ABSTRACT
Although the Poor Prisoners Defence Acts of 1903 and 1930 had allowed indigent defendants in criminal cases to access public funds for their defence, the real birth of legal aid as a general scheme was the post-World War II Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949. It was and continues to be seen and applauded as a manifestation of the burgeoning welfare state. Under the Legal Aid Act 1988 legal aid administration passed from the Law Society to a newly constituted Legal Aid Board (LAB). The original system underwent various restrictions and cutbacks during the late 1990s and in 2000 the administration of the scheme was passed from the LAB to the Legal Services Commission, which operated two distinct funds; the Community Legal Service in relation to civil actions and the Criminal Defence Service in relation to criminal matters. However, with the reduction in available funds many publicly funded services have been replaced by charitable organisations.
