Senior Judge Voices Fears Over Legal Aid cuts

 

 

Britain's top judge Lord Neuberger, the Supreme Court President, attacks Government on legal aid cuts and human rights threats

President of Supreme Court says equality before the law is at risk of disappearing

Terri Judd

Tuesday 05 March 2013

 

 

The Government is in danger of destroying a 700-year-old right of access to fair and open justice to all, the most senior judge in the land has said.

 

Challenging plans to cut back dramatically on legal aid for hundreds of thousands of people from April, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury said: "As one of the three remaining articles of the Magna Carta (1297) says "to no man shall we deny justice", nowadays "to no man and no woman shall we deny justice", and we are at risk of going back on that."

 

In a week when both the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, and the Home Secretary, Theresa May, have attacked human rights legislation, proposing a distancing from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Lord Neuberger added that he was uncomfortable with political attacks on the judiciary and the fact that human rights were gaining an unfair reputation.

 

The former Master of the Rolls, speaking out for the first time since his appointment as President of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the United Kingdom, said :"The two fundamental roles of Government are to defend the country from invasion and ensure the rule of law at home, and that includes access to justice."

 

He aired particular fears about the fact that from next month thousands of people will no longer have access to free legal advice for issues such as many family disputes, employment or immigration cases, and debt or housing problems. In an attempt to cut the legal-aid bill by £270m, the Government has withdrawn funding for numerous categories of civil and family law and, by its own estimates, as many as 585,000 people will be affected.

 

Lord Neuberger said his main worry was that those who could not afford to pay for a legal representative would have to rely on free advice being offered by the Government and charities, which was "second best". In the worst cases, he fears that those frustrated by an inability to seek justice would "take the law into their own hands".

 

While sympathising with the Government's need to cut costs, he questioned whether slashing legal-aid budgets would eventually prove to be a false saving. "Litigants representing themselves take much more time in court. The danger is that what you save on legal-aid budgets, you lose in terms of court efficiency. It will lead to longer delays in court hearings and spending more money on courts."

 

The Government has been at loggerheads with Strasbourg over a series of judgments, including blocking the deportation of the radical cleric Abu Qatada and ruling that some prisoners must be given the vote.

 

Lord Neuberger explained that while he understood some of the objections to ECHR rulings, a system as "broad and far-reaching as human rights" was bound to generate some controversy and some tough decisions.

 

"The problem is the devil is in the detail in hard cases where it is difficult to balance competing rights," he said. "I can see the argument of sending them [terrorist suspects] back if they are a threat to this country. But if you send somebody back knowing they are going to be tortured, it makes you responsible for torture."

 

He said it was hard to foresee whether such criticism of Europe would rebound on the UK judiciary: "It is difficult to predict whether, if they are busy attacking judges in Strasbourg, they will happily attack any judge or if they will focus their attacks on foreign judges."

 

Nevertheless, he added: "From time to time Home Secretaries have attacked individual judicial decisions. It is unfortunate and should not happen. It is not good for the system.

 

"If ministers don't like our decisions they have two options, one is to appeal; and if they don't like the result, they can change the law by statute.

 

"When ministers attack judges it risks bringing judges into disrepute – which does nobody any good – and it is unfair because judges cannot answer back. It is bad for the whole constitutional state when different arms start attacking each other."

 

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "At around £2bn a year, we have one of the most expensive legal-aid systems in the world. We firmly believe it is an essential part of the justice system, but can never lose sight of the fact it is paid for by taxpayers, and resources are not limitless. We recognise that the advice sector plays an important role in the legal system and we have recently made available £65m in funding for eligible organisations."

 

The Government's drastic cut backs concerning Legal Aid are considered to be extreme and a step too far in the eyes of the Family Department at Hadgkiss Hughes & Beale.

 

The full impact will not be felt until after April 2013 when the changes come into force and only time will tell.

