COURT RULING: LSC contracts held to be private agreements

Legal aid firms are not entitled to use judicial review as an avenue for challenging Legal Services Commission (LSC) decisions in relation to their contracts because they are private agreements, a court has ruled.

The issue arose in the case of Barrat & Co v LSC, where the Wolverhampton firm sought leave to apply for a judicial review when it lost an appeal to the LSC's contract review body over the termination of its criminal contract.

The firm argued that the review body was acting ultra vires and asked the administrative court to allow it to continue working under its contract until arbitration concluded.

Mr Justice Henriques said there was an alternative remedy open to the firm in the form of an injunction, but he also agreed with the LSC that legal aid contracts are not underpinned by statute, so only private law remedies are available.

'The decision under challenge does not involve a choice between competing public interests,' he said.

'It involves a decision as to the private rights of the firm as against the LSC.'

An LSC spokesman said: 'We are very pleased with the judgment.

This decision has confirmed the LSC's position that contracting is a private matter between us and our suppliers.'

Barrat's partner Joginder Singh said it was still pursuing the matter through arbitration.

'Judge Henriques said this was not a matter to be dealt with by judicial review, but this was only a jurisdictional point,' he added.

Paula Rohan