Jon Robins tackles the Justice Gap
Definitions are important. The “Justice Gap”, according to the human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield QC, refers to “the increasing section of the public too poor to afford a lawyer and not poor enough to qualify for legal aid”. “At the heart of any notion of a decent society is not only that we have rights and protections under the law but that we can enforce those rights and rely upon those protections if needed,”’ the radical lawyer went on to say.
The struggle for justice
If you don’t know, www.thejusticegap.com is the name of an online magazine about the law and justice aimed at the public. It’s a title that contains an implicit criticism. It is a recognition that the system isn’t working. That many people struggle to secure “access to justice”—not just vulnerable sections of the community or those without money.
The site was launched on 6 October 2011 as the dread LASPO was making its way through parliament. Sadly, the Mansfield definition now needs to be updated in light of the government’s ferocious onslaught
