Towards a Just Society

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This work analyzes the weaknesses in the established political approaches to reform of the provision of justice, judging them as being either too overtly concerned with inappropriate free market structures, or too wedded to legal procedural rules. It argues that the most efficient solution is an adapted version of legal aid as a kind of welfare state benefit and more integrated public services aimed at providing justice for the citizen. The discussion traces the history of the Labour Party's legal affairs policy and examines some of the fault lines in the programme put forward by Lord Irvine, in particular, the tension between combatting social exclusion with a rights-based rhetoric and a policy based on crude cost management initiatives. The analysis applies emerging political concepts of globalization, hegemony and a closed legal system to this debate, while considering the conflicting principles of community, individual autonomy and public service accountability, to conceive both of the nature of the Blair project and the feasibility of creating the "just society" set out in Labour's new constitution. A model for an integrated justice is proposed, centred on a Ministry of Justice administering legal aid through a community legal service, activating technological and structural reforms through a law foundation, and providing advice to citizens through a national advisory service.