England: Lord Thomas warns people are being forced to abandon the justice system

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said in his annual report this has resulted in increasing numbers of people representing themselves – causing delays and even more inefficiency in the system.

“Our system of justice has become unaffordable to most,” said Lord Thomas.

“In consequence there has been a considerable increase of litigants in person for whom our current court system is not really designed.”

Among judges, who earn upwards of £99,800 a year, he said there was a “widespread feeling of not being valued or appreciated for their work”.

He added: “Although judges recognise that they are well-paid in comparison to most people, static pay (in real terms, reduced pay) and adverse alterations to pension arrangements … have had a significant impact.”

His own salary is £244,665.

“In addition, there has, overall, been a widespread feeling of not being valued or appreciated for their work.”

He added: “Judges, in common with many other people, feel that the burdens of work imposed on them have increased.

“For example, they are having to handle an ever-increasing quantity of challenging and emotionally-charged cases in family and crime, as well as an increase in litigants in person.”

Government reforms brought in last year mean that judges born after April 1, 1957 will be given smaller pensions than those born earlier, who will remain on the “gold-plated” model which provides for index-linked payments.

He also cited a study by Lord Justice Briggs, a Court of Appeal judge who this week said in a study the lack of access to justice could be “laid at the door of the legal professions.”

Lord Justice Briggs said: “The single, most pervasive and intractable weakness of our civil courts is that they simply do not provide reasonable access to justice for any but the most wealthy individuals, for that tiny minority still in receipt of Legal Aid, for those able to obtain no win no fee agreements with their lawyers, for the few who obtain free advice and representation, and for substantial business entities.

“To any rational observer who values access to civil justice, this is a truly shocking state of affairs.

“Other reasons for the extent of this disproportionality may more fairly be laid at the doors of the legal professions.”

He added solicitors remained the “traditional retainer” of “all relevant services from start to finish” and that direct access to barristers was “still very much the exception rather than the rule”.

Lord Briggs also recommended the establishment of an online court for smaller civil cases.