CONSTITUTONAL REFORM AT OXFORD

Great timing ensured that the LDLA's annual conference at Jesus College, Oxford, in March enjoyed a good start. Certainly it was always clear that the European Constitution would be at the heart of the political agenda this Spring. But no one could have predicted, when the conference programme was fixed and the speakers invited, that in the few weeks leading up to the conference the Government's entire constitutional reform programme would be derailed in Parliament. The Constitutional Reform Bill, with its proposals for a Supreme Court, a Judicial Appointments Commission and the abolition of the Lord Chancellor, was dispatched by the House of Lords to a Select Committee. In consequence, the

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Text Box: 80 CLUB LECTURE 2004
“Changing the Constitution: the Executive, the Judiciary and the John Adams Problem”

This year's Lecture will be given by The Rt Hon Lord Justice Keene on Wednesday 23 June 2004 at 6.30 pm at Portcullis House, Bridge Street, London SW1A 2LW (Attlee Suite) followed by a drinks reception. Please e-mail Jo Jackson if you would like a ticket (joldlaadsec@aol.com). Admission £5.

If you would like to join Lord Justice Keene and committee members for dinner in Portcullis House, please notify Jo Jackson.

OXFORD CONFERENCE (continued)

Government felt unable to pursue its proposals for stop-gap reform of the House of Lords, to abolish the remaining hereditary peers' right to sit in Parliament and to alter the process of appointment to the Upper House. In defeating the Government on the Constitutional Reform Bill, peers powerfully made the point that far-reaching constitutional reforms need much more careful consideration than the proposals received when they were announced at the time of the Government reshuffle last summer. Three Liberal Democrat peers, Lords Maclennan, Goodhart and Holme, are members of the Select committee (two of them, Bob Maclennan and Willie Goodhart, are LDLA members).

The opening session of the Oxford Conference, on the draft European Constitution, was led by Lord Maclennan, who was one of the Liberal Democrat members of the European Convention, which drew up the document, and Dr Sharon Bowles, who is a European patent attorney and Number 3 on the List of European Parliamentary candidates for the South East. The central points of discussion in the session were the extent to which the draft constitution strengthened the role of the European Parliament within the Union and the role of National Parliaments in relation to proposed legislation. Members were also concerned by the degree to which the debate in the country has been hijacked by ill-informed comment in the press attributing to the draft constitution proposals to transfer power towards the European institutions, which are simply not contained in the document.

Lord Newby and Professor Tony Bradley were the main speakers in the session on the reform of the House of Lords and led a lively discussion on what would happen following the Government's retreat on its proposals for a fully appointed House. The consensus was that ultimately the Government would have to concede on the question of elected members and would agree to direct elections for at least half the House. The powers of the House of Lords and the balance between the two Houses of Parliament were also debated.

The reform of the legal system was the subject of the third session of the conference. Lord Goodhart QC gave an account of the present position on the proposals for the Supreme Court and the Judicial Appointments commission, which Liberal Democrats broadly supported, and for the abolition of the Lord Chancellor's office. Professor Jeffrey Jowell QC raised a number of important questions relating to the Attorney General's role. Should the Government's main legal adviser be a serving member of the Cabinet? Should his or her advice be private? Members believed there was a strong argument for a far more independent Attorney-General giving legal advice which would be in the public domain.

After dinner on the Saturday night, the guest speaker, Professor Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government at Oxford, advanced the proposition that “Constitutional Reform is Not Enough” and argued for much more citizens' involvement in democracy at all levels. In particular he favoured extensive use of referenda. His speech was followed by a lively discussion.

On the Sunday morning, Simon Hughes MP left his campaigning in London to join Lord Phillips in leading a discussion on Citizens' Democracy. Emphasising the importance of local involvement, both speakers and members discussed ways of developing people's interest in participating in decision-making both within their communities and in the wider political framework.

