Judicial Review of Criminal Defence Representation Judgment received today

The judgment in respect of the judicial review on the new legal aid rules was issued today in Belfast’s High Court.

Bar Council Chairman, Gerry McAlinden QC said

“The judgment is very detailed and will require careful study, however it is clear that the judge found in favour of the applicants in respect of two of their main arguments.”

“The judge has held that it was unlawful to remove the GP2 remuneration for solicitors and he has also held that the deliberate decision of the Department not to carry out a full impact assessment was unlawful.”

“We did not take this action lightly. It was important that these matters were heard in court. We firmly believe it is our responsibility to uphold access to justice in the best interest of the public and to preserve legal aid as an important social welfare provision for the most vulnerable. ”

A summary of the Judgement can be found here