On Friday, 19 September the High Court granted permission for
Rights of Women to challenge the lawfulness of Government changes to legal aid.
According to Rights of Women, the changes to legal aid are preventing victims of domestic abuse from getting legal aid for family cases, even when it is clear there has been violence, or there is an ongoing risk of violence. Represented by the
Public Law Project and supported by the
Law Society, Rights of Women argued that this is not what parliament intended.
Legal aid changes introduced by the Government in April 2013 required victims of domestic violence to provide a prescribed form of evidence in order to obtain family law legal aid. Many women affected by violence do not have the required forms of evidence. Some of the forms of evidence are subject to a 24 month time limit although perpetrators may remain a life long threat to their victims.
The statistics are stark: two women are killed each week by a current or former partner and 500 recent victims of domestic violence commit suicide every year.
Commenting on the High Court decision,
Law Society president Andrew Caplen said:
'It is great news that the Court has recognised that the harm being done to the victims of domestic violence by the restrictive regulations this government brought in may be unlawful. We welcome the swift timetable for hearing the case, as those suffering as a result of these rules need clarity as soon as possible.'
The substantive hearing is expected to take place before the end of the year.
An article by Miranda Mourby, part of the legal team in the case, '
Survivors of domestic abuse need legal aid more than new law' is available here.
