Since 2010, 263 Courts have closed, including 162 Magistrate Courts, as part of the Government’s £12 billion digital court modernisation programme.
Mr Charalambous claims the Government has failed to protect access to justice, highlighting the high cost and lengthy travel journeys for witnesses, defendants, lawyers and magistrates.
The MP for Enfield Southgate said: “Our legal system can only deliver justice if everyone can fairly access it and engage with it. The fact is that those pursuing local justice now find that it is not so local.”
Reporting on a case from Women’s Aid, he said, “…survivors of domestic abuse have to travel long distances to reach family courts. Aside from dealing with childcare arrangements and the cost of travel, there is a serious safety concern as the perpetrators of the abuse may also be travelling on the same route at the same time due the infrequency of public transport services in those areas. This has the potential to make an already stressful and harrowing experience even worse.”
The debate took place in the House of Commons chamber on Thursday 20th June with a response from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice. Mr Charalambous closed the debate by calling on the Government to fully assess the impact and to halt any further closures.
