MoJ's libel plans defeated for being rushed and inadequate, says Law Society

1 April 2010

Government plans to change the way libel cases are paid for have been voted down in Parliament due to the hurried and inadequate nature by which the proposals were put together, says the Law Society.

Following last night's defeat of the Draft Conditional Fee Agreements (Amendment) Order 2010 in the Commons' First Delegated Legislation Committee, the Law Society has said that the reforms were subject to very rushed consultation process and inadequate research and has called for more substantial research and consultation to take place before further proposals are put to the house.

Law Society President Robert Heslett says:

"The Government attempted to rush this through without considering the full impact of the proposals. Prior to the vote the relevant committees in the House of Lords and Commons criticised them. This defeat is a clear message to the Ministry of Justice to return to the drawing board and listen to the concerns of the legal professions and other stakeholders.

"This is an example of why better law-making is essential to our legal system, a principle which is central to the Law Society manifesto, Delivering Justice. Attempting to rush legislation, delegated or otherwise, through Parliament fails to consider the impact it can have."

The CFA Order amended current legislation to reduce lawyer success fees in libel cases from 100 per cent to 10 per cent. The Law Society, Lords and MPs had criticised the CFA Order, particularly the reduction to a 10 per cent success fee, the consequences of which could be that only the wealthy and powerful could protect their privacy and reputation.

The Society has said that while there might be scope to reduce the fee from 100 per cent, the matter would require far more detailed consultation and assessment before being put to Parliament again.

Notes:

Details of the House of Commons debate on the issue can be found at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmgeneral/deleg1/100330/100330s01.htm