Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) has responded to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation on implementing increases to selected court and tribunal fees.

The CCUA has said for many years that the funding model for the civil courts is fundamentally flawed. As a necessary function of the state, which may be called upon by any individual or business within England and Wales at any time, there seems to be absolutely no reason why the tax payer should not bear a large responsibility for covering the costs, to the benefit of society as a whole. Instead, we have arrived at a system where the courts are largely financed by the private sector, particularly the financial services sector.

As well as being unfair, the system presents substantial access to justice issues. With this in mind, the CCUA has been calling for some time for a full review of court funding and continues to do so (see our recent response to the inquiry into the work of the County Court here).

Download our full response to the consultation on increasing selected court and tribunal fees here.