Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 47


     
     1             for their article 10, freedom of expression."
     2
     3        That does not arise here.  Going to the beginning of the
     4        next paragraph:
     5
     6             "The applicants invoke article 6 of the
     7             Convention, article 14 of the Convention (Wealth
     8             Discrimination) and article 13, alleging a lack
     9             of effective domestic remedies".
    10
    11        My Lord, 13 does not arise here either.
    12
    13             "The applicants seek to distinguish their case
    14             from The Commission's previous case law in which
    15             the absence of legal aid in defamation cases was
    16             not found to breach article 6 of the Convention,
    17             because, in their case, they did not initiate
    18             the defamation proceedings but are the unwilling
    19             defendants in a case brought against them by a
    20             large business.
    21
    22             The law:
    23
    24             (1) The applicants have complained that they are
    25             denied effective access to court by virtue of an
    26             absence of legal aid or simplified procedures
    27             for defamation proceedings and a possible
    28             unlimited nature of an award of damages."
    29
    30        Of course, that last phrase has no application to this
    31        case, as your Lordship knows.
    32
    33             "Article 6.1 of the Convention guarantees a fair
    34             hearing in the determination of civil rights and
    35             obligations and implicitly access to court.
    36             Although the Convention does not guarantee a
    37             right as such to legal aid in civil cases,
    38             effective access to court must be ensured.  The
    39             means by which a state does serve is within its
    40             margin of appreciation.
    41
    42             The Commission has already had occasion to
    43             consider the lack of legal aid for defamation
    44             proceedings in the English legal aid system and
    45             it has held as follows:
    46
    47             The Commission notes that even where" -- and
    48             this is a quotation from an earlier case,
    49             I think the case of Golder --  "The Commission
    50             notes that even where legal aid may be available 
    51             for certain types of civil action it is 
    52             reasonable to impose conditions on its 
    53             availability involving, inter alia, the
    54             financial situation of the litigant or the
    55             prospects of success of the proceedings.  The
    56             Commission considers similarly that given the
    57             limited financial resources of most civil legal
    58             aid schemes it is not unreasonable to exclude
    59             certain categories of legal proceedings from
    60             this form of assistance.  The fact that the

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