Solicitors and barristers on strike in fees dispute

Criminal solicitors and criminal barristers in Northern Ireland are taking part in a one-day strike as part of a dispute over legal aid fees.

The Criminal Bar Association said that legal aid rates for lawyers, when adjusted for inflation, have plummeted between 47% and 58% since 2005.

The body added that strike action is a "last resort" because the system of criminal aid has reached "crisis point", and called on the Justice Minister to urgently remedy the situation.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the move as it was continuing to push for more funding.

Legal aid for criminal court cases allows representation in a criminal case.

These cases usually take place in the Magistrates' Courts or Crown Court.

Monday's strike action will see barristers refusing instructions in Category A crown court cases, such as murder and manslaughter.

They will also refuse instructions in any retrials in respect of all cases which follow on from hung juries or appeals.

There are warnings that further strike action may follow unless there is an immediate increase in criminal legal aid fees.

Geraldine Hanna, commissioner designate for victims of crime, said that it will be victims who "bear the cost" of the industrial action.

Ms Hanna said some victims and witnesses received calls late last week to let them know their case would be further delayed.

"That level of additional stress and harm was avoidable, and we need to avoid anything like that happening again in the future," she told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

Ms Hanna added the work of criminal barristers and solicitors is "extremely demanding" and recognised they should be paid "fairly and in a timely way".

She said there is further action planned, but encouraged those involved to "get around the table" to discuss the issues.

"Until this dispute is resolved, all parties need to have the needs of victims and witnesses front and centre of their decision making and planning," Ms Hanna added.

The Law Society in Northern Ireland, the professional body for solicitors, warned that the criminal justice system will collapse if action is not urgently taken.

It added solicitors can no longer afford to undertake criminal legal aid cases at current fee levels.

"The Law Society... is aware of the growing frustration on the part of criminal defence solicitors due to the failure to increase legal aid fees and delays in payments for work already completed," a statement said.

The body called on Justice Minister Naomi Long to take action.

Chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland Donal Lunny KC told BBC News NI that his colleagues "fully empathise" with any hurt caused to victims.

He added: "We would say that the victims, more than anybody else, should be concerned about the state of our criminal legal aid system.

"At the minute, it is so poorly funded that there is a real risk that we'll get to a point where either innocent people are being convicted, or guilty people are being acquitted. And both of those things should concern victims."

A statement from the DoJ said: "It is well-known the Department of Justice has been consistently underfunded and the fallout from such underfunding is now being realised.

"The Bar is aware that the Department has been working to secure a more sustainable budget and additional funding has been secured this year to meet the current pressures."

The department added that pressures were at an "all-time high" in 2023/2024 when the Legal Services Agency, an executive agency of the DoJ, paid out about £114m to legal professionals.

It said it was the "highest level of payment in the history of legal aid".

"The department will continue to push hard for more funding to address the underfunding issues across justice," it added.