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The Wrong Package
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By Madsen Pirie & Robert M Worcester
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The latest book in the series from the Adam Smith Institute and MORI looks at the delivery of public services. The findings of the report highlight the differences between the consumer agenda and the producer agenda. The new survey looks at three services: police, schools and local government and the conclusion from all three is that what they deliver is not what the public want. The public want the police to tackle criminal gangs and organized crime, muggings and street crimes, prevent burglary and recover stolen property. A huge majority of people say that teaching the basics - reading, writing & comprehension - should be a top priority. Local government should concentrate on CCTV, keep council estates in good repair and tackle litter, graffiti and dog dirt. The disparity between what is delivered and what is wanted is clear to see.
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Taking Liberties
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By Peter Lilley
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Four fundamental pillars of freedom, jury trial, Double Jeopardy,
Presumption of Innocence, and Habeas Corpus, are threatened by an
unprecedented alliance between populism (to sound tough on crime) and
modernizing zeal. The net result will be to make the British people more
vulnerable than ever to arbitrary action by the State. While it is important
to tackle crime, sacrificing the liberties that protect the innocent will
not help bring the guilty to justice. And every time an innocent person is
convicted, the real culprit is left free to commit more crimes.
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Privatising Access to Justice
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Antony Barton 2000
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Up to now, access to justice has been the privilege of the wealthy and the minority who are sufficiently poor to qualify for civil legal aid. Most other people had no access to civil justice, a factor which has brought the civil justice system into disrepute.
The government is presently undertaking a major and long-overdue reform of the civil legal aid system in accordance with the Access to Justice Act 1999. Reforms enacted on 1 April 2000 abolish legal aid for most civil claims. Instead, it is expected that cases will be funded by the conditional fee system - popularly known as "no win, no fee". In this system the lawyer agrees with his client to charge an additional success fee if the claim is successful, but may charge nothing if the claim fails. It is an example of payment by result.
These reforms effectively represent the privatisation of access to justice. The civil courts are increasingly accessible to anyone with a meritorious claim.
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Silk Cut
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Peter Reeve, 1998
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The whole process under which QCs are selected and appointed should be abolished. By denominating some to use the coveted letters QC, and restricting the numbers who may do so, the profession in effect sets up a pricing ring that raises legal costs.
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Judgement Day
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By Adam Thierer
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Our courts our slow, outdated, and costly. Adam Thierer shows how people in the US have abandoned them for private arbitration: and how the state and federal courts have had to accommodate this change. A model for modernising the court service in the United Kingdom and elsewhere?
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