Wednesday - July 16, 2014

another barking mad judgement

The Brits call something like this, Barking Mad.
Which of course it is.
I can not imagine this actually getting anywhere but then, these days where down is up, I can’t rule it out either.  Can’t say as I blame the farmer in the story, as it’s pretty hard to believe he’d come up with this all on his own. The skunk in the room has to be a lawyer.
Oh ... gee.  Well what a surprise.

Anyway, this is another one ... for the books.

Ethiopian farmer gets legal aid… To sue us for sending aid to Ethiopia: Case that will be funded by taxpayers branded as ‘ridiculous’ by MPs

Ethiopian man launches taxpayer funded legal action against British Government despite never having set foot in the country
Farmer claims ministers are funding a one-party state in his homeland that has helped regime inflict ‘brutal treatment’ on thousands
Taxpayers will pay for both the farmer’s lawyers and a defence team from the Department for International Development
Legal action has been branded as farcical, bizarre and ridiculous by MPs angry he was able to lodge court documents before law change

By James Slack and Ian Drury

An Ethiopian farmer has won permission to use taxpayers’ money to sue the British Government ... for sending aid to his homeland.

The case, branded ridiculous by MPs, will be funded entirely by the public even though the farmer has never set foot in this country.

The 33-year-old Ethiopian – granted anonymity to protect his family – says ministers are funding a one-party state in his country that has breached his human rights. He says foreign aid helped the regime inflict ‘brutal treatment’ on thousands of farmers driven from their land, against the International Development Act 2002.

Taxpayers will pay for both the farmer’s lawyers and a defence team from the Department for International Development, in a case that could cost tens of thousands of pounds. This is in addition to the £1.3billion Britain has sent to Ethiopia since 2010.

The farmer lodged the court papers from Kenya, before Justice Secretary Chris Grayling introduced rules to prevent cases being brought by those who have never set foot in the UK. The changes, which come into force next month, will mean anybody seeking legal aid in civil cases must have been resident in Britain for at least 12 months.

A Whitehall source said: ‘Whatever hardships this man has faced, the idea that someone without any connection to this country can get public money to sue the Government borders on the farcical.’

Tory MP Peter Bone, a fierce critic of UK aid policy, said the legal action was ‘bizarre’, adding: ‘This is a ridiculous case and it is ridiculous there is legal aid for it.’ However, he added: ‘If money is going to a corrupt regime and somebody is pointing that out then we should be taking note of it. That is the problem. A lot of the money goes on propping up corrupt regimes.’

And speaking of lawyers ....

LAW FIRM THAT’S DONE IT BEFORE

Leigh Day has earned vast sums in legal aid by bringing cases against the Government on behalf of overseas clients.

Last year the firm won compensation worth almost £20million for 5,200 Kenyans who were tortured and abused during the Mau Mau rebellion in the Fifties and Sixties.

It is also heavily involved in the Al Sweady Inquiry, examining claims that troops executed and tortured Iraqis at a camp near Basra in 2004.

The hearings have already cost taxpayers £27million, despite evidence linking the men to a ‘terrorist organisation’.

The farmer, referred to as, O, is being represented by Rosa Curling of Leigh Day. Her law firm has already brought a string of human rights-based legal aid cases against the State on behalf of overseas claimants who say they have suffered ill-treatment due to government policies.

Ministers had urged the High Court to reject the latest claim, but Mr Justice Warby said yesterday it was ‘reasonable’ for O to believe there was a link between the Department for International development handing aid to Ethiopia and alleged human rights abuses.

He said O may launch a judicial review to argue the department had ‘failed to have in place any sufficient process to assess Ethiopia’s compliance with the express conditions for receiving UK aid – or to follow such process’. International Development Secretary Justine Greening, who is named as the respondent on the court papers, denies the claims.

A department spokesman said: ‘The UK has never funded Ethiopia’s resettlement programmes. Our support to the Protection of Basic Services Programme is only used to provide essential services like healthcare, schooling and clean water.’

read more

Posted by peiper     on 07/16/2014 at 09:36 AM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Judges-Courts-Lawyers •  
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