Law Society finds criminal justice system at ‘breaking point’

Partner Bambos Tsiattalou comments on the Law Society’s findings that the criminal justice system is under increasing pressure, reducing people’s access to justice and having negative impacts on their lives.

Bambos’ comment was published in LexisNexis, 14 June 2019. The full article can be found on LexisNexis here.

In a report published on 14 June 2019, the Law Society found repeat failings of the criminal justice system due to consistent underinvestment. It calls for urgent reforms from the government—including updated legal aid means testing, a legal aid task force and the abolition of ‘warned’, block’, and ‘floating’ court lists.

The Law Society also found that, without corrective action, the criminal justice system is unlikely to improve due to:

• a lack of criminal duty solicitors across England and Wales caused by low criminal legal aid fees

• pressures on existing criminal duty solicitors increasing as less enter the profession and numbers decrease, making the role less attractive

Bambos Tsiattalou, founding partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors says: “Not only are victims, witnesses and accused let down by a failing system, but the professionals trying to hold it together as well. Most recently the Criminal Bar Association went so far as to say that its profession was on the brink of a mental health crisis.”