| Abstract: | The High Court decision in the Dietrich case highlighted the perilous state of legal aid in Australia when it instructed judges to refuse to hear criminal trials when a person has no legal counsel due to inability to pay and has been denied legal aid. The decision of the High Court places pressure on the Federal Government to resolve the situation by legislating a guaranteed right of legal representation. This article discusses the inadequacies of the legal system by examining the implications of the Dietrich case. It is argued that recent government reports only provide a piecemeal approach to improving access to justice and what is needed is wider systemic change in the form of universal legal insurance. Only in this way can citizenship rights he reasserted to ensure social justice. |
