As one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy, Plato really was a wily old fox.  To think so much of our modern intellect is based on his teachings, with his dialogues used across a range of subjects, including, philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric and religion.

A number of those subjects, most notably logic and ethics, I’d like to see applied to an area within modern society that I feel is being badly eroded.  It is something which goes to the very fabric of social democracy, equal opportunity and all those great sound bites that are so easily referenced by leaders, be they political or otherwise across all colours, creeds and nationalities – the right to access in a court of law, be that in prosecution, defence or mediation.

It was Plato himself who said ‘Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens’.  How can we have a truly just state if many of its citizens believe they have no access to justice as they don’t have the resource or support to challenge or defend in a court of law?

The reality is as we continue to decimate freedom of access to justice through the restriction of equal opportunity within the law, as a result of legal aid reform, we will never have a truly just state.  In this column I have consistently highlighted the plight of hard working good decent people, who are continually being hit - the increasing challenges for many families to support their children through third level education and the impact of specific areas of welfare reform are two examples.

Access to legal aid and equal opportunity under the law is another. Just to satisfy myself, I looked up the definition of equal opportunity in the dictionary, it said, ‘Equal opportunity is the right to be treated without discrimination especially on the grounds of one's sex, race, or age’.  There was no mention of social class or rights within the law, for me that’s a given within the definition.

The reality is that there are swathes of people here in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK, who will justifiably feel that justice within the courts of the land are simply beyond them – that is wrong and it is creating a two tiered society.

The health service within any modern society and how to best care for the needs of its citizens, will always be a challenge.  There aren’t many countries that have got it exactly right, just look at the problems reform has caused in the US.   However there are many, and the UK is one, which despite its many faults sees a private and public health care system working in tandem together.

This analogy with the healthcare system is not wholly comparable with legal aid, due to the immense pressures the National Health Service works under with the percentage of citizens it supports, but there are lessons to be learned.

We need to redress the debate around this issue, because in all of the discord involved in this process the people who are at the heart of it, and need support, are being left behind.

It appears to me that all discussion around legal aid is dominated by fees paid to the legal profession.  It is never on the system itself, how efficient it is, has technology been embraced, how much it costs to run the system, etc?  When cases are being postponed because a judge is running behind schedule, logic should be applied with a simple email and text alert saving expert witnesses, lawyers, barristers all those required for a court hearing from sitting in corridors and saving in unnecessary fees.   As a just society we must fund suitably experienced specialists in those areas of law that affects the different socio-economic groups, including the most vulnerable in our society, who would not otherwise be able to challenge the actions of institutions and individuals who are in a position of power.

As Baroness Hale, the first woman Justice of the Supreme Court, recently said when speaking at a Young Legal Aid Lawyers’ event, “Legal aid is a service the modern state owes its citizens.  The steady and precipitous erosion of the legal aid and access to justice scheme is one of the great disappointments of my declining years”.  

A very valid point from one of the very few, if not only, sitting judge to make a comment on how to manage a fair and equitable justice system.   The fault I see with the system is that if you do not fall into specific theme set out in law as regards legal aid access then you fall out of the system altogether. These categories in many cases have little bearing on real lives and real situations.

The government is to be commended for introducing policy changes such as curtailing weak judicial review cases, speculative cases, the introduction of Alternative Dispute Resolution as well as improving accountability within the justice system.  However, a properly managed, efficient and sustainable legal aid system must be at the cornerstone of our society because as one of the greatest exponents of the civil rights Martin Luther King said ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.  It is my firm view that restricting access to the justice system is, in itself, unjust.

Claire Aiken is Managing Director of Public Relations and Public Affairs Company, Aiken PR.  This feature first appeared in the Irish News on 4th November 2013