Years of underfunding has created a retention and recruitment crisis, writes aspiring barrister Edmund Mawoko
The opposite of poverty is not wealth. It is Justice — Brian Stevenson.
In recent publications which have documented the current strikes from barristers across England and Wales, the criminal bar’s lack of funding has been the central issue. Undoubtedly, there have been several publications documenting the stories of many underpaid barristers and the increasing backlog of cases. Without a doubt, these are issues of high importance. However, I dare say the strikes represent a more pertinent issue, one which should garner more public support. That is the rule of law, a term coined by Professor AV Dicey which encompasses the following:
• The law views all people as equal (no one is above the law)
• Accessibility to the law for all
• An independently functioning judiciary
• The accessibility of justice for all people
The funding crisis simply resembles the downshift in which the criminal justice system (CJS) has been placed lower on the list of importance when considering areas requiring more public funding. What does this mean to the average person? In addition to more underpaid barristers and an increased court case backlog the nature of our CJS is being threatened meaning:
• An insufficient number of criminal barristers to take on cases and reduce the current case backlog
• The justice system will mainly benefit those capable of privately funding their...
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