Social Inclusion and the Legal System

Focusing initially on the use of public interest litigation, the authors defend the constitutional and political legitimacy of such litigation, arguing that one can infer a commitment to social inclusion from the text of the Constitution and that where the political system has failed to address the needs of marginalized groups, the most appropriate agency for policing that constitutional norm is the judiciary. New material in this context explores the state's possible legal duty to refrain from action that could impoverish an individual, considers how the constitutional right to protection of the person might be used to promote social inclusion and takes account of recent Supreme Court decisions on the interpretation of the Constitution and, in particular, on the recognition of derived constitutional rights.

The authors also examine of efficacy of public interest litigation in protecting the interests of certain groups of children, members of the Traveller community, social welfare claimants and litigants seeking free legal aid. A new chapter also evaluates the use of litigation to protect those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

In the final section of the book, the authors examine the role of the law generally in tackling social exclusion. They examine different models of legal aid and conclude that while the legal system is not capable of generating radical change in society, the strategic model of legal aid is capable of achieving limited but none the less worthwhile social reforms.