Theos Report on Justice

The latest report from Theos has just been published.

Andrew Caplen and David McIlroy, “Speaking Up” – Defending and Delivering Access to Justice Today (London: Theos, 2015).

Here’s the blurb:

‘The rule of law is absolutely foundational to any fair society. But the rule of law is not enough if that law is only accessible to those with sufficient funds. For justice to be done, people need to have access to justice. This essay argues that recent government changes to legal aid are putting access to justice at risk.

‘Written from an openly Christian perspective, it argues that there is a deep tradition within Christian scriptures not only on law – that much is clear from even a cursory reading of the Bible – but also equality before the law, universality of access, the need for legal advocacy, and the impartial administration of justice. Without these, no society can be a good society.

‘This being so, the authors argue that Christians ought to be concerned with recent changes to legal aid, the effect of which is likely to be on the most disadvantaged in our society. In the longer term it threatens social cohesion, accountability of public bodies and powerful private individuals, and the rule of law.

‘Christians have long seen healing, teaching, comforting and supporting others as key areas of their mission. Speaking Up argues that justice is no less important than any of these, and that Christians should seek to provide access to justice and to protect it where they can.’

A pdf of the full report is available here.