SOUTHPORT FRINGE SEES LIVELY DEBATE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The LDLA's fringe meeting on domestic violence at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Southport was enlivened by a sharp divergence of views between the two main speakers. Kate Cook, a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University , broadly welcomed the Go.0vernment's proposals to bring domestic violence into the criminal justice system. She argued that this would increase the effectiveness of the police's response to domestic violence and would be instrumental in increasing support for victims by other agencies. District Judge John Robinson, on the other hand, argued that the present system of bringing offenders before the civil courts for injunctions enabled redress to be obtained extremely quickly and effectively, from specialist courts, and without the threat for victims that by acting they would be depriving their children of a father and breadwinner. He believed that committal proceedings constituted a powerful and effective sanction for breach of injunctions. Equally divergent views were expressed by members in discussion. There were those who felt that many victims were unprepared to go to the police or to give oral evidence in a criminal court and others who pointed to the difficulty of arranging and funding representation for injunction proceedings. If there was anything approaching a consensus it was that both systems were necessary to give actual and potential victims the widest possible protection from the scourge of domestic violence.

DAVID HEATH SPEAKS AT ANNUAL DINNER

The Association's Annual Dinner was held at the National Liberal Club on 26 January. The guest speaker was David Heath MP, who had recently been appointed as the Party's spokesman on legal affairs in the House of Commons. David Heath committed himself to resisting the trend towards authoritarianism by Government that has been the hallmark of the approach to legal affairs adopted by this and the previous Conservative Government. The Hon Sue Baring, recently retired as Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights, proposed the toast to “Justice for All”.

Follow-up on the Oxford Conference

• An article by Sharon Bowles in Liberal Democrat News (23 April 2004) has set out “Ten Points” on the European Constitution, designed to enable candidates and party members to argue the case for the European Constitution accurately and positively.

• The LDLA has submitted detailed evidence to the Select Committee on the Constitutional Reform Bill. This reflected the work of the LDLA Working Group on Constitutional Reform chaired by Jonathan Marks and considerable re-drafting and up-dating work by Joanna Shaw. Copies of the evidence are available by e-mail from Jo Jackson on joldlaadsec@aol.com or on our website at : www.libdemlawyers.org.uk

ACCESS TO JUSTICE WORKING GROUP MAKES LEGAL AID PROPOSALS

• After six months' work, the LDLA Working Group on Access to Justice is about to publish its proposals for the civil legal aid system in a paper entitled “A Right to Justice”. It is intended that these should form the basis of a motion for submission to the Party's Autumn Conference. The paper gives a detailed account of how the system has failed since the implementation of the Access to Justice Act under the heading “Labour's Failed Access to Justice Policy”. The paper then goes on to explain the Liberal Democrat approach. Starting from the principles that the civil justice system should serve the whole of society and that no-one should be without legal help in respect of his or her individual rights through an inability to afford it, the Working Group makes a number of detailed proposals. Among the most important of these are:

an overall increase in the legal aid budget to ensure that reasonable access to justice is restored across the country.
that the resources available for civil legal aid should not be reduced by the increasing demands of criminal legal aid and asylum cases.
that resources should be limited by setting sensible criteria as to who should qualify for legal aid, not by discretionary rationing as at present.
that the present bureaucracy controlling contract holders should be reduced.

that the contracting system for solicitors and other agencies should be replaced by a more flexible system of service-led arguments.
that lawyers' remuneration should be set at levels which are sufficient to enable firms to recruit and retain competent professionals.
that we should establish a countrywide network of call centres and advice centres (Community Justice Centres).
that publicly funded legal representation should be available before tribunals as well as courts

The members of the Working Group are: The Hon Sue Baring, former Chair, British Institute of Human Rights, Sue Bucknall, Director, Solicitors Pro Bono Group, Jo Hayes, Barrister, Jonathan Marks QC (Chair), Richard Miller, Director, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, Liberal Democrat Peer and solicitor, James Sandbach, (rapporteur), Social Policy Adviser (Legal Affairs), Citizens Advice.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

	23 June 2004 19-23 September 2004	80 Club Lecture ( see page 1) Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference, Bournemouth (Likely debate on Access to Justice) 6.15 pm Tralee Hotel, Waterford Lower LDLA Fringe Meeting (details to be announced ) AGM Annual Dinner

	22 September 2004

	December 2004

	January 2005