Danger of high legal bills must be reduced, warns judge

[lovuian]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/25/law?gusrc=rss&feed=environment

A senior High Court judge has called for an overhaul of the court costs system in environmental cases because ordinary people were being denied their right to challenge decisions affecting their lives.

Only the 'very rich or very poor' could afford to fight environmental schemes imposed by the government or local authorities, said Mr Justice Sullivan, who chaired an independent investigation.

The European Commission has asked the government to provide a detailed response to the Sullivan report, called 'Ensuring access to environmental justice in England and Wales'. It said it was concerned by the 'failure of the United Kingdom' to provide details showing court access was 'fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive'.
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Unless the government ensures legal action is more affordable, it will be guilty of breaching the Aarhus Convention, an international convention on citizens' environmental rights which is ratified by the European Community.
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