CBA Weekly Message – 18.02.15
CBA Chairman’s Message:
Tony Cross QC
Wednesday 18 February 2015
E: [email protected]
T: 07860 692693
QASA and Dual providers Contract
As the majority of you will know on the 12th February, the Supreme Court announced its decision on the QASA permission to appeal application. This decision was made by a panel of three Supreme Court Justices following a review of the relevant written submissions.
Those of you who have followed the case will know that the two grounds in the application were:
- “Whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining that the principle of independence of the advocate was not infringed by the QASA
- Whether the Court of Appeal erred in law by failing to appreciate the effect of Regulation 14 of the Provision of Service Regulations 2009.”
Permission to appeal was granted on ground 2 only (the effect of regulation 14 of the POS Regulations). Permission to appeal on the remaining grounds was refused. A protective costs order has been made.
The hearing has been provisionally listed for Monday 16 March 2015.
We are ever grateful to our magnificent legal team of Barristers and Solicitors who yet again provided their services pro bono. We will forever be in their debt.
Solicitors
At the risk of repetition we set out again HERE our position on the dual provider proposals, we have made our case and the case for solicitors publicly and privately to Government. Today the High Court has ruled in favour of the Lord Chancellor and against the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association (CLSA), the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA) and The Law Society on their judicial review into the Government’s reforms of the legal aid system and the implementation of the proposed two-tier contract.
The associations have resolved to continue the fight and taken legal advice following the decision and intend to seek leave to appeal. The transcript of the judgment can be found HERE. The CLSA press release can be found HERE. We continue to support their judicial review and wish them luck in their application to appeal
Tony
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