded legal services can be justified given the many other calls on the public purse. It then explores one of the various forms of public funding, traditional legal aid, sometimes called judicare, where public funding goes to pay private lawyers who take on clients largely as if they were fee-paying. It also describes the structures for public funding. The next parts of the chapter move away from public funding. It addresses whether it is possible to stimulate private provision of legal services to close some of the gaps in access to justice. Furthermore, it discusses alternative dispute mechanisms to deal with people's legal disputes. It is stated that there is a need for new ways of doing things which facilitate access to justice.Less
This chapter is about the compensating mechanisms and how they work to further access to justice. It starts by reviewing how publicly funded legal services can be justified given the many other calls on the public purse. It then explores one of the various forms of public funding, traditional legal aid, sometimes called judicare, where public funding goes to pay private lawyers who take on clients largely as if they were fee-paying. It also describes the structures for public funding. The next parts of the chapter move away from public funding. It addresses whether it is possible to stimulate private provision of legal services to close some of the gaps in access to justice. Furthermore, it discusses alternative dispute mechanisms to deal with people's legal disputes. It is stated that there is a need for new ways of doing things which facilitate access to justice.
Ross Cranston
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199292073
- eISBN:
- 9780191700699
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199292073.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
Access to justice, equality before the law, and the rule of law are three fundamental values underpinning the civil justice system. This book examines these values and ...
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Access to justice, equality before the law, and the rule of law are three fundamental values underpinning the civil justice system. This book examines these values and how they are a crucial foundation of the civil justice system and a powerful argument for arrangements such as legal aid, the impartial application of law, and the independence of the judiciary. It also considers the role of procedure, often regarded as of secondary importance compared with substantive law. It discusses Lord Woolf's inquiry, and demonstrates how procedural reform can maximize a fundamental value like access to justice. This linkage is furthered in a later analysis of access to justice comparatively, in relation to civil and commercial law. It then looks at understanding how law works, and how it could be made to work better, and concludes that this demands both knowledge of law and of law's context. This theme deals with the machinery of the law, and discusses what the courts do, civil procedure, and the ethics of lawyers' conduct, all in relation to the broader context of access to justice. This broader context of the law is particularly prominent in the latter half of the book, which deals with various dimensions of the impact of the law.Less
Access to justice, equality before the law, and the rule of law are three fundamental values underpinning the civil justice system. This book examines these values and how they are a crucial foundation of the civil justice system and a powerful argument for arrangements such as legal aid, the impartial application of law, and the independence of the judiciary. It also considers the role of procedure, often regarded as of secondary importance compared with substantive law. It discusses Lord Woolf's inquiry, and demonstrates how procedural reform can maximize a fundamental value like access to justice. This linkage is furthered in a later analysis of access to justice comparatively, in relation to civil and commercial law. It then looks at understanding how law works, and how it could be made to work better, and concludes that this demands both knowledge of law and of law's context. This theme deals with the machinery of the law, and discusses what the courts do, civil procedure, and the ethics of lawyers' conduct, all in relation to the broader context of access to justice. This broader context of the law is particularly prominent in the latter half of the book, which deals with various dimensions of the impact of the law.
Tom Bingham
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198299127
- eISBN:
- 9780191685620
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198299127.003.0029
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics, Philosophy of Law
Toynbee Hall is one of the great manifestations of Victorian philanthropy. In 1984, it celebrated the centenary of its foundation. Toynbee Hall ...
