Legal News

Lobbying by the Law Society has resulted in the sell-by date for evidence from domestic abuse victims has been scrapped.

As a result from lobbying by the Law Society, the government is to loosen restrictions which prevent victims of domestic abuse from accessing legal aid for their cases.

Under the current system, to qualify for legal aid victims of domestic abuse have to provide evidence that abuse had occurred within the last 24 months. This rule has meant that when some victim’s cases reached a final hearing, the funding could fall through because the evidence would be considered “out of date”.

The change - found in the Civil and Criminal Legal Aid (Amendment) Regulations 2015 - follows intense lobbying from the Law Society as well as other practitioner groups. This now means that victims of domestic violence will no longer be at risk of being left without the support they require to get justice and break the shackles of abusive relationships.

Regarding the announcement, the Law Society's president, Andrew Caplen, said: 'Legal aid is a lifeline for victims of abuse and access to justice is essential in these cases. The LASPO legal aid cuts have resulted in radical consequences for access to justice with the worst impact affecting the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of society.'

While Caplen said he was pleased the government had fixed the 'unconsidered technicality', more needed to be done to protect vulnerable members of society from from serious injustice.

'The over-strict tests required by the regulations still mean some survivors are excluded from accessing legal aid for family law disputes against an abusive ex-partner or relative, and we hope the MoJ will continue to work with us to resolve these problems,' he added.

Duncan Lewis Domestic Violence Solicitors

Duncan Lewis domestic violence solicitors can advise victims of domestic violence on how to tackle the issues under the law.

Duncan Lewis has offices nationwide and can advise on domestic violence under UK law and Islamic law.

Duncan Lewis can also advise on child abuse, including FGM and forced marriage.

For expert and confidential legal advice on domestic violence, call the Duncan Lewis Domestic Violence Solicitors Helpline on 033 3772 0409.