Law Reform, Policy and Regulation

A study into the future of the Scottish Legal System following the UK's decision to leave the European Union

Grant: £8,200
June 20, 2018

Undertake a study into how leaving the European Union will affect Scots law and the Scottish Legal System.

LAG Digital expansion project

Grant: £16,340
June 20, 2018

Supporting the implementation of LAG's "digital first" publishing strategy.

Mapping the UK’s responsibility for human rights in British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories

Grant: £10,000
June 20, 2018

Mapping the constitutional arrangements between the UK and its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories in terms of international human rights obligations and responsibilities, and supporting subsequent evidence-based policy engagement on these issues.

Youth Justice Legal Centre

Grant: £70,000
January 12, 2018

This is the second year of the establishment of The Youth Justice Legal Centre (YJLC). A centre of excellence on youth justice legal issues in England and Wales.

YJLC provides:

• Policy and lobbying work to ensure youth justice becomes a legal specialism and to safeguard children’s rights in youth justice;
• A dedicated website (www.yjlc.uk) with comprehensive information, legal resources and best practice guides for lawyers, judges, magistrates, youth offending teams, professionals, children and families;
• A favourable environment to nurture a community of lawyers and other professionals working in youth justice;
• Training on youth justice issues for lawyers and non legal professionals working with children;
• Specialist legal advice line for children, youth offending team, the judiciary and lawyers.

YJLC aims to:

• Improve standards of youth justice legal representation;
• Ensure youth justice is recognised as a specialist area of law.

Law in the making: enabling domestic abuse survivors’ study of the law during the passage of the DVA Bill

Grant: £70,000
November 13, 2017

The government will consult on the Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) Bill – which aims to consolidate, improve and extend legal provisions for survivors of domestic abuse. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a step change in the identification of and response to domestic abuse. As the national organisation representing domestic abuse services in England and working alongside sister organisations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Women’s Aid is in a unique position to lead the sector’s response.

Domestic abuse survivors rely heavily on the law – for many, it forms an essential part of their escape from a violent perpetrator. It is therefore vital that survivors’ voices and experiences are at the heart of primary law reform and the new statutory regulations and guidance that will link to the new Act, and that survivors and the services who support them understand the impact of those changes.

In order to engage survivors of domestic abuse in the development of the DVA Bill, we will trial a real-time study of the law using the Bill by a group of survivors. This will increase their knowledge of the law-making process and the resulting Act of Parliament.

Wales Civil Society Forum on Brexit (Wales-CSFB)

Grant: £97,613
November 13, 2017

Wales-CSFB will focus on Welsh civil society’s engagement in Brexit. It has two key, mutually supportive aspects.

The first is to support civil society groups (CSGs) to engage actively in debate and inform decision-making around Brexit, by providing reliable and accessible legal expertise, timely information and a co-ordinating role.

The second is to inform academic work on civil society engagement with Brexit. This aspect will facilitate tailored legal expertise on Brexit for civil society in Wales. It will include a baseline statement of legal challenges and opportunities for civil society from Brexit. Academic work will be informed by insights from civil society on communities’ experience of debates around and consequences of Brexit.

The project is a partnership between the Wales Governance Centre (WGC) at Cardiff University and Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).

Understanding delegated legislation for Brexit and beyond

Grant: £91,188
November 13, 2017

There is set to be a gap in the legislative delivery of Brexit, namely poor understanding of delegated legislation among organisations whose interests Brexit-related delegated legislation will affect. This project addresses this gap by widening access to delegated legislation information and training from the Hansard Society.

The use of delegated legislation is central to the government’s plans for the legislative delivery of Brexit, as shown in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. Delegated legislation will be central to Brexit’s policy content. However, understanding of the delegated legislation process is low across all sectors of society. This is a significant barrier to business and civic engagement with the Brexit legislative process.

The future of UK criminal justice – securing human rights post-Brexit

Grant: £45,353
November 13, 2017

This project will enable UK legal experts, with a long track-record of EU criminal justice experience, to remain engaged in the Legal Experts Advisory Panel (LEAP) in order to:

1. Inform the shape of criminal justice in post-Brexit UK and the nature of the UK’s criminal justice co-operation with Member States; and
2. Sustain relationships between UK experts and counterparts in Europe vital to protecting the rights of defendants in cross-border cases.

With a decade’s experience informing policy and defending fundamental rights in the UK and Europe, British LEAP members have an important role to play during Brexit negotiations and beyond, particularly as it is likely that on-going security co-operation across borders will make continued engagement with European counterparts essential.

Administrative Justice Council (AJC)

Grant: £25,000
November 13, 2017

The provision of a secretariat function to UK’s only advisory body on administrative justice, bringing together senior representatives of the judiciary, civil service, government, ombudsmen and end user organisations to improve decisions, complaints and appeals across critical areas including immigration, asylum, social security, housing, education, health care, planning and tax. Those affected by the system include some of most vulnerable in society: asylum seekers, immigrants, those in social housing and/or claiming benefits, people with disabilities or special educational needs, prisoners, pensioners and victims of police misconduct.

The AJC will be under-pinned by JUSTICE’s research and policy capacity and supported pro bono by a number of law firms. Acting as a liaison between Government, the judiciary and users of the administrative justice system, the Council would aim to fulfil its predecessor’s information sharing function whilst adding a more problem-solving and policy-influencing dimension.

Supported by the Ministry of Justice, led by Sir Ernest Ryder and managed by JUSTICE, this initiative will sit alongside current and future administrative justice work.

Securing an inclusive and effective Domestic Violence & Abuse Act

Grant: £61,734
November 13, 2017

The Queen’s Speech in June 2017 announced a new Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill (DV&A Bill). It is critical that this legislation is inclusive, addressing the needs and realities of all women victims of domestic abuse in England, including BME victims and non-UK citizens, and remedies the weaknesses of the current legal and policy framework.

Through this project, Sisters For Change will:

• Provide legal education and technical legal support to Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) Violence Against Women (VAW) service providers to enable them to participate in the legislative consultation process relating to the Bill.
• Educate Parliamentarians and Government officials about the complexities of domestic abuse, with specific emphasis on BME women victims; the weaknesses of the current legal framework; and priorities for reform.
• Advocate at the national and local level to influence the content of the DV&A Bill and ensure legislation that provides effective protection and support for all women victims.