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Legal Aid residence test appeal in the Court of Appeal today
A Court of Appeal presided over by Lord Justice Laws will today hear an appeal by the Lord Chancellor, Michael Gove, challenging a 2014 Divisional Court decision to strike down the highly controversial legal aid residence test. His representatives will argue that, although the test has racially discriminatory effects and the extent of any financial savings is unknown, its introducion was authorised by Parliament and it can be justified as an appropriate restriction on legal aid and, in turn, access to the courts.
Lord Chancellor’s appeal allowed ....
More ...
The Public Law Project hopes to ask the Supreme Court to give urgent consideration to an appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision before the test is brought into effect ....
Yay .... reports just coming in that the Public Law Project has won its legal aid residence test appeal in the Supreme Court today ...
Nice one!!!
Confirmation from the Supreme Court:
The issues in this appeal were whether the proposed civil legal aid residence test in the draft Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2014 is:
1. ultra vires the enabling statute and
2. unjustifiably discriminatory and so in breach of common law and the Human Rights Act 1998.At the end of today’s hearing the The Supreme Court announced that it was allowing the appeal on ground (1) and full written reasons for the decision will follow in due course.
Following its decision on ground (1) The Supreme Court asked the parties whether they wished to address the Court on the second issue, ground (2). The case has been adjourned while this is considered. The case may therefore not continue tomorrow.
Good work PLP (yet again).
The Supreme Court have updated their site (so the link above no longer works!!) ... but in doing so are now saying:
“The Court indicated that it did not consider it necessary to hear argument on issue (2). The hearing in this appeal has now concluded ....”
mmmm
so government will now amend the primary legislation, i should have thought (assuming they maintain their position on this). although it will take them a while to do so ......
Supreme Court judgment due on Wednesday 13th July 2016 ..
Supreme Court allows Public Law Project’s appeal v Lord Chancellor: legal aid residence test draft order was ultra vires - https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2015-0255.html