Post by Dan Dare on Dec 29, 2023 16:57:26 GMT
We often see complaints in the correspondence columns of the popular press about the public largesse in the form of Legal Aid lavished upon the undeserving, especially in the case of asylum seekers and foreigners in general. Also Brits such as Shamima Begum who have fallen from public favour.
But is the UK really so generous with such legal hand-outs, when compared with other countries?
Certainly not cry the legal profession who say it is necessary to enable access to justice for those unable to afford to pay for legal expertise. The UK's expenditure on legal aid is totally inadequate, they say, and means we can barely earn a crust when taking on unpopular causes like Shamima or Jahaawir, the young Somali Channel paddler whose asylum claim has just been rejected.
But what's the truth wrt the UK's standing in the international legal aid league table?
As it happens, the UK is not among the most generous if you compare expenditure per capita. On that basis, UK expenditure of €22 per head is less than that of The Netherlands or the Nordic countries which spend between €23 and €35 (Sweden).
On the other hand, if you compare the UK with countries of similar size of population and economy, its legal aid budget is rather bloated. France spends €7, Italy and Spain both 6, and even Germany only 7. For CoE member states as a whole the average spend is €8 per inhabitant.
By this measure the UK is absurdly generous.
Source:European judicial systems CEPEJ Evaluation Report (CoE, 2022)