Enhancing the Performance of Tribunals

This is a proposal for enhancing the performance of tribunals. There are two key proposals, which are connected:

1. Using specially trained law students as low cost legal workers to provide legal aid for otherwise unrepresented parties by preparing their case in documented form.
2. Using a simple system of pleading identify the issues and organise the material in the case at the outset. 

Low Cost Legal Workers

There is potentially a low cost but effective form of legal competence available from law students. Many are already working, often in menial jobs. This scheme would offer them part time legal employment in providing legal aid to parties before their tribunal. They would need selective training beforehand; this training could count towards their ultimate professional qualification (law degree, practical legal training course and practical experience). The law students would prepare a party’s case in documentary form for the party to file in the tribunal. In this way the party is represented in that they have a professionally prepared case but without the cost of having a fully qualified lawyer in attendance on them to prepare their case then come to the tribunal to mediate it or to argue it. 

Simple and Effective System of Pleading

Many tribunals do not require pleadings. That is the road to perdition. Contrary to this entrenched practice, this proposal put forward a simple but very logical system of pleadings. It is easy to use and provides a clear and readable account of a case and the issues in the case. The idea is to do this pleading at the outset. As the law students working for a party assemble and organise the party’s case they prepare the relevant pleadings. Once the pleadings are done the pleadings provide a framework for organising the information, and do so from the start of the case. This framework that organises the information provides benefits that accrue at the commencement of the case and continue right through even to the finish of the case (since the framework of information that the pleadings set up can be used by the tribunal to write its judgment).