Sir, – You editorialise (June 29th) on the urgent need for a legal aid system that is fit for purpose. May I suggest that problems with our legal system go well beyond that of unequal access?
Even those who can access our legal system will find that their cases reach the courts years after the event which gave rise to the litigation, the court hearings can take weeks and in some cases months, and there are not infrequently further lengthy waits for judgment.
Peter R de Vries was shot and killed in Amsterdam last July. The trial of those charged in connection with his killing started on June 7th (World News, June 8th). The prosecution’s closing arguments were delivered at the end of the first day of the trial. Another day the following week was to be given over to the defence case. Judgment is expected on July 14th, less than a year after the killing.
While acknowledging that the legal systems are different, is there something for us to learn here?
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Our learned friends may not be in favour of greater efficiency in our courts but those of us who pay the legal bills might want our elected representatives to take a look. – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
