Does the argument for court charges still hold up after the Supreme Court ruling?

This week legal issues crossed political lines at the Conservative party conference. In a conference speech, Justice Minister Dominic Raab accepted that the government had got it wrong over imposing employment tribunal fees, causing claim numbers to plummet.

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to scrap these fees as it has a duty to ensure people have ‘unimpeded access’ to courts.

Distinction between tribunal fees and county court fees

In their ruling, the Supreme Court made a distinction between employment tribunal fees and county court fees. They suggested that county court fees were less of a deterrent, as they were designed to increase according to the value of the claim.

Minister Raab agreed with their position and the principle of ‘user pays’ which has proved controversial with much of the legal profession.

This is where legal and political issues intersect.

Government budgets are tight and like many other departments, the Justice department is looking for reasonable ways to ask the user of a public service to contribute some of the cost, reducing the burden on the taxpayer.

Does everyone deserve their day in court?

This is certainly a tricky issue. On the one hand, of course, we want to allow everyone access to take their case to court if it is really needed. It shouldn’t only be a benefit for the privileged few who can afford it.

However, court cases can be time-consuming, hugely expensive and emotionally draining for everyone involved.

I think the fact that the fees are high is a huge deterrent to issuing proceedings – reflected in the increasing number of Mediations I see taking place before issue. This has got to be a good thing – bringing more cases to a quicker, more effective resolution where everyone can benefit and move on with their lives.

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