Prominent refugee organisation goes into administration

Event Date:

Wednesday, 16 June 2010

The legal charity Refugee and Migrant Justice has gone into administration. Adjustments to the legal aid regime instigated by the previous Labour government, mean that funding received by the organisation only becomes due on completion of the legal work undertaken. This has proved unsustainable for the organisation.

The charity - formally The Refugee Legal Centre - is noted for taking on complex, long-term legal cases, with work sometimes taking in excess of a year to finish. In an era when legal advice is so hard to come by - especially in asylum cases - its demise is a tragedy.

The government has argued that whilst the changes are undesirable, many new contracts have been arranged on this basis. As such, any subsequent alteration would send the system into disarray. In addition to this, the government claims that RMJ has been aware of these proposals for enough time to have made preparations for their effects.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, the Chief Executive of RMJ argued that access to lawyers at an early stage of the appeal process is the key to a speedier, more just and efficient asylum system. Despite the government’s commitment to a more humane asylum system, these measures threaten to fundamentally undermine any future progress.

Prominent figures in the religious and human rights communities, including the Arch-bishop of Canterbury and Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, had added their names to a list of people protesting against these harsh new legal aid measures.

Prominent refugee organisation goes into administration

Prominent refugee organisation goes into administration

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