 

For further information please contact Hardip Lall HardipLall@hhb-mo.co.uk or

Katie Ward KatieWard@hhb-mo.co.uk

 

HADGKISS HUGHES AND BEALE

SOLICITORS

FAMILY LAW

83 ALCESTER ROAD, MOSELEY,
BIRMINGHAM B13 8EB

TELEPHONE: 0121 449 5050 

Email enquiries to: family@hhb-mo.co.uk

 www.hadgkisshughesandbeale.co.uk

 

 

Don't Leave It Too Late To Make Your Will

 

Sir Peter Ustinov's estate may be lost on legal fees in bitter feud

The feuding family of late great actor Sir Peter Ustinov may have lost his entire estate to the lawyers, it was claimed today, as their nine-year battle over his money continues.

The double Oscar-winner passed away in 2004 aged 82 Photo: Reuters

By Telegraph reporters

6:05PM GMT 23 Jan 2013

The celebrated actor, director and raconteur - who was married three times and had four children - wrote his last will 36 years before his death, which has led judges to rule he died intestate.
 

The double Oscar-winner, one of Britain's most respected actors who starred in films including Spartacus, Death on the Nile and Logan's Run, passed away in 2004 aged 82. It is estimated that at the time he would have been worth tens of millions.

 

But the fight over his estate continues as Igor Cloutier von Ustinov, his son by his second wife, brought proceedings to London’s High Court in a bid to freeze out his stepmother Lady Helene Ustinov.

 

The sculptor is seeking to prove that trusts set up by his father mean his estate should be handed to his offspring in spite of the ruling by Swiss judges which revoked the will.

 

After the hearing, in which Mrs Justice Proudman reserved judgement, Sir Peter’s son-in-law said that there is little left to fight for. 

 

Malcolm Rennie, who is married to the actor’s daughter Tamara Ustinov Rennie, said outside court: "Peter was a wonderful man and I loved him very much as a son-in-law, but being successful at such a high level as he was, everybody wanted a piece of him.

 

"He was an actor, writer, raconteur and UNICEF ambassador, criss-crossing the globe daily, and, because of that, he was not able to be the present father that he would have liked to have been to his children and he tried to compensate by trying to provide his children with material things".

 

He added: "I would be surprised if there is anything left in the estate - it has probably all gone to the lawyers."

 

The battle over the estate is still ongoing in the Swiss courts, more than five years after they ruled that the June 1972 marriage of Sir Peter and Lady Helene made his previous will – written in 1968 and amended by a codicil in 1970 – invalid.

 

The judgement paved the way for her to lay claim to a share of his estate, which includes the rights to his works, and property in Switzerland where he lived at the time of his death.

 

But his son now claims that trusts his father had set up separated off a “sizeable” slice of Sir Peter’s assets for his children.

 

Ian Meakin, for Mr von Ustinov, said that "overarching" lifetime trusts set up by Sir Peter put valuable "intellectual property rights" in his work out of reach of his widow, and into the hands of his children alone.

 

He argued the alleged trusts, governed by English law, had survived the revocation of the will and ought now to pass to him and his sisters as his father wanted.

 

Sir Peter's other three children - his daughters Mrs Ustinov Rennie, Andrea Ustinov and Pavla Ustinov - have all been involved in the legal battle.

 

Mrs Rennie, an actress, is said to want the matter decided in the Swiss courts Stephen Midwinter, for Ryan Rudolph and Peter Hafter, two retired Swiss lawyers whom Mr von Ustinov claims are the trustees, denied that the trusts even existed.



 

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Making a will is one of the things that we often overlook due to busy lifestyles.

Don’t leave it too late!

 

In 2011 a survey revealed that 70% of Britons have not made a will. Two thirds (65%) said they have not even discussed the subject with close friends or family.

 

For peace of mind now and the security of your loved ones in the future, contact your local, family law firm.

 

Our experienced lawyers will explain and guide you through the process of recording your wishes and protecting your assets for the benefit of your loved ones or chosen charities.

 

We are currently offering a half price wills service

Single ~ £75 + VAT

Couple ~ £125 + VAT

 

Please contact Anne Norton

 

Hadgkiss Hughes and Beale

83 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8EB

Email: annenorton@hhb-mo.co.uk

0121 449 5050