Charities Critical Of Plans In Criminal Justice And Courts Bill

Government plans to make changes to legislation related to judicial reviews will prevent the public and charities from taking action against plans which could affect the environment, according to a coalition of organisations.

The Wildlife and Countryside Link group, which includes bodies such as the WWF-UK, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and RSCPA, has said the changes in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill could make the legal costs associated with judicial reviews “uncertain and intimidating”.

Debated in the House of Commons this week, justice secretary Chris Grayling suggested the plans were designed to reduce the use of such reviews as a campaign tool or to delay proposals which are legitimate.

However, Matt Shardlow of Buglife and chairman of the Wildlife and Countryside Link’s legal strategy group, said the plans were an attempt at intimidation.

He added: “There is very little evidence that people trying to protect their environment are hindering economic development, and manipulating the justice system to scare them away is unethical and authoritarian.”

Expert Opinion

The Government’s plans in terms of the Criminal Justice And Courts Bill are clearly designed to reduce the number of judicial reviews, and some aspects may act as a significant deterrent. That’s because being faced with the other side’s costs is too much for most campaigners to stomach. There needs to be proper access to justice for all parties. <br/> <br/>"If the proposals see the light of day, the Government may well be facing another round of visits to the Court of Justice of the European Union – just months after being infracted for the limits it has placed on access to justice for environmental campaigners. The Aarhus Convention states that procedures for rights of access to environmental justice must meet various standards, including not being ‘prohibitively expensive’ – and the government needs to be reminded of the obligations it has signed up to in the convention. <br/> <br/>"But the Government may yet listen to reason."