Zombie parliament legislation is 'poorly drafted waffle'

Shadow justice minister, Andy Slaughter MP, has launched an offensive on what he called the government's "attack on the justice system and legal profession".

Speaking at the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers' (APIL) Autumn Conference in London, Slaughter said: "Claimant personal injury lawyers may be wondering why they have been the subject of so much interest from government in recent years.

"A conservative government will only continue at pace with this next year. We are entering a bleak world as far as claimants are concerned."

'SARAH waffle'

Referencing the government's controversial Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill (SARAH), Slaughter said it was just the government's "latest foray in to tinkering with the law" of negligence.

"It is poorly drafted waffle. I don't see the purpose of black letter law to be in sending out a message and in politicians using gimmicks," he said.

"At this point in the political cycle there is no effective law-making taking place. We are in a zombie parliament and have ended up with Bills like SARAH."

He continued: "We all know the mantra about compensation culture and that there are too many lawyers, it has been the same since Shakespeare's time."

Slaughter accepted that the issue of fraudulent personal injury claims perpetrated on insurance companies is a problem but questioned its extent.

"[Fraud] should be taken very seriously but I fail to see it as centre stage in personal injury claims. The insurance industry's own figures show that," he noted. "If it was as big a problem it would be raised more often [in claims]".

The minister continued by saying that accusations of fraud have in the past been "used as a weapon" by insurers.

LASPO effect

The shadow justice minister suggested that, with evidence of increases in litigants in person and the number of court closures, we are just starting to see the true effects of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO).

"LASPO may have pleased the government and the insurance industry but it has done little for injured claimants."

He continued: "Access to justice is important. We need to arrest the crisis in legal aid."

Slaughter also suggested that the recent Mesothelioma Act 2014 was an "indictment" as to how the government has behaved to injured people. "It was a seedy deal between the government and the insurance industry," he said.

Claimant lawyers have previously condemned the legislation that has been described as being heavily in favour of the insurance industry and leaving victims and their families 'short-changed'.

Judicial review

Turning to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, Slaughter stated that judicial review will be "completely hobbled" if it is forced through by the government.

"This is a sustained attack on the justice system and the legal profession. While it is not the government's job to find work for lawyers, it is its job to uphold the rule of law," he said.

The government's recent defeat in the House of Lords comes following calls from the legal profession and a host of charities who warned peers that Grayling's restrictions on access to judicial review would have a 'chilling effect' on those seeking justice. The Bill is set to return to the House of Commons for further debate in December.

The minister concluded by issuing a warning to the government on the long term effects of its attack on the legal profession: "We risk devaluing a premium brand which is important to Britain's standing in the world."

John van der Luit-Drummond is legal reporter for Solicitors Journal