411 / 736
It cannot be denied that the professions have
much to learn from the techniques of industry in
the management of their affairs. They must be
concerned with putting ability to use. There is,
however, a fundamental difference between busi
ness which is essentially quantitative, concentrating
upon the exploitation of opportunity for the
creation of wants and the professions which are
essentially qualitative in the nature of their pro
duct. To ignore, or even blur this distinction, in
assertive fragmentary criticism is unlikely to
produce any useful result.
Brendan A. McGrath,
President,
Federation of Professional
Associations.
(Published in Leargas the journal of the Irish
Institute of Public Administration).
IS JUSTICE EQUAL ?
In our criminal courts the accused) who is of
course innocent until proved guilty, is seated in
court near his professional representatives and
can confer with them in the same way as any
civil litigant. Nevertheless the persistent question
remains, are the courts, like the Savoy Hotel open
to everyone (who can pay) or is legal protection
of the Courts available to all citizens alike on
reasonable terms ?
Legal
Aid in Criminal Matters
The adequacy of the system of criminal legal
aid established in 1965 can be tested by comparison
with the position in Northern Ireland. The total
expenditure on criminal legal aid in Northern
Ireland in 1968 with a population of 1.5m. was
approximately £60,000. The expenditure in the
Republic with a population of 3m. for the year
ended 31st March, 1969 was less than £10,000.
The budget estimate for legal aid in the Republic
is £20,000 but this amount has never been spent.
The number of legal aid certificates issued in the
Republic for the year ended 31st March 1969 was
251. In Northern Ireland during the year 1968
1,669 certificates were issued. The average fee per
case to solicitors shown in the report on legal aid
and criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland in
1967/8 was £14 in the Magistrates' Courts and £27
in the higher courts and, in addition, in six murder
trials during that year the average cost per case
amounted to £282. The average fee paid to Irish
solicitors per case for all courts in the year ended
31st March 1969 was £13.
The breakdown of the 251 legal aid certificates
issued in the Republic for the year ended 31st
March 1969 was as follows : District Court, 51 ;
Circuit Court, 159 ; Central Criminal Court, 24;
Court of Criminal Appeal, 17. In the City of
Dublin, where there is probably the greatest inci
dence of crime, about 25 solicitors' offices are on
the legal aid panel. They are prepared to accept
retainers when required at the fees authorised by
the regulations. These fees are in the majority of
cases quite uneconomic.
A comparison of the figures in the published
report on legal aid in Northern Ireland and in the
Republic suggests the following alternative con
clusions. The amount of crime in Northern Ireland
may be very much higher than in the Republic. It
is however difficult to understand how it could be
six times as high. Alternatively; persons entitled
to avail of the legal aid service prefer to retain
solicitors outside the scheme. The only remaining
inference is that a number of persons who should
receive legal and and the protection of solicitors
and counsel are deprived of that assistance. If legal
aid in criminal matters is a desired social objctive
it is difficult to defend the present system as
satisfying the need.
Civil Legal Aid
The system operated in England, Scotland and
Northern Ireland is a state subsidised civil legal
aid scheme administered by the legal profession.
This has the advantage of enabling the client to
select his own lawyers and of preserving a strictly
professional and confidential relationship with
them. He is not directed to any bureau or state
controlled agency. He is entitled to precisely the
same rights as the wealthiest citizen availing of the
best available legal services. It would be inconcei
vable that a person accused of a criminal offence
should be restricted to a panel of salaried lawyers
employed by the state for his defence. It would also
be objectionable) though perhaps not to the same
extent, that legal aid in civil matters should be
state administered. The state itself is the most
frequent and powerful litigant in civil matters and
a clash of rights on constitutional and other issues
can frequently arise. It would be entirely inappro-
125