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Toynbee Hall is one of the great manifestations of Victorian philanthropy. In 1984, it celebrated the centenary of its foundation. Toynbee Hall was justly acclaimed as the pioneering and imaginative venture it was, a product of that serious, high-minded intelligent and practical concern for others which distinguished so many of the later Victorians. In 1998, it celebrated the centenary of its free Legal Advice Centre, originally called its Poor Man's Lawyer Service. This chapter looks at the history of legal assistance provided for those who cannot afford to pay the fees charged by private lawyers, and considers the proposals then current for reforming the legal aid system as it has existed since 1949. The Poor Man's Lawyer was not, it seems, the first of its kind in Britain. That accolade belongs to the Mansfield House Settlement in Canning Town. The rationale underlying these schemes was simple and very compelling.Less
Toynbee Hall is one of the great manifestations of Victorian philanthropy. In 1984, it celebrated the centenary of its foundation. Toynbee Hall was justly acclaimed as the pioneering and imaginative venture it was, a product of that serious, high-minded intelligent and practical concern for others which distinguished so many of the later Victorians. In 1998, it celebrated the centenary of its free Legal Advice Centre, originally called its Poor Man's Lawyer Service. This chapter looks at the history of legal assistance provided for those who cannot afford to pay the fees charged by private lawyers, and considers the proposals then current for reforming the legal aid system as it has existed since 1949. The Poor Man's Lawyer was not, it seems, the first of its kind in Britain. That accolade belongs to the Mansfield House Settlement in Canning Town. The rationale underlying these schemes was simple and very compelling.
Eva Storskrubb
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199533176
- eISBN:
- 9780191714504
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533176.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law
The regulation of cross border civil and commercial litigation is a burgeoning EU policy area. Legislative measures and other initiatives now provide a framework for the regulation of cross border ...
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The regulation of cross border civil and commercial litigation is a burgeoning EU policy area. Legislative measures and other initiatives now provide a framework for the regulation of cross border service of documents, obtaining evidence, establishing jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments, enforcement orders, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution, payment orders, and small claims. In addition, overarching measures have been created or proposed including the creation of a judicial network and judicial training structures. This book offers a detailed analysis of the EU's activity in procedural harmonization, spanning civil procedure, private international law, and European law. It situates the development of the policy area called judicial cooperation in civil matters and its regulation in relation to broader themes of the European integration process: market building, citizenship, fundamental rights, subsidiarity, and governance. It provides detailed analysis of the legislative measures and assesses their impact on fundamental principles of civil justice, including due process rights. The case-law in the area is also analysed as well as the introduction of the principle of mutual recognition. The book concludes with comparative analysis of the EU's approach with broader international efforts for procedural harmonization.Less
The regulation of cross border civil and commercial litigation is a burgeoning EU policy area. Legislative measures and other initiatives now provide a framework for the regulation of cross border service of documents, obtaining evidence, establishing jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments, enforcement orders, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution, payment orders, and small claims. In addition, overarching measures have been created or proposed including the creation of a judicial network and judicial training structures. This book offers a detailed analysis of the EU's activity in procedural harmonization, spanning civil procedure, private international law, and European law. It situates the development of the policy area called judicial cooperation in civil matters and its regulation in relation to broader themes of the European integration process: market building, citizenship, fundamental rights, subsidiarity, and governance. It provides detailed analysis of the legislative measures and assesses their impact on fundamental principles of civil justice, including due process rights. The case-law in the area is also analysed as well as the introduction of the principle of mutual recognition. The book concludes with comparative analysis of the EU's approach with broader international efforts for procedural harmonization.
Mike McConville, Jacqueline Hodgson, Lee Bridges, and Anita Pavlovic
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198258681
- eISBN:
- 9780191681851
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198258681.003.0011
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
There are firms of solicitors which evidently make a profitable business under the existing system of legal aid, by providing a service that is less reactive to police and court priorities, less ...
