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LASPO 2012: residence test outside the powers of Lord Chancellor
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The Supreme Court
– a seven-justice court consisting of Lord Neuberger Lady Hale Lord Mance Lord Reed Lord Carnwath Lord Hughes and Lord Toulson
– took the unusual perhaps unique step of announcing halfway through a hearing on 18 April 2016 that it will allow an appeal with reasons to follow.
The appeal was by Public Law Project (PLP) as to the
vires of the Lord Chancellor in imposing a residence test for applications for legal aid. It was the first time that the Supreme Court had considered Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012). Their detailed reasons - as explained on the
Supreme Court website – are awaited.
The case reached the Supreme Court after a successful judicial review challenge in a representative application by Public Law Project as
R (ota The Public Law Project) v The Secretary of State for Justice (Office of the Children's Commissioner intervening) [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin) (judgment of 15 July 2014) before the Queen's Bench Divisional Court. That decision was revered in the Court of Appeal:
Public Law Project v... Read the full article here.
