More trouble for legal aid system
Only a few weeks after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the McLibel two suffered from not having access to legal aid, a new judgement has also questioned the system.
The ECHR has upheld 43 cases against the UK relating to failure to pay the poll or council tax, or court-imposed fines.
All 43 went through the Magistrate Courts system and were eventually imprisoned for non-payment of fines. At the time, legal aid was not available for enforcement proceedings and none had access to legal representation.
All of the cases were eventually quashed.
The ECHR ruled that there had been numerous violations of Article 5 (the right to liberty and security, and the lack of entitlement to compensation under domestic law), as well as Article 6 (concerning a lack of legal representation).