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There are firms of solicitors which evidently make a profitable business under the existing system of legal aid, by providing a service that is less reactive to police and court priorities, less discontinuous in the forms of representation provided, less ideologically oriented toward a stereotype of the criminal client as dishonest and untrustworthy, and less predisposed toward concluding cases through guilty pleas. The result over time has been to sharpen the division in practice between Crown Court and magistrates' court work and to reinforce another central feature of the criminal defence practice — the discontinuity of representation offered to the client. The rapid spread of representation in magistrates' courts has been linked to the purpose of solicitors in facilitating not only the general expansion of caseloads in these courts but also the introduction of specific court efficiency measures. Criminal defence and legal aid in general offer a converse ‘ideal type’ to the usual image of the bureaucratic and professionally dominated welfare state service, with its supposed (over) dependence on central planning and unified standards of service.Less
There are firms of solicitors which evidently make a profitable business under the existing system of legal aid, by providing a service that is less reactive to police and court priorities, less discontinuous in the forms of representation provided, less ideologically oriented toward a stereotype of the criminal client as dishonest and untrustworthy, and less predisposed toward concluding cases through guilty pleas. The result over time has been to sharpen the division in practice between Crown Court and magistrates' court work and to reinforce another central feature of the criminal defence practice — the discontinuity of representation offered to the client. The rapid spread of representation in magistrates' courts has been linked to the purpose of solicitors in facilitating not only the general expansion of caseloads in these courts but also the introduction of specific court efficiency measures. Criminal defence and legal aid in general offer a converse ‘ideal type’ to the usual image of the bureaucratic and professionally dominated welfare state service, with its supposed (over) dependence on central planning and unified standards of service.
Jarinde Temminck Tuinstra
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199573417
- eISBN:
- 9780191728822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573417.003.0013
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
The right to legal assistance is a fundamental safeguard for a fair trial. There is no international legal standard as to how to deal with the waiver of legal representation. Nonetheless, the fact ...
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The right to legal assistance is a fundamental safeguard for a fair trial. There is no international legal standard as to how to deal with the waiver of legal representation. Nonetheless, the fact that the ICTY allowed alleged war criminals such as Milošević, Šešelj, and Karadžić to represent themselves has generated criticism. This chapter outlines the problems the ICTY has faced, and is still facing, in accommodating an accused's wish to conduct his or her own defence. For instance, should it allow the self-represented accused the assistance of legal advisors and provide legal aid to such accused? It scrutinizes the commendable efforts that the ICTY has made to uphold this right. But it also addresses the flaws in legal reasoning and inconsistencies, even within the course of a single case, that have accompanied the decisions of the ICTY allowing self-representation.Less
The right to legal assistance is a fundamental safeguard for a fair trial. There is no international legal standard as to how to deal with the waiver of legal representation. Nonetheless, the fact that the ICTY allowed alleged war criminals such as Milošević, Šešelj, and Karadžić to represent themselves has generated criticism. This chapter outlines the problems the ICTY has faced, and is still facing, in accommodating an accused's wish to conduct his or her own defence. For instance, should it allow the self-represented accused the assistance of legal advisors and provide legal aid to such accused? It scrutinizes the commendable efforts that the ICTY has made to uphold this right. But it also addresses the flaws in legal reasoning and inconsistencies, even within the course of a single case, that have accompanied the decisions of the ICTY allowing self-representation.
Marjorie Mayo, Gerald Koessl, Matthew Scott, and Imogen Slater
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447311027
- eISBN:
- 9781447311034
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447311027.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter starts by focussing upon different definitions and perspectives on the contested notion of ‘social justice’, together with their varying implications for public policy. This sets the ...
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This chapter starts by focussing upon different definitions and perspectives on the contested notion of ‘social justice’, together with their varying implications for public policy. This sets the context for the discussion of the development of legal aid, as a key element of the welfare state, as this was established in Britain, following the Second World War. Although justice for all, regardless of the ability to pay, was the original aim, the welfare state proved inadequate when it came to realising this goal. By the 1960s and early 1970s the shortcomings were becoming only too obvious. Provision was falling far short of what was actually needed in order to ensure access to justice for all. Drawing upon models developed in the US and elsewhere radical lawyers and other social reformers, concerned with human rights and equalities, responded to these shortcomings by coming up with plans for the establishment of community Law Centres. Having outlined the history of Law Centres since then, the chapter concludes by outlining more recent changes to legal aid. This sets the context for the discussion of the potential implications for Law Centres in the chapters that follow, including the implications for values and the public service ethos more generally.Less
This chapter starts by focussing upon different definitions and perspectives on the contested notion of ‘social justice’, together with their varying implications for public policy. This sets the context for the discussion of the development of legal aid, as a key element of the welfare state, as this was established in Britain, following the Second World War. Although justice for all, regardless of the ability to pay, was the original aim, the welfare state proved inadequate when it came to realising this goal. By the 1960s and early 1970s the shortcomings were becoming only too obvious. Provision was falling far short of what was actually needed in order to ensure access to justice for all. Drawing upon models developed in the US and elsewhere radical lawyers and other social reformers, concerned with human rights and equalities, responded to these shortcomings by coming up with plans for the establishment of community Law Centres. Having outlined the history of Law Centres since then, the chapter concludes by outlining more recent changes to legal aid. This sets the context for the discussion of the potential implications for Law Centres in the chapters that follow, including the implications for values and the public service ethos more generally.
