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Court rules legal aid residence test ‘unlawful’
A specially convened three-judge Divisional Court has found that the Lord Chancellor’s decision to introduce a residence test for civil legal aid eligibility is unlawful, that the Lord Chancellor exceeded his statutory powers when devising it and that the test would discriminate against non-UK residents without justification (R (Public Law Project) v Secretary of State for Justice and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (intervener) [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin), 15 July 2014). The test case was brought on behalf of the Public Law Project (PLP), a legal charity that promotes access to justice.
The draft Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2014, through which the Lord Chancellor intended to introduce a test of lawful residence for eligibility for civil legal aid, was approved by the House of Commons on 9 July. At the time of writing, the House of Lords vote was scheduled for 21 July 2014, but it is not known whether the draft regulations will be withdrawn before then. However, 32 leading non-governmental organisations, including LAG, have issued a joint briefing calling on the Lords to reject the residence test using a fatal motion.
Jo Hickman of PLP said: ‘We are heartened by this judgment, which embodies and articulates the finest traditions of our justice system and provides a timely illustration of the importance of judicial review as a check on unlawful executive action.’