The judgment of the Supreme Court in Coventry v Lawrence (No.3) [2015] UKSC 50 was handed down this morning.
The issue was whether the funding scheme under the Access to Justice Act 1999, which provided for the recoverability of success fees and ATE premiums from unsuccessful defendants, was incompatible with Article 6 and A1P1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
By a majority of 5-2, the Court held that the scheme was compatible with the Convention. It was a rational and coherent scheme for providing access to justice to those to whom it would probably otherwise have been denied, falling within the considerable area of discretionary judgment to which the government was entitled.
Harry Steinberg and Achas Burin were instructed by Harminder Bains of Leigh Day on behalf of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum. Their presentation on the issues in the case can be found in their seminar slides,
Download a copy of the seminar slides here.
Download a copy of the judgment here.
