Administrative Law and Human Rights Standards in Legal Aid: An Overview with Examples from Finland and England & Wales

European Public Law is an English language journal edited at the Institute of European Public Law at the Law School, Hull University. A forum for the discussion of issues in the development of public law, the journal traces the public law of the Member States as it is shaped by the law of the European Union as well as by the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights.

European Public Law provides a detailed analysis of constitutional and administrative law at a crucial stage of European integration and legal development. In its articles, authorities in the field investigate the extent to which the separate systems of public law in each Member State are, notwithstanding their distinct historical and cultural backgrounds, developing a European Public Law in tandem with the law of the European Union Treaty. The journal also examines the public law systems of new Member States.

Without neglecting the more traditional concerns of constitutional and administrative law, the journal explores the emerging constitution of the European Union and the interplay between law and politics. It is concerned with the identification, examination and control of public power as public and private become ever more intertwined. Public law is given a wide interpretation, including the structure of government, judicial review, the conduct of regulatory bodies, redress of grievance through ombudsmen and administrative bodies, protection of human rights and protection against discrimination, openness and transparency, fiscal and monetary policy, and the role of regulation in the contemporary state and the European Union.

In short, the journal embraces the operation and control of government and government agencies, regulation of economic and commercial affairs and relationships between the state and individuals.The majority of writing on legal aid is from a socio-legal or political perspective and little attention has been paid to legal aid as a branch of administrative law. This is an important failing as the legal aid requirements imposed by international human rights law do not only relate to the scope of legal aid, but also establish parameters for the administration of legal aid schemes. These requirements may be met directly within the specific legislation governing legal aid, but in some instances rely on the application of general domestic administrative law principles. Employing a comparative approach, this article explores some of the connections between administrative law, international human rights law and the provision of legal aid, using the jurisdictions of Finland and England & Wales as examples. Good protection of the relevant international human rights standards is provided in Finland through a robust administrative law system which contains a clear set of basic principles and is directly applicable to the making of decisions on legal aid. In England & Wales administrative law principles are not as helpful; however the manner in which administrative law acts upon discretionary decision-making in that jurisdiction means that strengthening administrative law principles might not have much impact on legal aid administration. In such a situation subject-specific legal aid legislation must be relied upon to meet human rights standards.