CDS News

The LSC has been holding a series of workshops on the Interests of Justice (IoJ) test. 

The IoJ test determines whether an applicant is entitled to a Representation Order based on the merits of their case (entitlement in the magistrates’ court also depends on passing the means test).

Specialist team

A specialist project team are looking at the IoJ test overall, and aim to evaluate decision making by courts when granting criminal legal aid. They’re also looking to iron out inconsistencies in how the IoJ test is applied across the country.

Workshops

The workshops were set up to gather information about current practices that exist in various courts, in their implementation of the test, and also identify if there are any problem areas.

Representatives from defence practitioners, legal advisers and HMCS administrative officers attended events in Manchester, London, Harrogate and Bristol.

Feedback

All the delegates found it very useful to discuss decision making, processes and the differences that existed between them. This provided an invaluable opportunity to learn from each other.  Administrative officers were identified as a group that would benefit from further training and guidance.

Mike Flanagan, a team manager and Manchester City magistrates’ court said: “The workshop  was interesting and informative, the diversity of the audience i.e. administrative staff, defence solicitors and legal advisers, helped to give us a better insight into problem areas and hopefully will lead to a more consistent approach to the subject."

Project Manager, Sarah Schofield said: “We were aware that there were some differences with regards to the application of the IoJ test but I think the workshops were extremely useful in trying to understand why this may be the case.

“We are now looking at the current guidance that is available on the Consideration of the IoJ Test, to see if that can be improved at all to provide greater clarity for decision makers.”

Further information

For further information, look at the Interests of Justice pages on the LSC website.