Papers to note: Senate report on access to justice

09/12/2009

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee has released its much anticipated report, Access to Justice. The committee did not mince its words. It found that the� Australian legal system is "beset with various weaknesses, some endemic, some deeply rooted".� Fortunately, it found that the system is "afloat", but only due to "a considerable amount of goodwill" on the part of the legal profession. But the report warned that this could "evaporate at any time, creating a crisis in the delivery of legal services and resulting in diminished access to justice for many Australians". View the report>�

The Law Council has backed the committee's findings, but the National Pro Bono Resource Centre has issued a media release saying it had been misquoted as suggesting that all classes of practising certificates should have a mandatory pro bono legal requirement. The transcript of the NPBRC's evidence is available at http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S12430.pdf

**9 December 2009 **