legal aid review response recommendation 18

Summary

The requester asked the Treasury for information regarding engagement with the Isle of Man Law Society on pro bono legal schemes following a 2013 court recommendation. The Treasury responded that the information is not held because work on the Legal Aid review recommendations has not yet commenced.

Key Facts

• The request concerns Legal Aid review recommendation 18 regarding pro bono legal representation.
• The Treasury does not hold the requested information as work on the recommendations has not started.
• The refusal was issued under section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The request references a 2013 Family Court judgment (FAM 2013/0090) by Deemster Corlett.
• The Treasury cannot provide an estimated start date for the work on these recommendations.

Data Disclosed

• 3977171
• 2024-07-16
• 2024-08-23
• August 2022
• 1 million minutes
• FAM 2013/0090
• 16 October 2013
• section 11(3)(a)

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information not held)

Original Request

Please supply any and all information related to engagement with the Isle of Man Law Society in relation to a pro bono pledge and/or a formal pro bono legal support and legal representation scheme in the over 1 million minutes from August 2022 to date given literally 1 handful of relevant references to the phrase "pro bono" in thousands of cases, what appears to be an absence of a standardised format in judgments to state "pro bono" in the header and what appears to be an entirely disregarded judgment in the family court by Deemster Corlett FAM 2013/0090 dated 16 October 2013 that stated: https://www.judgments.im/content/J1436.htm .... 64. One final matter has caused me concern. It is unfortunate, to say the least, that neither parent had the benefit of legal representation. In the father's case, this was, I understand, simply a matter of affordability. It is unclear why the mother did not have legal representation. Legal representation in family cases invariably has the effect of improving the court process and of enabling the court to focus on the essentials of a case. It is perhaps a matter for the Isle of Man Law Society to implement a formal pro bono representation scheme to ensure that those in the position of the parties before me in this case have the benefit of legal representation in matters of such fundamental importance.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information
Seyrsnys Fysseree

The Treasury Government Office,
Douglas Isle of Man, IM1 3PU

Telephone: (01624) 685605 Email: FOI.Treasury@gov.im

Government Website: www.gov.im

Our ref: 3977171 23 August 2024

Dear ###,

We write further to your request received 16 July 2024, in relation to the Legal Aid review recommendation 18, which states:

"Please supply any and all information related to engagement with the Isle of Man Law Society in relation to a pro bono pledge and/or a formal pro bono legal support and legal representation scheme in the over 1 million minutes from August 2022 to date given literally 1 handful of relevant references to the phrase "pro bono" in thousands of cases, what appears to be an absence of a standardised format in judgments to state "pro bono" in the header and what appears to be an entirely disregarded judgment in the family court by Deemster Corlett FAM 2013/0090 dated 16 October 2013 that stated:

https://www.judgments.im/content/J1436.htm
.... 64. One final matter has caused me concern. It is unfortunate, to say the least, that neither parent had the benefit of legal representation. In the father's case, this was, I understand, simply a matter of affordability. It is unclear why the mother did not have legal representation. Legal representation in family cases invariably has the effect of improving the court process and of enabling the court to focus on the essentials of a case. It is perhaps a matter for the Isle of Man Law Society to implement a formal pro bono representation scheme to ensure that those in the position of the parties before me in this case have the benefit of legal representation in matters of such fundamental importance."

Our response to your request is as follows:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Treasury does not hold the information you have requested. Therefore, as previously advised, we need to apply a practical refusal reason to your request under section 11(3)(a) of the Act (information not held). The reason for this is because the work has not yet commenced on the Legal Aid review recommendations and we are unable to offer any advice or assistance as to when this work is expected to start.

Please quote the reference number 3977171 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.