Liane Schmiedel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199653485
- eISBN:
- 9780191758270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653485.003.0013
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law, Private International Law
Alternative dispute resolution has a long-standing tradition within the Netherlands. Consequently, the Netherlands government has actively promoted mediation since the end of the 1990s, instigating ...
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Alternative dispute resolution has a long-standing tradition within the Netherlands. Consequently, the Netherlands government has actively promoted mediation since the end of the 1990s, instigating two pilot programmes in order to integrate (court-annexed) mediation into the system of dispute resolution. Both programmes have been successful, leading not only to the institution of a referral system for court-annexed mediation, but also providing parties without sufficient financial means with legal aid for mediation. So far, the Netherlands have thereby deliberately abstained from a general regulation of mediation and has left this task to private partners, such as the Netherland Mediation Institute and market developments. With the implementation of the EU Mediation Directive, this approach had to change. The article provides the reader with the facts about mediation practice and its development in the Netherlands, including extensive empirical data, but also analyses the forthcoming changes to the (regulatory) system.Less
Alternative dispute resolution has a long-standing tradition within the Netherlands. Consequently, the Netherlands government has actively promoted mediation since the end of the 1990s, instigating two pilot programmes in order to integrate (court-annexed) mediation into the system of dispute resolution. Both programmes have been successful, leading not only to the institution of a referral system for court-annexed mediation, but also providing parties without sufficient financial means with legal aid for mediation. So far, the Netherlands have thereby deliberately abstained from a general regulation of mediation and has left this task to private partners, such as the Netherland Mediation Institute and market developments. With the implementation of the EU Mediation Directive, this approach had to change. The article provides the reader with the facts about mediation practice and its development in the Netherlands, including extensive empirical data, but also analyses the forthcoming changes to the (regulatory) system.
Mavis Maclean
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198268208
- eISBN:
- 9780191683442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198268208.003.0024
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
In 1948, T. H. Marshall argued that the acceptance of state funding for legal services was a necessary condition for the full and equal exercise of civil rights which legitimises Britain’s democratic ...
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In 1948, T. H. Marshall argued that the acceptance of state funding for legal services was a necessary condition for the full and equal exercise of civil rights which legitimises Britain’s democratic form of government. The pressing need for help with divorce following the social stress of World War II provided the stimulus for a new system of access to justice not only in family matters but also in a far wider range of civil disputes. Family justice was to underpin a wider movement towards social equality and individual well-being, because the divorce lawyers played a key part in the setting-up of the Legal Aid Scheme, a publicly funded legal service. The story of access to justice in family matters over the last fifty years can well be told as a tale of containing public expenditure in the face of rising demand. A combination of administrative procedures has been adopted to deal with child support and encouragement to try alternative dispute resolution on divorce for those seeking access to family justice.Less
In 1948, T. H. Marshall argued that the acceptance of state funding for legal services was a necessary condition for the full and equal exercise of civil rights which legitimises Britain’s democratic form of government. The pressing need for help with divorce following the social stress of World War II provided the stimulus for a new system of access to justice not only in family matters but also in a far wider range of civil disputes. Family justice was to underpin a wider movement towards social equality and individual well-being, because the divorce lawyers played a key part in the setting-up of the Legal Aid Scheme, a publicly funded legal service. The story of access to justice in family matters over the last fifty years can well be told as a tale of containing public expenditure in the face of rising demand. A combination of administrative procedures has been adopted to deal with child support and encouragement to try alternative dispute resolution on divorce for those seeking access to family justice.
