Fairness and the right to legal aid in asylum and asylum related cases

There is growing evidence that incremental restrictions on the provision of civil legal aid for immigration and asylum matters in the UK, over the past decade, has culminated in an unfair system that denies a number of asylum seekers and refugees effective and fair access to justice. In particular, the barrier to access to justice created by the removal of legal aid for refugee family reunion cases is highlighted. This paper explores the extent to which procedural protections under the European Convention on Human Rights, namely, Articles 6 and 8, and under EU law, require the provision of legal aid in asylum and refugee cases