Good morning. I would like to thank the convener and the committee for inviting me here today to talk about my petition on access to justice for all. I felt compelled to raise the petition primarily due to my personal experience of trying to access justice and, through that, the realisation that there is a major failing in how the justice system operates, specifically in defamation cases.
Under current legislation, defamation cases are excluded from legal aid other than in very exceptional circumstances. Justice is about fairness and impartiality: regardless of the nature of the case, justice should be accessible to all. If a case is deemed to be of public interest when it goes through the court process, there must be provision in place for people like me who try to challenge a decision, but are prevented from doing so because legal aid is refused purely on the ground of the nature of the case. The right of appeal serves very little purpose if it is not accessible to everyone who goes through the court system.
No innocent person should ever be left in a position of being found guilty and wrongfully punished with no means of challenging the decision, whether it be a criminal or a civil matter. The validity of every decision should be of equal merit to the justice system and there should be no discrimination. A person’s inability to fund an appeal should never be a barrier to accessing justice, because that can be described only as prejudiced and unethical. The knowledge that a court decision is wrong is devastating in its own right, but for a person to be unable to challenge the decision because they cannot afford to do so is immoral and makes a total mockery of what the justice system stands for. All cases go through the same justice system; therefore, equal rights should apply in trying to take up the right of appeal.
What is the purpose of legal aid? Surely it is to enable people who do not otherwise have the financial means to do so to pursue their right to justice. Why should defamation cases be different to other cases? History proves that human error occurs in all aspects of the justice system, and it is immoral that innocent people are left to stand alone in their fight, very often for many years, before the truth is eventually heard. It is even worse for people who are not afforded the opportunity to have the judgment of the court scrutinised. Surely a court decision should be reached on logic, not luck, and on evidence, not opinion. To reach a court decision that is based on the balance of probabilities and from the perspective of one sheriff does not guarantee justice.
How many members of the public are actually aware of the failings and inadequacies within the system, which leaves people open to the very real risk of suffering an injustice? In my meetings and conversations with professionals within the legal, justice and law enforcement professions, those failings are acknowledged and, it would seem, widely accepted as being just the way the system operates.
Although those people are part of the system, they seem to be powerless to take any action to make changes to improve the modus operandi. On a personal note, while trying to access justice, I felt that the many words of sympathy I received, along with the standard response of “seek legal advice”, were of no benefit whatever. To be advised by people from within the system that the truth is not always heard in court, and that a different sheriff may take a different view of the evidence and reach a different decision, is of no consolation to anyone who has suffered an injustice. Words are easy to speak, but unless provision is in place to allow everyone—with no exception—to have access to justice, the words are meaningless.
Every taxpayer has their own views on how their taxes should be spent, what is worth while and what is a waste. While my petition was open for signatures, I received some very negative responses. I would challenge any of those people, and anyone else who is of the same opinion, to continue to hold their current views if they had injustice inflicted upon them. I am confident that they would reconsider and that their opinions would change. I, too, am a taxpayer and I—along with others who have suffered injustice—should be afforded the same protection as every citizen of this country.
For a justice system to be healthy, all of its aspects must be transparent, open to scrutiny and accessible to the people who depend on its integrity. Only then will the public have faith and confidence in the justice system and believe that it is more than just a lottery. For the reasons that I have outlined, I urge the committee to support my petition to have the law changed to guarantee access to justice for all.