Rising court fees risk access to justice

Saturday 14th February 2015

The Law Society has warned that plans to raise civil court fees will deprive individuals of justice. Criticising the MoJ’s plans to raise court fees for cases involving claims above £10,000, the Law Society said that extortionate costs would put people off going to court. Andrew Caplen, president of the professional body of solicitors, said: “We are pressing the government to reverse its decision which will have a far-reaching impact on people who have valid claims.” The Law Society identified personal injury and clinical negligence claims among those most likely to be adversely affected, as well as small businesses which it said could struggle to pursue unpaid invoices. The new fees will amount to 5% of a claim’s value to a maximum of £10,000. The charges could inflate the cost of bringing a lawsuit to court by up to 622%. Stuart Henderson of Irwin Mitchell said that the steep increase in fees will act as “another deterrent” for clients to pursue claims. “There is a myth that there are hundreds of people out there chomping at the bit to get to court, but that is not the case…It’s a very forbidding process for many.”

 

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