A reader on resourcing civil justice - A. A Paterson

The readings included in this book consider the philosophical issues and the sociological questions raised by the development of legal aid of different advanced capitalist economies and the social policy issues such as the present crisis in legal aid. For the last two hundred years the notion of equality under the law has been one of the theoretical underpinnings of the democratic state. Yet it remains an unfulfilled aspiration amid legal systems which award those with wealth, knowledge and stamina and exclude those unable to pay for lawyers. This book is about why and how states should subsidize legal services for their citizens. What contribution has socio-legal scholarship made to the debate about this issue? Its best known contribution is in providing empirical data to underpin social policy. It is also able to raise fundamental questions which are so often ignored in the immediacy of policy debates. Why should the state provide legal aid? Why do states develop legal aid systems? And who do they benefit? Answering these questions involves drawing on a wide range of sources.