Justice At 60

Authored by Andrea Coomber Director, Justice and Rosemary Ioannou Senior Counsel, Vannin Capital

As a dispute resolution funding company, Vannin Capital works with leading lawyers and experts across the globe funding complex, high value disputes. The cases we fund are often at the forefront of legal developments. While Vannin is a commercial organisation, often an important by- product of our work is access to justice for claimants who have strong valuable claims but do not have the resources to pursue them. However, by the very nature of the claims we fund - normally large commercial disputes - there are a very significant number of claims for which our funding is not suitable.

In a thriving democratic society, now more than ever, the importance of access to justice and preservation of the rule of law is something that needs to be cherished and preserved. JUSTICE strives to achieve just that, for the benefit of those it represents directly and inevitably, indirectly through its work, the whole legal community. This should be something that is applauded, and encouraged by all of us.

Andrea Coomber, director at JUSTICE, talks about its important work and how it has evolved as it approaches its diamond anniversary.

MAKING IT TO 60

In June, JUSTICE celebrated its 60th anniversary. Set up in 1957 by a group of eminent British jurists - as headed by former Nuremberg prosecutor Hartley Shawcross - JUSTICE was founded to 'uphold and strengthen the principles of the rule of law... to assist in the administration of justice and in the preservation of the fundamental liberties of the individual'. I became the Director of JUSTICE four years ago and it is this mission that frames our work still.

Very few charities make it to 60, or even fewer have anywhere near the impact of JUSTICE. While the organisation has a very modest public profile, we are well known among policy makers and senior judges, with our work having shaped the legal landscape of this country. So much of what we all take for granted in the legal system - the Ombudsman, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Ministry of Justice itself - were borne of JUSTICE's recommendations over the years. JUSTICE campaigned for many years for the incorporation into UK law of the European Convention on Human Rights, was a driver of the Human Rights Act 1998 and was charged with training our judges on human rights upon its adoption. JUSTICE is a lead intervener in the UK Supreme Court and in the European Court of Human Rights, where our third-party interventions provide...