The operation of the civil legal aid scheme and the cost of seeking justice may give rise to injustice in some cases, a Church of Ireland bishop said yesterday. Equal access to justice "is surely a fundamental human right", he said.
In his address to the annual law service at St Michan's in Dublin, the Right Rev Paul Colton, Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, urged equal access to justice and also warned that reform of charity law, expected early next year, requires great care to ensure it does not hinder the work of those raising funds for charities.
Civil legal aid, "heftily means- tested", is not free legal aid, Bishop Colton said. His perception from pastoral work was that many people on average incomes, who were in situations of real concern, acquiesced in what they perceived to be an injustice against them rather than risk the costs involved in seeking access to justice.
"There may be some instances where the areas specifically excluded under the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 give rise to such injustice, as may the operation of the scheme itself."
Bishop Colton said such issues were very much the concern of a recent report by the Free Legal Advice Centres on access to justice. That report's recommendations represented "a very real challenge".
"As the report concluded, equal access to justice is surely a fundamental human right," he said. The State and all of its organs should incorporate the recognition of this right into all aspects of its law, policy and practice.
"Those who have rights must have a meaningful and effective method of enforcing them."
In a wide-ranging address, Bishop Colton also referred to an "immense" intersection between many modern areas of law and the legitimate concerns of canon law. He said "present vicissitudes" within the Anglican communion concerning sexuality have created "a contentious cauldron" in which church laws have come to the fore once again and also created hope that reconciliation may be facilitated.
Bishop Colton was addressing a congregation which included Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, members of the Supreme and High Courts, members of the judiciary in the UK, barristers, solicitors and senior Garda officers.
