'No-win, no-fee' changes announced by Ken Clarke

Changes to "no win, no fee" cases in England and Wales have been announced by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.

He told the Commons that lawyers would no longer be able to claim "success fees" from the losing side, and should instead receive a share of the damages. The government says it hopes the changes will act as a disincentive to anyone bringing "spurious cases".

But shadow justice secretary Sadique Khan warned they "could restrict access to justice" for poorer claimants. The proposals follow a review carried out by Lord Justice Jackson in 2010 at the request of the previous government.

The judge found huge rises in civil litigation costs in England and Wales in recent years and said reforms could save people millions.

According to the BBC's legal correspondent, Clive Coleman, critics say the scheme can encourage unscrupulous lawyers to take frivolous accusations to court. Mr Clarke told the Commons that he wanted to restore "proportion and confidence" in the justice system.

"We plan to end the recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums, which drive legal costs, award claimants a 10% uplift in general damages where they have suffered loss, and then ensure that they take an interest in controlling the bills being run up on their behalf by expecting them to pay their own lawyer's success fee," he said. The proportion of any damages that can be taken by lawyers will be capped at 25%.

The justice secretary said he believed "no win, no fee" was one of the reasons for recent increases in the cost of car insurance, and he hoped the planned changes would help drive premiums down.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC